South Florida Bulls rifle | |
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Founded | 1985 |
Folded | 1990 |
University | University of South Florida |
Location | Tampa, FL |
Nickname | Bulls |
Colors | Green and gold [1] |
NCAA Team Runners-up | |
1989 | |
NCAA Team Third Place | |
1987, 1988 | |
NCAA Individual Champions – Smallbore | |
Michelle Scarborough: 1990 | |
NCAA Individual Champions – Air Rifle | |
Michelle Scarborough: 1989 |
The South Florida Bulls rifle team represented the University of South Florida in the sport of rifle. The program consisted of a men's and women's co-ed team which competed in NCAA Division I. The rifle team only existed for five years, but was very successful in that time, earning three top-three team finishes in NCAA National Championship events and winning two individual national titles. Roger Johnson served as head coach for the team's entire existence.
The USF rifle team first competed in the NCAA Championship in the 1985–86 season. [2] Since so few schools sponsor rifle, all teams that sponsor it are eligible for the championship. The Bulls finished tied for 5th out of the 7 teams that competed in the 1986 NCAA Championship. They returned to the event in 1987 and 1988, where they finished in third place both times. They also won the NRA Smallbore Intercollegiate Sectionals in 1987. [3] In 1989 the team had their best finish ever, taking second place in the competition. [4] The program never competed as a team again after the 1989 championship, with the athletic department citing budget problems as the reason.
USF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Michelle Scarborough won two individual national titles with the Bulls rifle team, winning championships in the 1989 air rifle event and the 1990 smallbore event (smallbore is considered the more prestigious of the two events in college riflery). [5] Rifle is the only NCAA sponsored sport where men and women directly compete against each other, meaning that Scarborough was not only the best woman at these events, but shot better than all the men as well. [6] Scarborough's 1989 championship in air rifle was the highest score for both men and women ever recorded in the event, with an unprecedented 399 out of a possible 400 points. Her record stood until the event format changed from 40 shots to 60 shots in 2005. [7]
Three Bulls shooters have competed in the Olympic Games. Dorothee Deuring represented Austria in 1988, Kristen Peterson represented the United States in 1988 and 1992, and Peter Durben represented the United States in 1992. [8] [9] Other athletes competed internationally as well. Most notably, Michelle Scarborough won three team gold and an individual bronze medal at the 1991 Pan American Games and Matthew Suggs won a team gold and individual silver medal at the 1987 ISSF 10 meter air rifle world championship. [8] [10]
The NCAA Rifle Championship is an annual co-educational rifle national collegiate championship sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The tournament includes an individual and team championships consisting of the two-day aggregate scoring of the smallbore competition and air rifle competition. The national championship rounds are contested annually in mid-March. West Virginia (19) and Alaska (11) have combined to win 30 of the 43 team championships. Unlike many NCAA sports, only one National Collegiate championship is held each season with teams from Division I, Division II, and Division III competing together.
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is designated by the Florida Board of Governors as one of three Preeminent State Research Universities.
The South Florida Bulls are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a non-NCAA sanctioned sport which competes in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association within the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association. The current athletic director is Michael Kelly, who has held the job since 2018. The school colors are green and gold and the mascot is Rocky D. Bull.
The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2005 to 2008 and now takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, the de facto "rivalry weekend" for FBS football. In 2013, when UCF joined the American Athletic Conference, the schools began competing annually in all sports. In 2016, the schools officially adopted the "War on I-4" as an official competition series. Each year, the team with the most wins across all sports receives a gold trophy styled after an Interstate 4 (I-4) road sign with the logos of each school. The winner of the annual football game also receives a similar trophy.
The Tampa Spartans are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tampa, located in Tampa, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Spartans compete as members of the Sunshine State Conference for all sports besides beach volleyball and track and field, which compete as independents. Tampa has been a member of the conference since 1981.
The South Florida Bulls baseball team is the intercollegiate men's baseball program representing the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. The team competes in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. Founded in 1966, the baseball team is one of the oldest teams at the university. The Bulls have captured eleven conference titles and 14 NCAA tournament appearances. The team plays their home games on campus at USF Baseball Stadium at Red McEwen Field and are coached by Billy Mohl.
The South Florida Bulls women's soccer team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of soccer. The Bulls currently compete in the American Athletic Conference within Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Bulls play in Corbett Stadium along with USF's men's soccer team, which opened in 2011. Prior to that, they played at what is now the USF Track and Field Stadium.
The South Florida Bulls women's basketball team represents the University of South Florida in women's basketball. The Bulls compete in the American Athletic Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Bulls play home basketball games at the Yuengling Center. South Florida is coached by Jose Fernandez, who has been with the Bulls since the 2000–01 season. USF has made the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament nine times in their history and won the Women's National Invitation Tournament in 2009. They have won three conference championships, taking the regular season American Athletic Conference title in 2021 and 2023 and the AAC tournament crown in 2021.
The 1989 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the ninth annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was held at the Pat Spurgin Rifle Range at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.
The 1990 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the 10th annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was held at the Bancroft Hall Rifle Range at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The South Florida Bulls track and field program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of track and field. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. Both of the Bulls track and field teams are coached by Abigi Id-Deen, who was named coach in August 2023. Distance events are coached by Bulls cross country coach Tony Nicolosi, and the cross country and track and field programs are directed by Erik Jenkins, who was formerly the head coach of the teams. The teams practice and host outdoor meets at the USF Track and Field Stadium. While the university sponsors indoor teams as well, the university does not have an indoor track facility suitable to host meets. There is an indoor track in the Campus Recreation Center which the teams use for practice, but it has no space for indoor field events or spectators.
Dorothee Deuring is an Austrian sport shooter. She competed in rifle shooting events at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Deuring attended the University of South Florida.
The University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 2009 to recognize and perpetuate the memory of student athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have made demonstrably outstanding and significant contributions to the success, tradition and heritage of USF Athletics, and who demonstrate the character and values that define the highest principles of sport. Induction in the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame is the highest honor afforded by the USF Athletics Department.
Peter Durben is an American sport shooter. He competed in the Men's 50 meter Free Rifle Prone event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He is also the brother of fellow Olympic rifle shooter Daniel Durben. Durben attended the University of South Florida, where he majored in chemical engineering and competed on the Bulls rifle team, which finished second in the 1989 NCAA Rifle Championship.
The South Florida Bulls swimming and diving program represented the University of South Florida in the sport of swimming. The program consisted of separate men's and women's teams which competed in NCAA Division I at the time of the program being discontinued in 1987.
The South Florida Bulls cross country program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of cross country. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. Both of the Bulls cross country teams are coached by Tony Nicolosi, also coaches distance events for the Bulls track and field teams. The cross country and track and field teams as a whole are directed by Erik Jenkins, who served as head coach from The teams practice and host meets at both the USF Track and Field Stadium and The Claw golf course.
The South Florida Bulls volleyball team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of women's volleyball. The Bulls compete in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The team plays their home games at The Corral inside the Yuengling Center on USF's campus in Tampa, Florida. They are coached by Jolene Shepardson who was hired after the 2019 season. The Bulls have reached seven NCAA women's volleyball tournaments and won a combined 18 regular season and tournament conference championships in their history, the most of any women's team at USF.
The South Florida Bulls golf program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of golf. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. The Bulls men's golf team is coached by Steve Bradley and the women's team is coached by Erika Brennan. They host meets at The Claw golf course adjacent to USF's campus in Tampa, Florida.
The South Florida Bulls tennis program represents the University of South Florida in the sport of tennis. The program consists of separate men's and women's teams and competes in the American Athletic Conference within NCAA Division I. The Bulls men's tennis team is coached by Ashley Fisher and the women's team is coached by Cristina Moros. Both teams play their home matches at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts on USF's campus in Tampa, Florida.
The South Florida Bulls beach volleyball team will represent the University of South Florida in the sport of women's beach volleyball at the NCAA National Collegiate level beginning in spring 2026. In June 2023 USF hired Pri Piantadosi-Lima as the team's first ever head coach.