Tampa Spartans

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Tampa Spartans
Tampa Spartans logo.svg
University University of Tampa
Conference Sunshine State (primary)
NCAA Division II
Athletic directorLarry Marfise
Location Tampa, Florida
Varsity teams20 (8 men's, 12 women's)
Basketball arenaBob Martinez Athletics Center
Baseball stadiumUniversity of Tampa Baseball Field
Softball stadiumVince Naimoli Family Softball Field
Soccer stadiumPepin Stadium
Aquatics centerUT Aquatic Center
Lacrosse stadiumNaimoli Athletic Family and Intramural Complex
Tennis venueNaimoli and Young Family Complex
NicknameSpartans
ColorsBlack, red, and gold [1]
     
Website tampaspartans.com/landing/index
Team NCAA championships
20
Individual and relay NCAA champions
35

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.

Contents

National championships

Spartan varsity teams have won 19 NCAA Division II National Titles as of December 2022, which is seventh-most among current Division II teams. [2] The titles won are as follows: eight in baseball (1992, 1993, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2019), three in men's soccer (1981, 1994 and 2001), two in golf (1987 and 1988), four in women's volleyball (2006, 2014, 2018, and 2021), one in women's soccer (2007), and one in men's lacrosse (2022). [2] They also won a beach volleyball title in the AVCA in 2019 and 2021, for a total of 21 national titles. UT athletes have won 35 individual and relay NCAA championships. [2]

Team championships

AssociationDivisionSportYearOpponent/Runner-UpScore
NCAA Division II Baseball [3] 1992 Mansfield 11–8
1993 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 7–5
1998 Kennesaw State 6–1
2006 Chico State 3–2
2007 Columbus State 7–2
2013 Minnesota State–Mankato 8–2
2015 Catawba 3–1
2019 Colorado Mesa 3–1
Men's soccer [4] 1981 Cal State Los Angeles 1–0 (OT)
1994 Oakland 3–2 (2OT)
2001 Cal State Dominguez Hills 2–1
Men's golf [5] 1987 Columbus 1,175–1,180
1988 Florida Southern 1,189–1,203
Men's lacrosse 2022 Mercy 11–7
Women's soccer [6] 2007 Franklin Pierce 3–1
Women's volleyball 2007 North Alabama 3–1
2014 Southwest Minnesota State 3–0
2018 Western Washington 3–2
2021 Washburn 3–0
AVCA Small College DivisionBeach volleyball [7] 2019 Texas A&M–Kingsville 3–0
2021 Spring Hill 3–0

Varsity teams

Tampa sponsors 20 varsity teams, 8 for men and 12 for women:

Former sports

Rivalries

St. Petersburg College

UT's first athletic rival was St. Petersburg College. [8] UT even adopted the Spartan as its mascot in the 1930s because SPC were known as the Trojans at the time (though they have since changed to the Titans). As SPC is a junior college, the schools rarely (if ever) meet nowadays.

Florida Southern

The Spartans main rival is the nearby Sunshine State Conference foe Florida Southern College Moccasins. [9] The rivalry is known best for its baseball games, with both teams regularly among the best in NCAA Division II. The Spartans and Mocs have a combined 17 baseball national championships, with Tampa winning 8 and FSC winning 9. No other team in Division II has more than 3 baseball titles.

Rowdies Cup

Each August, the Spartans men's soccer team faces their crosstown rivals, the Division I University of South Florida Bulls, in an NCAA preseason match which celebrates the Tampa Bay Area's rich soccer history. In addition to holding the Rowdies Cup trophy for the next 12 months, the winning side also gets to hoist the actual 1975 Soccer Bowl trophy that was won by the original Tampa Bay Rowdies and is housed at USF's Corbett Soccer Stadium. As of the 2022 edition, USF holds a 25–11–3 edge in the all-time series. [10] The match was previously contested as the Mayor's Cup and dates back to 1972. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Football

UT fielded a men's football team from 1933 to 1974. The "Tampa U" Spartans first played at Plant Field near the school's campus from 1933 to 1936, then played across the street at Phillips Field for three decades, then became Tampa Stadium's first home team when they moved to the brand-new venue in 1967. The move to Tampa Stadium coincided with the program's greatest success. The Spartans beat the cross-state rival Miami Hurricanes in 1970, moved up to NCAA Division I in 1971, and defeated the Hurricanes again in 1972. Several UT players from this era went on to play in the NFL, and the Spartans won the 1972 Tangerine Bowl. [16]

However, rising expenses resulted in the football program operating at a loss and required the school to subsidize it with several hundred thousand dollars per year. When the NFL awarded Tampa an expansion team (the future Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in 1974, the university's financial committee predicted that local support for Spartan football would decrease and recommended that the program be folded before the 1975 season. [17] On February 12, 1975, the University of Tampa's board of directors voted to drop the sport immediately. [18]

Other sports

In addition to varsity sports, UT fields competitive junior varsity baseball and men's lacrosse teams that play a full schedule against area colleges and visiting northern schools and it also fields a crew team that competes in crew events around the nation.

Hall of fame

The University of Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame includes former MLB players Lou Piniella and Tino Martinez, former NFL players Freddie Solomon of the San Francisco 49ers, and John Matuszak of the Oakland Raiders.

Related Research Articles

The USF Track and Field Stadium is a track and field stadium that was built in 1978. The stadium is currently home to the men's and women's track and field teams from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. It also hosted the school's men's and women's soccer programs from 1978 and 1995 respectively through the end of their 2010 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993)</span> Defunct American soccer club

The Tampa Bay Rowdies were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida, that competed in the original North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984. They enjoyed broad popular support in the Tampa Bay area until the NASL folded in 1984, after which the team played in various minor indoor and outdoor leagues before finally folding on January 31, 1994. The Rowdies played nearly all of their outdoor home games at Tampa Stadium and nearly all of their indoor games at the Bayfront Center Arena in nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. Although San Diego played indoors until 1996, the Rowdies were the last surviving NASL franchise that played outdoor soccer on a regular basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of South Florida</span> Public university in Tampa, Florida, US

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Florida Bulls</span> University of South Florida athletic team

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 varsity 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCF Knights</span> Athletic program of the University of Central Florida

The UCF Knights are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Since men's soccer is not sponsored by the Big 12, they play in the Sun Belt Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose State Spartans</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of San Jose State University

The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War on I-4</span> Rivalry between the South Florida Bulls and UCF Knights

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in the Tampa Bay area</span> Overview of sports opportunities in the Tampa Bay area

The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Florida</span> Overview of sports in Florida

The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USF Baseball Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Florida, United States

USF Baseball Stadium at Red McEwen Field is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the University of South Florida Bulls baseball team of the Division I American Athletic Conference. The facility has a capacity of 3,211 spectators. Opening in 2011, it replaced Red McEwen Field as the home of USF's baseball team.

The South Florida Bulls men's soccer team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of soccer. The Bulls currently compete in the American Athletic Conference within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). USF plays in Corbett Stadium, which opened in 2011 and is also used by the USF women's soccer team. Prior to that, they played at USF Soccer Field from their first season in 1965 until 1978 and USF Soccer Stadium from 1979 until 2010. They are coached by Bob Butehorn, who is in his sixth year with the Bulls as of the 2022 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Florida Bulls baseball</span>

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 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 2019 South Florida Bulls men's soccer team represented the University of South Florida during the 2019 NCAA Division I men's soccer season and the 2019 American Athletic Conference men's soccer season. The regular season began on August 30 and concluded on November 5. It was the program's 55th season fielding a men's varsity soccer team, and their 7th season in the AAC. The 2019 season was Bob Butehorn's third year as head coach for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowdies Cup</span>

The Rowdies Cup is a traveling trophy awarded to the winner of the annual college soccer derby between the University of South Florida Bulls and the University of Tampa Spartans, two NCAA men's programs based in the city of Tampa, Florida. The rivalry was known as the Mayor's Cup from 1979 to 2005.

The University of South Florida athletic facilities are the stadiums and arenas the South Florida Bulls use for their home games and training. The University of South Florida currently sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and has 11 facilities in the designated Athletics District on or adjacent to its Tampa campus, one on its St. Petersburg campus, and one elsewhere in Tampa. 18 of the 19 teams have some sort of facility in the USF Athletics District.

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 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 lacrosse team will represent the University of South Florida in the sport of women's lacrosse beginning in spring 2025. They will compete in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Bulls will play their home games at Corbett Stadium on USF's Tampa campus, which they will share with the USF men's and women's soccer teams. It is the university's newest varsity sports team and the first new USF team since football was established in 1997. It will be the first new women's team in an NCAA sport at USF since women's soccer in 1995.

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.

References

  1. ↑ University of Tampa Brand Guidelines (PDF). Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Championships summary through Jan. 1, 2022" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
  3. ↑ "Division II Baseball Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Division II Men's Soccer Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  5. ↑ "NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Division II Women's Soccer Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  7. ↑ "2019 BEACH VOLLEYBALL". AVCA.
  8. ↑ "University of Tampa Introduces New, Updated Athletic Logos". www.ut.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  9. ↑ Beasock, Ray. "Hanson helps Florida Southern fend off Tampa". The Ledger. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  10. ↑ "Rudderham Scores Hat Trick, Bulls Retain Rowdies Cup". gousfbulls.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  11. ↑ Bulls Looking to Bring Rowdies Cup Back to USF - GoUSFBulls.com—Official Athletics Web Site of the University of South Florida
  12. ↑ "Spartans Take Rowdies Cup With 1-0 Victory Over USF". Tampa Spartans. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Bulls Down Spartans to Claim Rowdies Cup". gousfbulls.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bulls Retain Rowdies Cup". gousfbulls.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  15. ↑ "2019 Tampa Spartans Men's Soccer Schedule".
  16. ↑ UT Journal – Winter 2007 – ut.edu. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2012-05-08.
  17. ↑ Gurney, Jack (Feb 13, 1975). "Financial Woes May End Tampa Football". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. pp. D1. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  18. ↑ "University of Tampa Votes Down Football". The Albany Herald. AP. Feb 28, 1975. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
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