USF Magazine Fall 2011

Volume 53 | Number 3

Sports

Sports Highlights

Picture of football fields

The USF Bulls got their first taste of fall camp in early August at the new, state-of-the-art Frank Morsani Practice Facility. "We put these fields to good use during the summer, working out and throwing, but you can feel the buzz with the first practice," said junior quarterback B.J. Daniels. "I think everyone was excited to get going."
Photo courtesy of USF Athletics

Renaissance Man

Senior guard Chaz Hine, a nominee for the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, has a lot on his plate. In addition to maintaining a 3.86 GPA, the walk-on turned scholarship player helped form the Student Coalition Against Homelessness and Poverty and is active in Disciples for Life, a student-led ministry. In the spring, Hine, who has an operatic voice, was voted "Most Remarkable" among business students. He is currently pursuing an MBA in the College of Business.

Scholar Athletes

150 student-athletes, led by 36 women from the women's cross country / track and field teams and 20 women soccer players, were selected for the 2010-2011 BIG EAST All-Academic Team. Other squads included on the All-Academic Team include men's soccer, baseball, women's and men's golf, softball, women's and men's tennis, women's volleyball, men's track and field, men's cross country and women's basketball. In all, 3,200 student-athletes from the BIG EAST Conference were selected for the team.

New Turf

Bulls fans got their first look at the new USF soccer stadium when the men's team played its first exhibition match on Aug. 20 against the University of Tampa. The stadium, which seats 2,000, has a bowl-like design, bringing fans closer to the game. The new facility is part of the ongoing transformation of USF Athletics. Both the men's and women's soccer teams made NCAA tournament appearances last season.

National Victory

USF head softball coach Ken Ericksen led the U.S. National Team to a 6-4 victory over Japan in late July to win the World Cup of Softball VI. Eriksen was named the team's head coach in January, one of the highest honors in college coaching. Eriksen has been USF's softball coach since 1997.