Feature

Tribute: Remembering Lee Roy

"We're a better university because of Lee Roy Selmon. He was an incredible role model, who cared about all of our student-athletes, no matter what sport. He built an incredible legacy and he will never be forgotten."
— Judy Genshaft, USF President

Former USF Athletic Director and Bucs Pro Football Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon died suddenly on Sept. 4, devastating family, friends and the entire USF community.

The champion defensive end and Tampa Bay icon was 56.

During a memorial service on Sept. 9, USF President Judy Genshaft announced that the USF Athletic Training Center will be renamed in his honor.

"He was truly a pillar of our university and our community; we can't imagine the campus without him," Genshaft said. "And that is why the USF Board of Trustees unanimously approved my request to rename the USF Athletic Training Center the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center at the University of South Florida."

Selmon joined the USF Athletics department in 1993, and was named athletic director in 2001. He was instrumental in growing the university's athletics program, especially football, leading USF's move into Conference USA, and then into the Big East Conference. In 2004, he was named president of the USF Foundation Partnership for Athletics.

A football legend, Selmon played for the University of Oklahoma, winning two back-to-back national championships before going on to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's first pick in the 1976 NFL draft. He was named the league's defensive player of the year in 1979, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

He is remembered as a man of integrity and a mentor to student-athletes everywhere.