Amir Abdur-Rahim becomes the 11th head coach for the USF Men’s Basketball team. At a news conference this week to introduce the coach, the room was filled with excitement as cheerleaders, audience members and the USF staff showed their Bull’s spirit for the journey coming.
Abdur-Rahim emphasizes his readiness as he takes on a new role guiding the team.
“We don’t even want it to be great,” said Abdur-Rahim on stage. “We want it to be elite.”
Abdur-Rahim is hoping to fix the team’s 14-18 record from the previous season. Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly found him to stand out in the hiring process because of his connectedness, adaptation and hard work.
“Right person, right time here at USF,” said Kelly about the new coach.
Kelly used the same word to describe Alex Golesh, the newest football coach. He said the coach has “a blue-collar work ethic.” He emphasized the word to describe USF’s athletics new era.
Abdur-Rahim was the head coach for Kennesaw State in Georgia for four seasons. He was able to push the team for growth and improved their wins each season. Before coming to USF, he lead players to a 26-9 record for that team.
USF plans outdoor facility for new beach volleyball team
A new outdoor, beach space will be added for the newly created women’s beach volleyball team.
It will have three courts, a locker room and an office space.
Kelly announced the women’s beach volleyball team for the 2024-2025 season back in 2022. With this addition, there will be 12 Bulls’ women’s athletics teams for the school.
This is the second female sport that has been added in just three months span, alongside lacrosse.
University’s indoor performance facility holds intentions for the football team
A new USF indoor performance facility allows for the school’s football team to play and practice in any weather condition.
The announcement for this indoor facility was made in 2017. The cost for this was $22 million. This building was completed in the fall of 2020. The building is 88,000 square feet, houses a 100-yard turf field and has natural light flashing through the windows. It holds a reception and lobby area.
Alongside the facility, a new stadium will be added just north of it that could overshadow it. USF is still raising money for that on-campus football field.
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Anchor: Aziz Turner
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