South Florida Bulls Football - Rivals

Rivals

As a young program that has grown rapidly and shifted conferences several times, USF has developed few lasting rivalries. The most noteworthy has been the UCF–USF football rivalry against in-state opponents the University of Central Florida Knights. The matchup had been the subject of much discussion and fan enthusiasm since the 1990s, but it was not until 2005 that a game was scheduled. The two schools met in a four year home-and-away series through 2008. USF won each of the matches, which drew substantial crowds, but declined to schedule any further games. However, the series will resume as an annual conference game when UCF joins the Big East in 2013.

Before major conference realignment in the early 2010s, candidates for a future rivalry game included Louisville, another former member of Conference USA before its move to the Big East/The American; West Virginia; Rutgers; and Miami, with whom USF began a 6-year Thanksgiving weekend series in 2008. The last 4 games of the USF/UM series (2010–2013) will be televised by one of the ESPN networks. Louisville and Rutgers will both leave The American after the 2013 season, respectively for the ACC and Big Ten.