Memphis and South Florida to Square Off for First Time since 2020

Standing inside USF’s $22 million indoor practice facility on Tuesday, first-year head coach Alex Golesh heaped high praise on the Memphis Tigers. “(Memphis) is a team that, for the last ten years, has been really at the top of our league,” Golesh said, “Those guys know how to win; they’ve been in a bunch of close games and have found ways to win.”

Following a three-point victory against the UConn Huskies almost two weeks ago, Golesh suggested that the comeback win was “another step in our growth.” Sitting at 4-4 on the year, the Bulls have already won as many games in 2023 as in the previous three seasons combined. With a high likelihood of securing their first bowl berth since 2018, fans in and around Tampa believe the Bulls and their $2.5 million football coach are slowly building their way back to the double-digit win seasons they experienced only a few seasons ago.

After missing out on the Big 12 sweepstakes (twice) and seeing SMU bid their way into greener pastures in the ACC, USF, like Memphis, finds itself at a crossroads in the conference realignment landscape. Also like Memphis, the Bulls are doing just about all they can from a financial standpoint to mold themselves into an attractive option for Power 5 observers. In addition to opening an indoor practice facility earlier this year, South Florida has announced its intentions to build a $340 million on-campus stadium with a projected opening date of 2026. Earlier this summer, South Florida became the first public university in nearly 40 years to be invited to join the Association of American Universities (AAU). In addition to a $2.5 million annual salary, Alex Golesh’s contract allows a potential for an extra payout of $1.2 million in performance-based bonuses, good for third best among Group of Five programs.

Yet, with all the positive momentum down in Tampa, the Bulls lack one thing the Tigers have enjoyed for a decade — on-field success. Since 2018, the Bulls are 12-41 on the playing field. Memphis football has won 27 more football games and a conference championship in that same period. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Tigers will appear in a bowl game for the tenth-straight year. Eight Tigers alumni have been drafted by NFL teams since the Bulls last had a draft pick in 2018.

All things considered, though, Memphis fans would be naive to believe the gap isn’t closing between their team and other programs within the American Athletic Conference. South Florida aside, Tulane has suddenly become a Group of Five darling following their improbable victory in the Cotton Bowl last season. Conference newcomer UTSA has strong financial backing and sustained success under Jeff Traylor. Florida Atlantic can now boast a Final Four appearance in men’s basketball along with high hopes in first-year football coach and veteran Tom Herman. Rice (yes, Rice) was mentioned nationally as an attractive candidate when the Pac-12 was mulling its future.

So while the matchup between Memphis and USF may appear on the surface as a projected win en route to a showdown with SMU in two weeks, the optics suggest that it’s much more than that. Some have rumored that Memphis and South Florida have “handcuffed” themselves together for whatever conference realignment may throw at us next. Still, it remains imperative that the Tigers continue to prove they’re a superior option when it comes to on-field performance. An upset loss to the Bulls would not only quench the Tigers’ AAC Conference Championship hopes, it would provide a marquee victory for South Florida to hold as a sign that things are turning around in Tampa much quicker than many expected.