University of South Florida 2009-10 Men’s Basketball News Clippings Groundbreaking for Muma Basketball Center Set For March 3 Feb. 16, 2010 USF Athletics GoUSFBulls.com TAMPA - University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft, Director of Athletics Doug Wool- ard and the entire USF community will celebrate the official ground-breaking of the Pam and Les Muma Basketball Center on March 3. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held be- tween entries three and four of the Sun Dome, near lot 22F. The Pam and Les Muma Basketball Center is part of the USF facility upgrade which will include men’s and women’s basketball practice gymna- sia and team support facilities including locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, athletic training, strength training and equipment management facilities. The center will allow internal access to the event level of the existing Dome. The footprint for the Muma Center is located on the south side of the Sun Dome. The basketball teams will continue to compete in the Sun Dome and practice in the Sun Dome and Corral while construction occurs on the Muma facility. The Muma Center is part of a $30-million pack- age of facility upgrades for USF’s athletic district that also includes facilities for football, baseball, softball, and possibly soccer. Basketball coaches Stan Heath and Jose Fernan- dez, as well as Woolard, Genshaft and the Mumas will be on hand to talk about the state of the art facility. The event is open to the public. USF Board of Trustees Approves Financing for Athletics District USF Athletics shade canopy, an elevated, shaded entertain- GoUSFBulls.com ment or hospitality deck and service amenities. Dec. 3, 2009 The overall capacity of the stadium is expected to exceed 3,000 and is being designed to accom- TAMPA - The University of South Florida Athletics modate additional seating that will enable USF USF athletic district gets Department is one step closer to launching the to host NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals. final approval next phase of its Athletics District after receiv- The softball stadium is expected to feature a ing approval today from the university’s Board of Greg Auman new lighted natural grass sports field, step-down Trustees for the construction and financing of the St. Pete Times team dugouts, bullpens, covered batting cages, $30 million project. Dec. 11, 2009 multiple party pavilions, a press box and a 700- The project will move forward immediately, sub- seat spectator grandstand with a shade canopy, TAMPA — A $30-million package of facility ject to approval of the financing plan by the uni- an elevated, shaded entertainment or hospitality upgrades for USF’s athletic district got its final versity’s Board of Governors on December 10. deck and service amenities. The overall capacity approval on Thursday as the state’s Board of Gov- of the stadium is expected to exceed 1,500 and is ernors approved a financing plan for a fixed-rate The Athletics District will forever change the being designed to accommodate NCAA Region- debt of $23.5-million. face and foundation of USF Athletics. Included als and Super Regionals. in construction that is expected to begin in the Thursday’s approval was the final hurdle for the first quarter of 2010 are facilities for football, The Les and Pam Muma Basketball Center will Bulls to clear before beginning construction on baseball, softball and basketball. The USF Soccer include men’s and women’s basketball practice several key projects -- a new basketball practice Stadium, also part of the Athletic District Master gymnasia and team support facilities including facility on the south side of the Sun Dome, new Plan, is being evaluated for possible inclusion in locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, athletic stadiums for baseball and softball and three new this phase. training, strength training and equipment man- practice fields for USF’s football team. agement facilities. The center will allow internal The Frank Morsani Football Practice Facility will access to the event level of the existing Sun Under the proposal approved, USF’s athletic de- be directly east of the USF Athletics Training Cen- Dome. partment is budgeted to pay back about $2.25- ter and the existing football locker room, offices million toward the debt annually in the next four and weight room. The new practice area will fea- The footprint for the Muma Center is currently budgeted fiscal years. The basketball facility is a ture three side-by-side full-length football fields located on the south side of the Sun Dome. 25-year loan, while the rest of the facilities pack- that will run north and south. Two of the fields age will be paid off as a 15-year loan. will be natural grass, while the third will feature The basketball teams will continue to compete in an artificial surface. the Sun Dome and practice in the Sun Dome and USF’s baseball and softball teams are expected Corral while construction occurs on the Muma fa- to be relocated for the 2010 season, with soft- Both the baseball stadium and new softball sta- cility, however the baseball and softball programs ball playing its home games at the E.C. Moore dium are expected to be located along the east will have to relocate for the duration of the 2009 Complex in Clearwater, and baseball evaluating side of Bull Run Drive (Check renderings Below) competition calendar. three options: the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, the and provide spectacular curb appeal for the Ath- University of Tampa and Al Lang Field in St. Pe- letics District. USF is still working on details related to practice tersburg, the former spring training home of the and competition sites for the softball and base- Rays. Al Lang would allow the Bulls to have a field The new baseball stadium will remain on the ball programs for spring of 2010 seasons. Infor- of their own with no conflicts with other teams, same footprint as the existing field, but will be mation will be announced in the coming weeks. as well as locker rooms where equipment can be realigned in order to create a plaza and ticketing stored on site. The commute would be about 35 area that is shared with the new softball stadium. USF has contracted design/build solution pro- minutes each way. A decision is expected soon on Current plans have the softball field located south vider R.R. Simmons, which built the USF Athletics where the Bulls will play in 2010. of the baseball stadium. Training Center in 2005, and global design prac- tice specialist and architectural firm Populous There’s not much to it, but if you’d like to hear the The baseball stadium is expected to include new to lead the construction of the Athletics District Board of Governors approve the USF package, step-down team dugouts, bullpens, covered bat- Facilities. here’s an audio file of Thursday’s teleconference ting cages, multiple party pavilions, a press box -- the USF part is at about 1:07 into the call. and a 1,500 seat spectator grandstand with a USF Launches Game-Changing Initiative with Apple MacBook Pros USF Athletics es and fellow students regarding coursework. GoUSFBulls.com USF athletics has a long tradition in community Dec. 19, 2009 involvement, and the built-in iSight camera on every MacBook Pro will allow USF athletes to TAMPA, Fla. -- The University of South Florida connect with local schools through video confer- today announced a unique educational program encing, while the creative applications in iLife ‘09 providing all of its student athletes with access permit informative podcasts to be made easily. to a MacBook Pro 13-inch notebook computer every semester. The MacBook Pro notebooks pro- Pursuant to NCAA rules, the notebook comput- vided to all student-athletes will give them the ers will remain the property of USF and will be opportunity to work on course assignments and checked out from and returned to the Athletics view academic materials at any time and in any Department by student-athletes at the start location. As part of the program, USF will be add- and conclusion of each semester. Further, in ac- ing new lectures to iTunes U, an area of the iTunes cordance with NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2, USF student- Store dedicated to educational material. With the athletes are precluded from endorsing, recom- MacBook Pro and a wireless internet connection, mending or promoting the sale or use of Apple USF athletes will be able to access the lectures products or services. and other learning materials no matter where they are. This game-changing initiative was made pos- sible by an allocation from the NCAA Academic “The goal is to create an anywhere, anytime Enhancement Fund, private funds raised from our learning environment for each of our student- Bulls Club annual auction and a grant from the athletes,” said USF Director of Athletics Doug Verizon Foundation. Woolard. “Apple’s MacBook Pro will assist in pro- viding comprehensive academic support services while accommodating the demanding practice and travel schedules of our student-athletes. Our traveling teams will now be connected to classes, academic advisors and tutors anywhere in Amer- ica, or for that matter the entire world.” “We’re thrilled to be working with Apple and leveraging its more than 30 years in education,” said University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft. “Our use of innovative technology will directly improve the educational opportunities for the more than 460 student-athletes enrolled in over 2,400 different courses each semester.” Every MacBook Pro features a sleek and durable aluminum unibody design, perfect for life on the road.