Since the program’s inception in 1997, the South Florida Bulls have always had a home in Tampa, but not one they could call their own.
South Florida football debuted at Tampa Stadium — home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and when the Buccaneers moved into the newly-opened Raymond James Stadium in 1998, the Bulls followed. The green and gold suited up in a stadium decked with 69,000 red seats and a pirate ship, and they will continue to do so through the 2026 season.
While Raymond James Stadium has served as the backdrop of 101 South Florida victories, compared to just 65 losses since 1998, the Bulls are ready to move on with their own on-campus stadium.
The on-campus stadium was initially approved by the university’s Board of Trustees in June 2023, and the Board then reapproved the project at a revised cost of $348.5 million in April 2025. It will be located within campus boundaries on Sycamore Fields which is boxed in by USF Redbud Ln., USF Syracuse Dr., and USF Holly Dr.
The groundbreaking ceremony transpired in November 2024, right before South Florida’s home game against Navy at Raymond James Stadium. Construction of the stadium finally began last week, and the on-campus stadium is expected to begin hosting football games in 2027. Lacrosse games, concerts, graduations, and other sporting events are among other events the university envisions as uses for its massive project.
Features the stadium is exploring include a sideline club, a field club, general reserve seating in prime locations, shade-covered loge seating, a rooftop patio with concessions, full-service bars, and pregame entertainment, and a student section in the shape of the iconic “U” logo.
South Florida has yet to announce an official name for the stadium. The venue will seat approximately 35,000 spectators. The Bulls averaged 37,036 fans in 2024 and 37,944 in 2023 during a pair of 7-6 seasons, but those numbers dwindle to 29,650 during a 1-11 campaign in 2022 and 33,794 during a 2-10 season in 2021. There are several outlier games included in those averages — the Alabama game in 2023 and the Florida game in 2021 each brought over 65,000 in attendance, nearly packing Raymond James Stadium.
The allure of an NFL stadium has certainly helped South Florida draw some of college football’s biggest powers in non-conference play. In 2023, South Florida became just the second opponent to host Alabama in a non-conference matchup since 2011, joining Texas in that regard. The Bulls also hosted ranked Miami (FL), BYU, Florida, and Wisconsin teams all in the past six seasons, consistently treating their fanbase to high-profile matchups.
By leaving an NFL stadium, it is a fair question to ask how South Florida’s non-conference scheduling is impacted and if Raymond James Stadium remains on the table for such high-profile games. The Bulls are currently slated to host Louisville in 2027 (the stadium’s debut game) and Notre Dame in 2029 after the unveiling of the new venue. Renderings for how the stadium might look for these matchups are found on the USF website.
When South Florida moves to its on-campus stadium, the only remaining FBS colleges that play their home games in NFL venues will be Miami (FL), Pittsburgh, Temple, and UNLV.