South Florida Bulls beach volleyball
{{Short description|American college volleyball team}}
{{Distinguish|South Florida Bulls volleyball}}
{{Infobox college volleyball team
|name=South Florida Bulls beach volleyball
|city=Tampa|founded=2026|university=University of South Florida|athletic_director=Michael Kelly|logo= Southflorida wordmark 2022.png |state=Florida|stateabb=FL|nickname=Bulls|AIAW=no|coach=Pri Piantadosi-Lima|tenure=1st|conference=Conference USA|conference_short=CUSA}}
The South Florida Bulls beach volleyball team will represent the University of South Florida in the sport of women's beach volleyball at the NCAA National Collegiate level{{Efn|"National Collegiate" means that NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III schools all compete against each other directly instead of being separated into divisions. USF is a member of Division I for all other NCAA sports.}} beginning in spring 2026. In June 2023 USF hired Pri Piantadosi-Lima as the team's first ever head coach.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-29 |title=Pri Piantadosi-Lima Named First Head Coach of USF Beach Volleyball |url=https://gousfbulls.com/news/2023/6/6/pri-piantadosi-lima-named-first-head-coach-of-usf-beach-volleyball.aspx |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=USF Athletics |language=en}}
Because the Bulls main conference, the American Athletic Conference, does not sponsor the sport of beach volleyball, the team will play as members of Conference USA.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-03 |title=USF BEACH VOLLEYBALL JOINS CONFERENCE USA |url=https://gousfbulls.com/news/2024/11/5/beach-volleyball-usf-beach-volleyball-joins-conference-usa.aspx |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=USF Athletics |language=en}} The Bulls will play their home games on campus, with a new three court facility set to be built on the north side of the Yuengling Center before their first season.{{Cite web|title=USF to Add Women's Beach Volleyball in 2024-25|url=https://gousfbulls.com/news/2022/2/1/usf-to-add-womens-beach-volleyball-in-2024-25.aspx|access-date=2022-02-14|website=USF Athletics|language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Beach Volleyball |url=https://www.gousfbullsmp.com/beach-volleyball |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=www.gousfbullsmp.com}}
History
The team was first announced in February 2022 and will become the university's 21st varsity sports team (and 12th women's team) when they begin play in spring 2026.{{Cite web|last=Camargo|first=Alberto|date=2022-02-02|title=USF Athletics announces addition of women's beach volleyball|url=https://www.usforacle.com/2022/02/02/usf-athletics-announces-addition-of-womens-beach-volleyball/|access-date=2022-02-14|website=The Oracle|language=en-US}} The team was originally scheduled to start in 2025 but was postponed to 2026 in June 2023.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-06 |title=USF Beach Volleyball To Begin Competition in 2025-26 Season |url=https://gousfbulls.com/news/2023/6/29/usf-beach-volleyball-to-begin-competition-in-2025-26-season.aspx |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=USF Athletics |language=en}} At the time of the team's founding, beach volleyball was the newest NCAA sport and was sponsored by 86 teams across the NCAA's three divisions.{{Cite web|title=NCAA Division II and Division III membership approves Sand Volleyball as 90th championship|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/beach-volleyball/article/2015-01-17/ncaa-dii-diii-membership-approves-sand-volleyball-90th}}{{Cite web|title=NCAA Directory - Directory - Member Listing|url=https://web3.ncaa.org/directory/memberList?type=12&sportCode=WSV|access-date=2022-02-14|website=web3.ncaa.org}} NCAA beach volleyball championships are competed at the National Collegiate level rather than division levels like most NCAA sports, meaning that Division I, II, and III schools all compete directly against each other.
Pri Piantadosi-Lima was hired as the first head coach on June 6, 2023. She previously helped lead Eckerd College to an AVCA National Championship as an assistant coach.
On November 5, 2024, USF athletic director Michael Kelly announced that the team would play as members of Conference USA.
See also
Notes
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References
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