Four New Naming Projects Have Been Approved with New Donations Towards USF Athletics, Including Indoor Practice Facility

The USF Board of Trustees met in Traditions Hall at the Gibbons Alumni Center on campus for a scheduled Board Meeting and among the plethora of business on the agenda from faculty tenure approval to DSO annual financial plans was approval of naming projects based on donor gifts. A few stuck out.

WUSF host and producer Mark Schreiner first tweeted the news:

Among generous gifts to the downtown Water Street building securing naming rights for USF’s newest property being erected as we speak, there were four donations given to USF Athletics, with two going towards the USF Football Center.

• President Dr. Judy Genshaft and her husband Steve Greenbaum donate $1 million to the USF Football Center, naming the Genshaft Greenbaum Plaza.
• Joseph A. Savage, Jr. and Jane G. Savage donate $1 million towards the USF Football Center Indoor Practice Facility, naming the Joseph A. Savage, Jr. and Jane G. Savage Field. Practice at Savage Field gon’ be LIT!
• Jeffrey Fishman donates $100,000 to USF Athletics to rename the equipment room to the Fishman Family Foundation Equipment Room.
• Tas Mirza donates $50,000 naming the Tas Mirza Varsity Tennis Courts.

During the spring game, former USF Athletic Director Mark Harlan, in an interview on USF Bulls Unlimited, stated they had $9 million towards the Indoor Practice Facility; but at least $5 million of that is in legacy gifts. We have learned the above gifts were a part of that $9 million estimation, but it is unclear if they are also legacy gifts.

Harlan has stated in the past the USF Football Center could be completed in stages with the Indoor Practice Facility costing between $15-16 million. These additional gifts from Dr. Genshaft and her husband and the Savage Family get USF one step closer to that goal.

A few note-a-bull points found in the Board of Trustees agenda:

In the section entitled “Performance Update” is a table of facilities project over $2 million. The USF Football Center appears to have “Design and CM” funded. Also, your On-Campus Publix is well on it’s way.

There also appears to be a 90-day priority on fundraising and financial feasibility studies for a stadium including a branding plan. Ever since the survey went out a few months ago, we haven’t heard any follow-up from the entrees; but even with Harlan gone, the stadium continues to be in the planning stages.