It may not seem like it, but the South Florida Bulls have long been an important part of the college basketball landscape. The Bulls have spent most of their history playing in a top-notch conference, which has made it difficult for fans to get their hands on cheap South Florida basketball tickets. Granted, sustained success hasn’t come easy for the Bulls. But they always had established head coaches and are always playing marquee opponents, which explains the high demand for last-minute South Florida basketball tickets.

In the Sun

USF’s basketball journey didn’t begin until 1971, with the Bulls joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1976. Success eluded USF for many years until head coach Bobby Paschal led them to the Sun Belt Tournament title in 1990, a stunning turnaround after winning less than ten games in three straight seasons. Two years later, the Bulls made the NCAA Tournament again, doing so for the first time as an at-large team.

In the Big Time

Despite a lack of traditional basketball prowess, USF joined the mighty Big East Conference for the 2005-06 season. Playing in arguably the best conference in the country wasn’t a winning formula for USF, who quickly became a perennial doormat. However, head coach Stan Heath proved to have the magic touch. He slowly built the Bulls into a legitimate Big East program, taking South Florida back to the NCAA Tournament in 2012. Although USF had to participate in the First Four, the Bulls beat Cal to join the field of 64 and then beat Temple to advance to the Round of 32 for the first time in program history.

Another Rebuild

Unfortunately for USF, they struggled to maintain the success of the 2011-12 campaign. Even after moving to the American Athletic Conference, the Bulls couldn’t find much traction. Alas, veteran coach Brian Gregory arrived in 2017 to start another rebuild. In his second season, Gregory led South Florida to the 2019 CBI championship, once again laying down a good foundation for the Bulls to have a brighter future.