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:: History Site
Index :: USF Site
& Name :: 1st Student :: USF
Sarasota/Manatee
:: Traditions
Overview :: Rocky the
Bull :: Homecoming
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USF Site, Name Stirred Struggles 
By July of 1956 the case for creating a new state university for Florida had gained a powerful push from the Council for the Study of Higher Education. The study, authorized by the Legislature, predicted an explosion of college students within the next 15-year period - from 45,000 in 1955 to 132,000 in 1970 (that number proved to be conservative). The report also pointedly cited "one of the most pressing needs...establishment of a four-year university in the Tampa Bay area." By then, St. Petersburg pitching for a campus that would include "1,000 acres of waterfront" (on Old Tampa Bay between Gandy Bridge and the still-contemplated Howard Frankland Bridge), other Florida cities began gunning for the state university. Sarasota, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale put forth bids, as well. Gibbons said he worried at first over all the rivalry, then concluded that it seemed taken for granted a new institution would be created. The St. Petersburg Times blasted Tampa's proposed location as an "abandoned airfield in an area earmarked for industrial development." What's more, it was within a mile or two of the newly announced Schlitz brewery. A Times sports column by Bill Beck attacked the location "on the back yard of a brewery" as "stunningly asinine." The column was illustrated by a cartoon of a bloated football player wearing a "Florida Brewers" jersey and derided the Tampa site as "Bottlecap U." (Congressman Sam Gibbons, intensely involved in the struggle then as a state representative, said recently that the Tampa Industrial Park location was a "plus" because the legislature still was dominated by rural "Pork Choppers" interested in seeing it closer to their constituents.) In October, the Board of Control made a crucial decision: That the new university would be established in Hillsborough County. But it held the competition open to a second site - the Bower Tract, bordering Old Tampa Bay east of Oldsmar. Pinellas began pushing for the closer Bower location, not only because of its proximity but also because of its waterfront. The St. Petersburg Times continued to lambaste the North Tampa site as subject to sinkholes. The Hillsborough group conducted test borings, and countered that the Bower acreage would require $5 million in fill to rise above high tides from Old Tampa Bay. Gibbons recalled recently that a tour by Board of Control members of the Bower tract coincided with a "Northwester" that had sent water almost to Hillsborough Avenue. He felt that visit convinced them of its unsuitability. Early in December 1956, the Board of Control voted 5-2 to accept the North Tampa site for a new university. But there was another hurdle to clear - the State Cabinet, acting as the Florida Board of Education. Gov. LeRoy Collins expressed reservations, and there were worries that the battle would begin anew. Collins continued to hold doubts that state revenues would support a new university. After one Cabinet delay, which undoubtedly triggered every ounce of political persuasion the Hillsborough forces could muster, the Board of Education agreed to the north Tampa location Dec. 18, 1956. An addition 700 acres north of Fletcher Avenue, donated by Stanton Sanson, gave the North Tampa site frontage on the Hillsborough River and growing space to spare. But the struggle wasn't over. The state, suffering a business slowdown, had little money to pour into a new university. Despite a Board of Control recommendation that $12 million be allotted, the first budget for planning came to only $600,000. And the name for the new institution proved to be a nettlesome point. Although "University of Southern Florida" surfaced early, critics insisted Tampa really wasn't far enough south for the name to be accurate. Other names swirled around for much of 1957: Gulf Coast University, Citrus State University, Sunshine State University, University of Southwest Florida. Gov. Collins really stirred up a Tampa reaction when he raised the possibility of calling it "The University of Florida at Temple Terrace." Aghast, Tribune Editor James Clendinen wrote that the name "wouldn't be known" outside of Tampa, since Temple Terrace was still a small suburban municipality. The Cabinet apparently wearied of the fracas in October 1957 and finally settled upon the name University of South Florida. Its status as a full-fledged institution was assured. By then, Dr. John S. Allen, a University of Florida vice president, had been appointed to take over the helm at USF. Tall, dignified and commanding respect, Allen quickly gained area and state support as he went to work in a tiny office at the Hillsborough County Courthouse. Before long, he had selected librarian Elliot Hardaway as the first staff member, and books started piling in. Planner Milo Smith started charting the placement of buildings and streets between Fowler and Fletcher avenues. At the groundbreaking, Gov. Collins wielded a shovel, along with high school juniors who were spotlighted as potential freshman at the university. By 1960, classes were meeting in the first five buildings, with 1,993 students enrolled. As Gibbons said the other day, growth has surged "beyond anybody's imagination." With 164 buildings on the Tampa campus alone now, the university this year is educating more than 29,000 students on four campuses. Branches operate at St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers (and another is in the works at Lakeland).
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University Relations,
4202 E. Fowler Avenue, ADM264, Tampa, FL 33620 -- (813) 974-4014
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