The late Amir Abdur-Rahim and Jim Leavitt, head coaches with different but enduring legacies at the University of South Florida, headline the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame selections for 2025.
The hall’s 11th class, announced Monday, also includes football’s Kawika Mitchell, baseball’s Scott Hemond and basketball’s Kitija Laksa.
"This group represents some of the most impactful figures in our history — individuals who elevated their programs, inspired our community, and helped propel USF Athletics to new heights," athletic director Michael Kelly said in a statement.
Leavitt was USF football’s first head coach, starting the program from scratch from a trailer office on campus in 1997. He was also the first one fired in 2010 after a controversial locker incident in which he allegedly struck a player and interfered in the ensuing investigation.
Leavitt denied the accusations, and the school in 2011 settled a lawsuit for violating his pretermination rights for $2.75 million. USF was also required to acknowledge his contributions to "building USF’s nationally respected football program.”
Now, those contributions will be enshrined through the athletic program's highest honor.
He remains the Bulls’ winningest coach, with a 95-57 record over 13 seasons, five straight bowl games, three wins over top 10 opponents and 26 weeks in the AP poll. The high mark was a national No. 2 ranking in 2007.
Leavitt, known for his fiery, obsessive and detail-oriented approach, was 38 when he began the program working out a trailer on campus. This was months before the first kickoff, an 80-3 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan at old Tampa Stadium. Within four years, USF jumped up from the NCAA’s championship division to the bowl division.
“About damn time!” former USF quarterback Matt Grothe said in a post on X.
After his firing, Leavitt made several stops as an assistant coach in college and pro football.
Abdur-Rahim's posthumous honor is a special induction, voted in by the hall’s nine-member selection committee less than a year after his Oct. 24 death during a medical procedure. Inductees are usually at least four years removed from their USF career.
ALSO READ: USF men's basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim dies at age 43
Abdur-Rahim died only months after leading the men’s basketball team to a program-record 25 wins, first top 25 ranking and first regular-season conference championship in 2023-24.
Off the court, his passion and enthusiasm were felt campus-wide in his short time leading the Bulls, with sellout crowds filling the Yuengling Center.
“A beloved coach who orchestrated one of the most memorable USF men's basketball seasons and greatly impacted the entire university and Tampa Bay area before his passing,” read a X post by the USF men's basketball team.
Abdur-Rahim’s impact was felt as far away as Tallahassee, where the state Senate adopted a resolution honoring his life in April.
ALSO READ: Abdur-Rahim remembered on the USF court where he made history
Mitchell was a linebacker who played for Leavitt from 1999 to 2002, when he set a career tackles record, which stood for 15 seasons. He went on to play eight years in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants to conclude the 2007 season.
Hemond was a two-time All-America catcher before becoming the 12th overall pick by the Athletics in the 1986 Major League Baseball draft, the highest selection for a Bulls player. He played on the 1981 team that still holds the school’s best record of 45-13 and reached its first NCAA tournament. He went on to a seven-year MLB career with four teams.
Laksa, a 40% career shooter for women’s basketball team from 2015 to 2019, was on pace to set the Bulls’ all-time scoring mark before a knee injury sidelined her for most of her senior year (she finished sixth, with 1,764) and averaged 17.8 points per game, third-best for the program. The Latvian star earned All-America recognition twice,
After college, she elected to play professionally in Latvia, Italy and Turkey. She was selected 11th overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft, and just last month, made her league debut with the Phoenix Mercury.
All five will be inducted on the Tampa campus on Oct. 2, the night before the Bulls’ football team takes on Charlotte.
The Hall of Fame, which began in 2009, now includes 43 individuals – including seven head coaches – and the 1984-85 national champion women’s swim team.
“We're thrilled to welcome them into the Hall of Fame and to celebrate their legacy with Bulls Nation,” Kelly said.
USF Athletics Hall of Fame
- Administration (3): Dick Bowers (athletic director), Lee Roy Selmon (athletic director), Paul Griffin (athletic director)
- Coaches (7): Sherry Bedingfield (women’s tennis, also as an SA), Dan Holcomb (men’s soccier), Robert Grindey (men’s swimming), Bobby Paschal (men’s basketball), Eddie Cardieri (baseball), Amir Abdur-Rahim (men’s basketball), Jim Leavitt (football)
- Football (6): Anthony Henry, Marquel Blackwell, George Selvie, Quinton Flowers, Matt Grothe, Kawika Mitchell
- Women's basketball (5): Wanda Guyton, Jessica Dickson, Shantia Grace, Courtney Williams, Kitija Laksa
- Men's basketball (3): Charlie Bradley, Rodenko Dobras, Chucky Atkins
- Men's soccer (3): Fergus Hopper, Jeff Attinella, Jeff Cunningham
- Baseball (3): Ross Gload, Chris Heintz, Scott Hemond
- Women's soccer (1): Evelyn Viens
- Softball (2): Monica Triner, Sara Nevins
- Women's track and field (2): Karine Black, Dayana Octavien
- Men's track and field (1): Matthew O'Neal
- Men's tennis (1): Jeff Davis
- Women's tennis (1): Sherry Bedingfield
- Men's golf (1): Chase Koepka
- Women's golf (1): Kelly Lagedrost
- Rifle (1): Michelle Scarborough
- Volleyball (2): Michelle Collier, Erica Berggren
- Men's Swimming (1): Joe Lewkowicz
- Teams: 1984-85 women's swimming team
