Morsani To Donate $3 Million To USF Athletics

[Apis Bull]

Morsani is a Tampa Bay gem ...............

Still wish he would have gotten the baseball team.

[bullwark]

Great news, hopefully USF can get more donors with deep pockets to support the school.  Thank you Mr. Morsani!

[goodknightfl]

very cool... congrats.

[Joe]

Great! Keep it coming.

[Ricky the Bull]

More from Greg's blog:

Next: New softball stadium, football fields

Another significant step in the funding of extensive upgrades to USF's athletic facilities is here. On Thursday, USF president Judy Genshaft will announce a "major gift" from Frank Morsani, a longtime philanthropist who has donated millions to USF with his wife, Carol.

The latest donation will be split between USF's health and athletic departments, with the athletic philanthropy earmarked for the softball and football teams. That means a new softball stadium for Ken Eriksen's team, which is just back from its first-ever NCAA super regional appearance. It also likely means new football practice fields, far closer to USF's main athletic facility.

Eriksen told me a new stadium will likely cost between $4-million and $6-million, and USF's land use plan would put it directly east of the current baseball field, just north of Fowler Avenue and west of 50th Street. Any time it rains, football coach Jim Leavitt takes an opportunity to mention the quarter-mile or so his players have to jog to get back to their locker rooms and the nearest shelter.

It's been a good month for USF athletic director Doug Woolard, who earlier this month helped the Bulls land a $2.78-million check from the Hillsborough County Commission for a new track and field complex to be used jointly by the Bulls and the county. After a year and a half with little progress toward his master plan for renovated and new facilities across USF's athletic district, his vision for the Bulls' future is quickly taking shape.

Morsani, who made his money as an auto dealership tycoon, has been a loyal supporter of USF -- as recently as January, he and his wife donated $600,000 to endow a professorship in USF's business school.

http://www.sptimes.com/blogs/usf/

[bullman3]

WOW, thanks Mr. Morsani.   He is definitely a five star supporter of USF.   Hopefully some other buildings on campus besides the practice fields are named after him.  The university is fortunate to have such a generous supporter as this guy.  He has been a crucial component of USF even having football.  

[smazza]

VERY generous

i would like to see money go to softball and baseball

[Apis Bull]

VERY generous

i would like to see money go to softball and baseball

Man you really need to read better:

Morsani's $3 million donation, the largest single gift to USF athletics, will go toward the building of a new softball stadium and new football practice fields.

[bull2saintleo]

Hmmmmm.... how much you wanna bet that the softball stadium will be called Frank Morsani Field

[Ricky the Bull]

It mentioned that the new practice fields would be named for him in Greg's blog.  It probably would be fitting to name the stadium for him, too:

The new softball stadium will be constructed east of USF's baseball stadium. The new football practice fields, which will be named after Morsani, will be built where the current USF softball field is located. Construction could be completed as early as the 2007-08 school year. Total cost for the new softball stadium is unknown.