Housing
USF Housing and Campus Recreation
Housing
The University of South Florida’s Tampa campus features 39 residence halls across 14 complexes, offering traditional, suite-style, and apartment-style housing. These halls accommodate more than 6,500 students. USF also provides specialized housing options, including family housing, female-only residences, graduate student accommodations, and 14 fraternity and sorority houses in Greek Village.
Each bedroom on the Tampa campus is furnished with a twin XL bed, dresser, desk, chair, trash can, and closet space. Every residence hall has at least one resident assistant.
In 2009, USF introduced a policy requiring all first-year, full-time undergraduate students on the Tampa campus to live on campus. Exemptions apply to students living with parents or legal guardians in Hillsborough, Pasco, or Pinellas counties, those over 21 by the first day of fall classes, married students, or those with dependent family members.
The university offers 10 Living Learning Communities (LLCs), which are residential groups centered on academic majors or specific interests such as business, education, engineering, and sustainability. Admission to an LLC requires an application and meeting specific eligibility criteria.
Looking ahead, USF plans to construct approximately nine new residence halls on the Tampa campus by 2029, adding 2,100 new beds. However, final details are yet to be determined.
On the St. Petersburg campus, the first residence hall opened in 2006, with two additional halls added later, providing housing for over 600 students. The Sarasota-Manatee campus introduced its first residence hall, Atala Hall, in fall 2024, accommodating more than 200 students.
Campus Recreation and Fitness Facilities
The Campus Recreation Center on the Tampa campus is a 21,000-square-foot, WiFi-enabled fitness facility. It includes a two-court basketball gym, six group fitness rooms, a 200-meter, three-lane indoor track, 120 cardio machines, six racquetball courts, and a 25-meter indoor swimming pool. Students and faculty can access group fitness classes, personal training, intramural sports, and fitness assessments.
Historically, the facility served as the first home for USF’s men’s basketball team in the 1978–79 season before the Sun Dome was completed. The women’s basketball team played home games there from 1972 to 1980 and again during the 2011–12 season while the Sun Dome was being renovated. The venue has space for approximately 1,500 spectators.
Additional fitness centers on the Tampa campus include:
- The Fit, located in the Village housing complex
- The WELL, in the USF Health area
- Magnolia Fitness Center, in the Magnolia Apartments complex
- A 1.25-mile fitness trail near the varsity tennis courts, featuring exercise stations
Both The Fit and Magnolia Fitness Center have swimming pools designed for recreational use, while the Campus Recreation Center’s pool is more suited for lap swimming.
Outdoor and Intramural Recreation
USF offers more than 30 intramural sports throughout the academic year. The university also manages USF Riverfront Park, located 1.5 miles from the Tampa campus, exclusively for students, faculty, and staff. The park, situated along the Hillsborough River, provides canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding rentals for a small fee.
The park features a 55-foot-high ropes course with three levels of challenges, as well as a low ropes workshop for team-building exercises. It also includes an 18-hole disc golf course.
USF’s Outdoor Recreation Department organizes guided adventure trips throughout the year, including backpacking, tubing, white-water rafting, and kayaking across Florida and the southeastern U.S. The department also hosts “beach days” with transportation to destinations like Fort De Soto Park, Clearwater Beach, and Honeymoon Island, along with moonlight canoeing trips at Riverfront Park four times per semester.
Club Sports
USF has over 40 club sports teams, including rugby, lacrosse, and ice hockey. These teams primarily compete against club teams from universities such as Florida, Tampa, and Central Florida, as well as in national leagues like the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
USF club teams have won 11 national championships, including:
- Flag football (2)
- Karate (2)
- Cricket (2)
- Paintball (2)
- Cheerleading (4)
- Wakeboarding (1)
Harborwalk (St. Petersburg Campus)
The Harborwalk is a scenic area on the St. Petersburg campus that connects the university to nearby attractions, including Poynter Park, the Salvador Dalí Museum, and Al Lang Stadium. Running along Bayboro Harbor, this pathway features key campus landmarks such as the University Student Center and Sembler Fountain.