USF Athletics, Florida Premier FC forge youth soccer partnership

University of South Florida Athletics and Florida Premier FC announced a sweeping partnership Monday designed to deepen ties between college athletics and youth sports across Tampa Bay.

The agreement, unveiled at USF’s Tampa campus, links Bulls Athletics with one of the largest youth soccer organizations in the country. Florida Premier FC serves more than 10,000 members through over 420 competitive teams and reaches roughly 30,000 families across the region.

USF CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins said the collaboration aligns with the university’s commitment to community engagement. He described the partnership as an opportunity to share coaching expertise, experiences and support with thousands of young athletes and their families.

Florida Premier CEO Novi Maric called the agreement a natural extension of both organizations’ missions. He said the shared focus on community impact and player development would help expand opportunities throughout Tampa Bay.

The partnership will operate on multiple levels. Florida Premier will promote Bulls athletic events to its families, while USF will provide information about Florida Premier’s youth programming to the campus community. The USF campus will also host Florida Premier activities, including camps for the Tampa Bay–based HappyFeet Soccer program, which serves children from 18 months to 8 years old.

HappyFeet partners with more than 290 schools and community organizations and reaches over 25,000 children annually through on-site enrichment classes. The program emphasizes early movement skills, confidence and enjoyment of the sport.

On the competitive side, USF’s men’s and women’s soccer programs will take on expanded roles. Men’s head coach George Kiefer will serve as technical director for Florida Premier’s ECNL team, one of the top platforms in elite youth soccer. The Bulls are scheduled to play spring matches in Wesley Chapel and Starkey Ranch, bringing Division I soccer directly into local communities.

Kiefer, who returned to Tampa in 2024 after previously leading the Bulls from 2002 to 2016, said strengthening local recruiting pipelines is a priority. He pointed to Florida Premier’s rapid growth and player development as a key reason for formalizing the relationship.

Founded in 1965, USF Athletics sponsors 21 varsity teams, with 20 competing at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the Tampa General Hospital Athletics District on the east end of the Tampa campus. The Bulls have won 154 conference titles across 16 sports and have recorded 22 consecutive semesters with a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Florida Premier FC has positioned itself as a national leader in youth soccer. In addition to ECNL competition, the nonprofit club fields hundreds of teams in elite and developmental leagues while offering year-round programming across the region.

The partnership reflects a broader trend in collegiate athletics, where universities increasingly align with large youth organizations to strengthen recruiting, build brand awareness and expand community impact. For Tampa Bay, it creates a more defined pathway from grassroots soccer to Division I competition.

For young players training on fields in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties, that pathway now leads directly to the Bulls’ home pitch.