By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published November 16, 2005
TAMPA - Let the speculation start about USF coach Jim Leavitt as a potential successor to his mentor, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who announced Tuesday he is retiring after this season.
"I'm lucky to have a job here, one of the top college jobs in America," said Leavitt, whose team could make a surprising run to a BCS bowl by winning its final three games. "I'm just focusing on Cincinnati."
Leavitt, 48, is the only coach in USF's nine-year history, with a record of 60-36. He is in the third year of a seven-year contract signed in October 2003 and valued at $4.3-million, but the deal's buyout clause is a mere $50,000, making it easy for him to leave.
Leavitt coached under Snyder at Kansas State from 1990-95, the last four as co-defensive coordinator with current Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. Three other Snyder assistants are Division I head coaches - Mike Stoops (Arizona), Mark Mangino (Kansas) and Phil Bennett (SMU) - and another, Bret Bielema, will succeed Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin after this season.
USF's move into the Big East and the team's success this season could make the Kansas State job less compelling for Leavitt, whose parents still live in St. Petersburg, where he was raised from the age of 8. But there is no doubt as to what Snyder has meant to his coaching development.
"He's a great man, a close friend," said Leavitt, who played in the Big 8 at Missouri. "Probably won't be anyone impact college football any more than he has. He did a tremendous job there. He's a special person. ... I couldn't measure up to him. He's a pretty impressive coach."
Leavitt has $50,000 bonuses due if USF wins a conference championship or he is named conference coach of the year. If the Bulls make a bowl appearance, he gets a $25,000 bonus.
Based on his time under Snyder and success at USF, Leavitt was quickly identified as a leading candidate to replace him, along with Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables and TCU coach Gary Patterson, who was a graduate assistant at Kansas State in 1982.
MORE TV, PERHAPS: USF's Nov. 26 game at Connecticut, once slated for a noon kickoff, is now TBA, with ABC electing to choose the game as an option for network broadcast, which would mean a 3:30 p.m. start. ABC will announce Sunday whether it will broadcast the game or whether the game will be part of the Big East's agreement with ESPN Regional.
BACK HOME AGAIN: For only the second time in the program's history, the USF men's soccer team will host an NCAA Tournament match at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Stetson. The Hatters (9-10-1) lost to the Bulls 2-1 in overtime in October.
"I know our team will not be asleep," coach George Kiefer said. Just as USF opened the season 1-3, Stetson started 1-7 and has made a considerable turnaround, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference championship. Stetson's top player is sophomore Tanner Wolfe, a Ridgewood grad who has 14 goals, 15th nationally.
GUARD ADDED: Needing backcourt depth after the loss of freshman point guard Chris Howard to a season-ending knee injury, the Bulls have added a third walk-on guard in Jonathan Willis of Jacksonville.
