At a level just below the Miami football program and those at Florida and Florida State are Central Florida and South Florida in the American Athletic Conference.
Former Louisville and Texas Head Coach and Florida Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong replaced new Florida State Head Coach Willie Taggart at South Florida last year. Former Oklahoma quarterback and the 2000 runner-up in the Heisman Trophy Josh Heupel is the new UCF Head Coach.
Strong matched Taggart’s last season with the Bulls. South Florida went 10-2 and won the Birmingham Bowl for the second straight season.