Tampa Spartans football

[8] The UT football program occasionally scheduled games against NCAA Division I teams in its early years including the University of Florida Gators, whom they played on five occasions in the 1930s and 1940s but never defeated.

The Spartans earned wins over established programs such as Ole Miss and Miami and won the 1972 Tangerine Bowl to cap a 10-2 season.

They were led by several stars who went on to play professional football, including Leon McQuay, Freddie Solomon, Noah Jackson, and John Matuszak, who was the first overall pick in the 1973 NFL draft.

Owens and the UT finance committee surprised the university community by proposing that the school drop football due to unsustainable expenses.

A financial report released by the committee revealed that the football program had run a deficit of almost $200,000 in 1974 ($962,597 today) and that the school had borrowed over $750,000 ($4,275,065 today) from its endowment to subsidize the sport since its move to Division I. Owens also expressed concern that Tampa's new NFL franchise would erode attendance at Spartans' games, potentially pushing the entire university into bankruptcy.

To the disappointment of Spartan players and coaches and the Tampa community in general, the UT Board of Trustees voted on February 20, 1975, to immediately end the football program, cancelling the already scheduled 1975 season.

Other notable players from the University of Tampa to play professional football are quarterback Jim Del Gaizo, linebacker Ted Greene, tight end M.L.