In its 2018 ranking, the Intellectual Property Owners Association placed USF 1st in Florida, 7th in the United States, and 16th worldwide in the number of US patents granted.

[26] Today the John and Grace Allen Administration Building, named after the university's founding president and his wife, houses vital Tampa campus departments including Student Affairs, the Admissions Welcome Center, and the Controller's Office.

[36] The university expanded its global reach, opening the first Confucius Institute in Florida in 2008 and creating the Genshaft/Greenbaum Passport Scholarship Fund in 2011, which provides financial support to USF students who want to study abroad.

[19] Under his leadership, the university broke into the top 50 best public colleges in the nation according to rankings by U.S. News & World Report, achieving a 44th-place ranking in 2019[39] Currall led the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, which included budgetary hardships brought by a loss in state funding (including a controversial proposal to phase out the College of Education - later dropped due to fierce opposition).

[52] The BOT has many responsibilities, including setting the school's budget, strategic goals and objectives, and establishing policies related to academic programs.

[53] USF is currently led by Rhea Law, who was appointed as interim president following the retirement of Steven C. Currall in August 2021, then selected for the permanent role in March 2022.

[65] These pine trees are still around today, in the field next to the main south entrance to the campus on LeRoy Collins Boulevard between Fowler Avenue and Alumni Drive.

[66] USFSP serves approximately 4,500 students per year and offers 33 undergraduate and graduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and education.

[101] The USF Tampa Library also houses several Special and Digital Collections, including literature, oral histories, photographs, artifacts, and the university archives.

[102] In 2012, the USF Tampa Library opened the Science, Math, and Research Technology (SMART) Lab: a hands-on learning space which includes more than 300 computer work stations.

[6][108] The Intellectual Property Owners Association ranked USF among the top ten universities in the world granted U.S. utility patents in 2011.

[114] In 2020, the Morsani College of Medicine and USF Health Heart Institute moved to a new 395,000-square-foot, 13-story highrise tower in the Water Street district of downtown Tampa.

[117][118] Since then, the university has introduced several sustainability initiatives, including electric vehicle charging stations, water bottle filling stations, reusable plastic food containers in dining halls, recycling programs in residence halls, new, more efficient busses for the fare-free campus bus service, solar-powered golf carts, and more.

[120] The nearly 20,000 trees on the Tampa campus provide an estimated $1.8 million yearly benefit to the university through energy conserved, stormwater management, and carbon dioxide removal.

The MSL researches condensed matter and materials physics using supercomputers as tools, focusing on quantum simulations under extreme temperatures and pressures, such as those conditions that occur in planetary interiors and during inertial confinement fusion.

[126] The four-story building features a 1,200 seat ballroom, 800-seat auditorium, 100 workstation computer lab, study and meeting spaces, several student lounge areas, and outdoor courtyards.

[130] The Centre Gallery is a student-run exhibition space within the Marshall Student Center for the University of South Florida's students, faculty, staff and alumni offering the university community and the Tampa Bay area stimulating visual art experiences by consistently exhibiting innovative, contemporary art work.

One of the most popular gathering spots on the Tampa campus is Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza, which is located between the John and Grace Allen Building and the Marshall Student Center, marked by a small bust of the civil rights activist.

Beneath the bust of Dr. King are five granite lines pointing in the directions of five cities significant to his legacy: Atlanta, Boston, Memphis, Montgomery, and Washington D.C.

[158] It runs along Bayboro Harbor on the east border of campus and is home to things like the University Student Center and Sembler Fountain.

[162] The USF Tampa campus offers three Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs: Air Force, Army, and Navy.

[163] The sixteen-credit hour Aerospace Studies Minor provides an understanding of military officer management and leadership concepts, as well as an analysis of the evolution of American defense policy and strategy.

[163] The eighteen-credit hour Military Science Minor provides students with an in-depth understanding of Army leadership doctrine and a framework for applying such concepts outside of the classroom.

[165] Located in the suite-style Maple Hall, the ROTC LLC allows students to be exposed to the customs of each military branch, while developing camaraderie with their fellow cadets and midshipmen.

Events include a comedy show, a homecoming ball, a concert, a parade, and a carnival (called Carni-BULL), all leading up to the football game that weekend.

The celebration has evolved to include the entire week of April 9, and features events including a pep rally, talent show, battle of the bands, a birthday celebration for Rocky the Bull, and Bullstock, a music festival which features multiple artists and is opened by the winner of the battle of the bands competition the day prior.

[175] USF competed in its first intercollegiate athletic event on September 25, 1965, when it defeated the Florida Southern College men's soccer team.

[194] In 2012, the facility was dedicated to the late Lee Roy Selmon, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former Director of USF Athletics.

[198] The venue is also one of the top concert spots in the Tampa Bay region, having hosted musicians like Elton John, Florence and the Machine, Frank Sinatra, Heart, Sting, and more.

[204] In addition to supporting USF varsity athletic teams during sporting events, the spirit squads themselves compete at the national level.