American Conference

Hodgson is joining a school in the Big East Conference, a basketball-first power league rich in tradition, resources and national exposure.

The Bulls will open on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. against Louisville in Buffalo – a homecoming for Coach Bryan Hodgson. They earned the bid by beating Wichita State in the American tournament final.

The Bulls need one more victory to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. A loss means waiting for a possible at-large bid from the selection committee.

South Florida thrashed the 49ers last weekend, but the stakes are higher now. The Bulls, the No. 1 seed, can earn a bid to the NCAAs with a win in Saturday's semifinal and in the title game Sunday.

Athletics CEO Rob Higgins says interim coach Michele Woods-Baxter will receive consideration for the job and that the team would not accept a postseason bid from any non-NCAA event.

The Bulls fell to UTEP 62-51 in their first game of the tourney at Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham. They finish the season 20-13.

Top-seeded South Florida enters the American Conference tournament on a nine-game winning streak, needing two wins in Birmingham to secure a spot in March Madness.

Coach Alex Golesh said he hasn't had time to process "outside opportunities" before USF rolled to an easy ninth victory on Senior Night. Byrum Brown became only the 12th player to reach the 3,000/1,000 mark.

South Florida’s late rally wasn’t enough to overcome Navy’s barrage of big plays, dealing the Bulls a costly loss that all but ended their playoff and conference title hopes.

USF was up 14-3 before its offense stepped on the field. Then QB Byrum Brown accounted for 348 total yards and three touchdowns as the Bulls kept their chances alive for a CFP bid.

Interim head coach Michele Woods-Baxter says her 17 years of winning on Jose Fernandez's staff prepared her for the moment he decided to move on two weeks ago. USF opens the season Monday against FIU.

Bryan Hodgson overhauled the roster with 13 new players — including five who followed him from Arkansas State — into Monday's opener against Florida A&M at the Yuengling Center.