Former South Florida coach Jim Leavitt won’t attend the varsity’s Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 2.
The college introduced in June that Leavitt can be inducted into its hall of fame this fall regardless of his tumultuous exit. In August, Leavitt was arrested on domestic violence and theft charges after an alleged argument with an ex-girlfriend, but those charges were dropped in September after prosecutors mentioned “the facts and circumstances revealed do not warrant prosecution at this time.”
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Per On3, Leavitt will nonetheless be inducted into the hall.
“Jim Leavitt and I have had candid and productive conversations the last two days,” USF athletic director Rob Higgins mentioned in a press release.
“We have mutually agreed that he will not attend and/or be recognized at October’s USF Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”
“USF acknowledges and appreciates the impact Coach Leavitt had on building USF football and Coach Leavitt understands the importance of USF athletics being able to honor this year’s inductees without distraction.”
Leavitt, 68, was the primary head soccer coach in USF historical past. He coached the Bulls from 1997 via 2009 and this system went 95-57 in his tenure.
He was fired after the 2009 season following an investigation into his conduct at halftime of a sport vs. Louisville in the course of the 2009 season. The college discovered that Leavitt had struck a participant within the locker room, an accusation that Leavitt denied. It additionally discovered that Leavitt had interfered with the investigation and contacted witnesses.
Leavitt was the defensive coordinator at Kansas State earlier than he left to begin the USF soccer program. The college moved to the highest stage of faculty soccer in 2000 and was 75-44 on the FBS stage throughout his time in Tampa. USF gained at the very least eight video games in every of his final 4 seasons and went to bowl video games in his closing 5 seasons.