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USF Women鈥檚 Basketball Coach Highlights Star Power of International Athletes

TAMPA, FL (March 6, 2024) -- Of the 15 athletes on the USF women鈥檚 basketball team, 13 are international students. As the #1 destination in the State of 91社区 for international student enrollment, it鈥檚 no surprise to find students from around the world on USF athletic teams. Vice President of USF World Dr. Kiki Caruson recently spoke with Coach Jose Fernandez, who has led USF鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball team for over twenty years, about how he thinks about putting a winning team together. A key strategy is successfully recruiting international athletes. 鈥淚鈥檝e been to almost every country in Europe,鈥� said Coach Fernandez, 鈥渁ttending games, visiting clubs, and watching these young women play in tournaments. If they were living here in the U.S., they would be some of the top players in the country.鈥�

While the women鈥檚 team has a long history of success. The team has competed in the NCAA Tournament nine times and has made nine appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (18 total postseason appearances), including winning the WNIT Championship 2008-09. 

The women鈥檚 basketball team recently earned the fifth seed in the 2023-24 American Athletic Conference Championships. With the first-round bye, Coach Fernandez and his internationally based Bulls squad will face the winner of 12-seed 91社区 Atlantic/13-seed Wichita State on Sunday, Mar. 10. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. ET and fans will be able to see the game on ESPN+. Coach Fernandez is looking achieve his and the program鈥檚 10th NCAA Tournament berth. Coach Fernandez credits two factors to the team鈥檚 success: the ability to recruit top international talent, and a supportive administration that recognizes the value of athletics in building a top tier university. 鈥淥ver the last ten- or twelve-years USF has become an attractive destination for some of the best student athletes in the world. 

Following the realignment of the Big East Conference in 2013, USF found itself as a charter member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) where the Bulls still play today. The move from the Big East Conference to the AAC made it more difficult to recruit top talent to USF. Looking beyond the U.S. allowed the team to recruit from a larger pool of highly talented women. As Coach Fernandez points out, 鈥渋n Europe high school students play for clubs and leagues, often with professional teammates who are 25+ years old with lots of experience. School athletics are different overseas,鈥� he explains. The best players tend to play for clubs located in major cities. Upon graduation from high school, European universities do not offer the same unique combination of academic study and athletics as do American universities. A student must balance a full university schedule with club or league play. For many it is impossible to satisfy the demands of both. 

Other universities have noticed USF鈥檚 success in recruiting international athletes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been such a winning strategy for us鈥� notes Coach Fernandez. 鈥淲e would not have achieved the success that we鈥檝e had if we did not have international students on our team. And, more importantly, we are attracting students who are very talented academically, not just athletically.鈥� In 2023, USF women's sports earned a graduation success rate (or 6-year graduation rate) of 88% or better. Women鈥檚 basketball earned a perfect score 鈥� all players graduated USF within 6 years.  

This year Coach Fernandez added a global recruiter to his coaching staff. Having a dedicated talent scout who can travel during the season will give Fernandez more time with the team at home while allowing USF to continue to effectively recruit talent from abroad. Through his global recruiting travels, Coach Fernandez has generated broad awareness across the world regarding the caliber of USF鈥檚 team and the opportunities associated with earning a degree at USF. There aren鈥檛 many places the coach hasn鈥檛 visited, but the Maldives remain on his bucket list. 

Although he might not admit it himself, Dr. Caruson points out that another factor in the team鈥檚 success is Coach Fernades鈥� leadership. His 24-year tenure with the team is uncommon in an industry often characterized by coaching turnovers. Out of 360 Division I coaches, only a dozen have been in their positions for over twenty years. Consistency of leadership enhances the stability of the team and allows for long range strategic planning. 

When Dr. Caruson asked how Coach Fernandez chose this career track, he answered simply, 鈥淚 love basketball. I loved it from a young age. I played in high school, but I wasn鈥檛 as athletically talented as some of my peers,鈥� he laughs. 鈥淚 saw the game in a different way. I could envision the play unfolding. I was a good teammate, and I could shoot the ball, but I was an average player. Plus, I was short, so my future as a player after high school was limited. How else was I going to stay involved in a game I loved? Through coaching,鈥� he exclaimed.

Coach Fernandez knows leading a team is about more than teaching athletes how to play USF鈥檚 style of basketball; it鈥檚 about teaching them how to work together and how to stay positive when life gets difficult. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 hard for our players to be far from family.鈥� He often invites players to spend time with him and his family at home. He has a wife and two daughters. 

He says he learned a lot about coaching from his own high school coach, Tom Moore, who was an important role model. 鈥淗e and my next-door neighbor, who was a retired former basketball coach and athletic director at Miami Beach High School, took me to my first Final Four game when I graduated high school.鈥� He began his coaching career on the men鈥檚 side as a student manager for the Miami-Dade Junior College basketball team. From there he made several stops at high schools in Miami, an AAU program, and Barry University before coming to USF.

Dr. Caruson asked if having so many athletes from different countries presents any unique challenges, but Coach Fernandez said the international diversity of the team is not disruptive 鈥� in fact it鈥檚 beneficial. 鈥淏asketball is an international language. Many of the players already know each other because they play each other within the European circuit.鈥� English is the common language used on the court, but you can hear an impressive array of languages during down time: Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, among others.

鈥淥ur international players face the same difficulties as any other international students who are here on their own without their friends and families nearby to offer support. Many come here straight out of high school鈥� he said. 鈥淣avigating a foreign country is hard enough for adults. Imagine doing it as a young person, taking a full load of college classes in a foreign language, and playing basketball at an elite level, all at the same time.鈥�

USF World, through its International Student Support Team has partnered with USF Athletics to help build supportive communities for international student-athletes. International student groups at USF can showcase their organizations by tabling at 鈥渋nternational night鈥� pre- or post-game events. International nights provide a way for students to connect with each other and learn about other cultures and groups. Efforts are also underway to collaborate with theto help build a welcoming community outside their sport.

Before wrapping up the interview, Dr. Caruson had one last question for the coach about former USF women鈥檚 basketball star, Courtney Williams, who now plays professionally. Her Moola Kicks shoes are a deep emerald green color in tribute to her alma mater. Asked if he had a favorite pair of kicks, Coach Fernandez laughed and said he wouldn鈥檛 look good in the Moola high tops and 鈥渂esides we鈥檙e an Adidas sponsored school, so I have an incredible number of wonderful Adidas shoes in my collection.