University of South Florida head football coach Jim Leavitt has joined Texas Tech Mike Leach in the unemployment line. In both cases, the reason is the same: player mistreatment.
Jim Leavitt's firing follows an investigation of an allegation that he struck walk-on sophomore Joel Miller in the locker room, and also grabbed him by the throat. Mike Leach's incident occurred when a player, Adam James, suffered a concussion. Reportedly, Leach then had him sit in a dark space (like an equipment locker) as a sort of "punishment."
Adam James is a redshirt sophomore wide receiver for the Red Raiders. He is also the son of former NFL player and current ESPN college football analyst Craig James.
USF president Judy Genshaft and athletic director Doug Woolard met with Jim Leavitt on Friday morning to inform him of the results of the investigation and the school's decision. While the investigation is complete, there have been contradictory reports of the incident. Earlier this week, sophomore safety Jerrell Young told the St. Petersburg Times that Jim Leavitt grabbed Miller by the shoulder pads but never struck the player.
Woolard stated, in a press release, "I'm very disappointed that the findings of the review indicate conduct that is unacceptable by the university, and I truly wish there had been another outcome to this situation. Jim has served the university so well for 14 years. He has built our football program from the ground up and we have achieved some amazing accomplishments during his time at USF. We appreciate everything Jim has done for USF, and thank him for his service."
The firing of both Jim Leavitt and Mike Leach also follows the resignation of Kansas coach Mark Mangino. He resigned last month after similar allegations of player mistreatment.
In the case of Jim Leavitt, a second player came forward on Wednesday, to support Miller's allegations. Leavitt had been the only head coach in the history of South Florida's 13-year-old football program, and built it from scratch, as mentioned above by Woolard.
The South Florida Bulls were 8-5 this season. They finished the season with a 27-3 win over Northern Illinois in the International Bowl. During Jim Leavitt's tenure, South Florida finished below .500 only twice. His record at the school was 95-57. He had been under contract through 2014.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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