USF‘s Matt Grothe featured in 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame class

*Former USF quarterback Matt Grothe took to the stage to give a speech during Friday’s ceremony. ORACLE PHOTO/JOSHUA HIGHTOWER*

USF Athletics held its induction ceremony for the 2024 Hall of Fame class Friday at the Pam and Les Muma Basketball Center.

The 2024 class includes football’s Matt Grothe, former baseball head coach Eddie Cardieri, men’s soccer’s Jeff Cunningham and men’s golf’s Chase Koepka.

Over 300 people came to celebrate the careers of the former coach and USF athletes.

USF established the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, and has now inducted 38 former athletes, coaches and administrators, as well the 1984-85 women’s swimming team.

Grothe played quarterback for the Bulls from 2004-09 and was captain of an offense for multiple iconic USF wins. He said the sport helped develop him in many ways beyond football.

“Football is life,” Grothe said. “It makes you a man. It makes you a good dad, makes you a good husband, makes you a good person.”

He won three games against ranked opponents, including an upset against No. 5 West Virginia in 2007.

Cardieri had a 30-year tenure as the Bulls’ baseball coach, taking the helm in 1986. Under his leadership, USF won eight conference titles and compiled 761 wins, the most by a baseball coach in program history.

Cardieri credited his achievements to those who worked with him at USF.

“It’s just been awesome,” Cardieri said. “It’s you guys. It’s the players and it’s the great coaches that I was blessed to play with something like this even possible.”

Cunningham was a premiere player at the forward position for USF. In 2000, he was named the Conference-USA player of the decade for the 1990s.

The two-time All-American played from 1994-97, leading the Bulls to conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances in 1996 and 1997.

Cunningham went on to play Major League Soccer, and is fourth in all time goals in the MLS. Despite his great success in the MLS, he said he enjoyed his time at USF more.

“When I became a pro, it became a job,” Cunningham said. “But when I was a college athlete, it was a family.”

Koepka is the most recent graduate to be inducted this year, with his playing career spanning from 2012-2016. He said that USF taught him important life values during his time as an athlete.

Koepka led the Bulls to unprecedented success, guiding the team to two NCAA Championship Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016, which men’s golf had never reached before his arrival.

“I didn’t really know what hard work was until I got here, until I got around a bunch of other guys that were hungry to win,” Koepka said.