USF is honoring two of the most successful figures in its athletics history — one a beloved leader lost too soon, the other brought home after one of the most rambunctious exits in college football history.

The school announced on Monday that former football coach Jim Leavitt and late men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim will be inducted into the 2025 USF Athletic Hall of Fame.

Their inductions, though rooted in vastly different journeys, reflect pivotal moments in USF’s athletic history.

For Leavitt, it’s a long-awaited visit to the program he built from scratch. For Abdur-Rahim, it’s a posthumous tribute to the tremendous impact made in just one season.

Related: USF, Leavitt reach settlement

Many people took to social media to express that Leavitt’s induction felt long overdue.

As the first football coach in Bulls history, he built the program from scratch and led them through a rapid climb.

From Division I-AA neophyte in 1997 to a No. 2 ranking in 2007, Leavitt had brought glory to South Florida. 

By the time he coached his last game in 2009, he compiled a 96-57 record and led USF to five straight bowl games.

But his tenure ended in controversy.

USF found that Leavitt grabbed walk-on running back Joel Miller by the throat and slapped him twice during halftime of the Bulls’ game against Louisville in 2009.

Leavitt was fired following a three-week investigation into the altercation. The university also determined Leavitt had interfered with the review process by contacting witnesses.

He denied accusations and sued the university in 2010 for breach of contract, claiming the investigation that led to his firing was biased and flawed.

The lawsuit argued USF misrepresented witness statements, failed to interview individuals who supported Leavitt and withheld or possibly destroyed evidence favorable to him — allegations his attorney, Will Florin, said amounted to a violation of his contractual rights.

The legal dispute ended one year later with a $2.75 million settlement.

Of that, $750,000 was labeled in the agreement as recognition of Leavitt’s role in building the program. Under the terms, he also agreed not to seek reemployment with USF or its affiliates.

The settlement closed the case, but did not erase tension.

Leavitt remained estranged from USF in the years that followed, even as he continued his coaching career in the NFL and returned to college football.

His return to coaching started in 2011, when he joined the San Francisco 49ers as the linebackers coach. 

He returned to the college gridiron in 2015 and had tenures with Colorado, Oregon, Florida State, Florida Atlantic and SMU.

Signs of reconciliation with USF began to surface in 2022, when Leavitt visited Tampa to attend the school’s Hall of Fame induction of former athletic director Paul Griffin.

USF Athletics spokespeople did not respond to The Oracle’s request for comment regarding any amends made between Leavitt and the university at the time of publication.

Related: USF men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim dies at 43

Leavitt headlines the class of five inductees, which spans the breadth of USF’s athletic history.

It consists of former men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, linebacker Kawika Mitchell, catcher Scott Hemond and women’s basketball All-American Kitija Laksa.

“The class of 2025 is a powerful reflection of the excellence, tradition, and growth that define USF Athletics,” said Michael Kelly, vice president of Athletics. “This group represents some of the most impactful figures in our history.”

Amir Abdur-Rahim’s lone season as men’s basketball coach was one of the most successful in program history. 

Hired in 2023, Abdur-Rahim led the Bulls to a school-record 25 wins, their first regular-season conference championship and a spot in the AP Top 25.

Abdur-Rahim died unexpectedly at the age of 43 during a medical procedure in October, just before the start of the 2024 season.

His induction into the Hall of Fame comes less than a year after his death, cementing a legacy built in just one season.

It joins tributes honoring his impact, including the renaming of the student section at the Yuengling Center, a permanent memorial at the arena and the annual “Love Wins Classic” game between USF and Kennesaw State — two programs he transformed during his coaching career.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is set for Oct. 2 at USF’s Marshall Student Center.

Information from the Tampa Bay Times and ESPN was used in this report.