Her job interview-type attire included gray slacks and jacket, and a neatly-pressed white shirt. USF women’s golfer Leo Medeiros said her school provides her the resources to purchase such wardrobe necessities.
But the Portugal native got emotional when telling her audience of roughly 400 how the Bulls also have bedecked her with opportunity, hope and fulfilled dreams. A golfer since she was 6, Medeiros knew by age 12 she wanted to play the sport at a U.S. college.
Today, she’s a senior business management major and owner of USF’s best 18-round average (72.9) through five events this season.
“Coming to USF has truly changed my life — I’m sorry, now I’ll start crying,” Medeiros said at Wednesday’s fourth annual Stampede for Women luncheon held at the sprawling, new football indoor practice facility. “But I couldn’t be at a better place or a better school. I am super passionate about this place, and your support is one of the reasons why these have been the best 3 ½ years of my life.”
The luncheon, which coincides annually with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, is a cornerstone of the school’s Stampede for Women initiative. Launched four years ago, it helps fund scholarships, facilities enhancements, foreign tours, mentorship programs and career development opportunities for USF’s women student-athletes.
By the end of Wednesday’s event, a large screen on the stage indicated more than $26,000 had been raised for the initiative — most of any Stampede for Women luncheon.
“I remember ($10,000) the first year, I think last year was something like 15 or 16 (thousand),” USF athletic director Michael Kelly said. “So it’s grown a lot this year, just on the luncheon itself, and that leads to whatever is raised throughout the year to help us grow.”
Attendees heard from several former and current Bulls student-athletes and coaches. USF president Rhea Law was joined by at least two of her predecessors, Betty Castor and Judy Genshaft. Women’s basketball coach Jose Fernandez spoke, as did volleyball coach Jolene Shepardson and former women’s soccer coach Denise Schilte-Brown, now coach of the Tampa Bay Sun FC professional team.
“I just want to say to these young women … I’m so proud of you,” Schilte-Brown told the audience. “There are so many times that it’s scary to take that step forward, but take it. When it gets scary, that’s the time to take it. When you’re unsure, that’s the time to take it. When it’s all men, absolutely jump in. That’s the best, by the way.”
Kris Pierce, USF’s senior women’s sports administrator, indicated the Bulls are adding sports at a juncture when many are reducing rosters — or some sports altogether — to comply with new NCAA roster limits and to directly pay athletes in college sports’ looming revenue-sharing era.
The Bulls women’s lacrosse team debuts Friday night at home; beach volleyball is on deck for spring 2026.
“I mean, that’s the unique thing, to be able to add these sports,” Kelly said.
“We don’t know exactly what will happen in July and how the (NCAA House) settlement goes through. If the settlement (which opens the door to revenue sharing) goes through, it provides the opportunity to add more scholarships. We anticipate adding another 100 scholarships overall because of permissible stuff like that, and many of those are on the women’s side.”
