TAMPA, Fla. — The screams were deafening at times.

This wasn’t your usual basketball crowd.

What You Need To Know

  • USF women's basketball team hosted its annual Education Day.

  • Students from all over the Tampa Bay area filled the Yuengling Center. It was the largest home crowd in program history.

  • For Charlotte Ketcham, a fifth grader from Lamb Elementary, it was her first game in person. And now she wants to play basketball.

The USF women’s basketball team had never had this many eyes on them at home. Students from Tampa Bay area schools filled the Yuengling Center to check out the Bulls in action.

What happens when you host thousands of school kids? You get the largest home crowd in program history. Education Day at USF filled the stands and hopefully hooked some future Bulls.

“What you want, is hopefully, some of these kids go home and they talk to their parents and loved ones that they had a great time and they want to come back,” Head Coach Jose Fernandez said.

That’s exactly what happened to Charlotte Ketcham. She attended her first USF basketball game with her Lamb Elementary School fifth grade class. The trip to the Yuengling Center was a reward for perfect attendance.

After seeing the Bulls up close and personal, Charlotte isn’t just a USF fan. She’s a basketball fan too. And her first live game has sparked an interest in becoming a participant, not just a bystander.

“I feel like it will be a really fun sport for me to play,” Charlotte said. “The team, USF, it looks really fun.”

There’s been a surge in women’s basketball interest. Thanks in part to Caitlin Clark, attendance is up and TV viewership is up. Last year, for the first time, the Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship Game TV audience outdrew the men’s title game – not just by a little, but by more than four million viewers. That interest is trickling down to the youth.

It’s how the sport can grow, from not just a moment, but to a movement. And that’s why USF hosts its annual Education Day game. Because they might just find a future Bull.

“Hey, you know what, I want to be a basketball player one day,” Coach Fernandez said. “You know where I want to study, the University of South Florida.”