South Florida men’s basketball team hears from Bills legend before NCAA game in Buffalo

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19 March 2026 at 18:10

South Florida Bulls head coach Bryan Hodgson feels right at home for his team’s NCAA Tournament opener on Thursday, March 19.

That’s because he is home. Hodgson and the No. 11-seeded Bulls are set to face No. 6-seeded Louisville Cardinals in Buffalo, N.Y. The South Florida coach was born in nearby Olean, N.Y., played and coached at Jamestown Community College and was an assistant for four years with the Buffalo Bulls, per ESPN.

So Hodgson has plenty of western New York connections. That’s how Buffalo Bills legend Thurman Thomas ended up addressing the South Florida squad on Wednesday night.

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame running back led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s. He encouraged the Bulls to seize their opportunity to do something special.

“It’s time for you guys to make your history tomorrow. … We’re trying to get to Saturday,” Thomas told the team in a video released by the team’s X account.

South Florida athletics writer Joey Johnston shared that Hodgson is a longtime Buffalo Bills fan and mimicked Thomas during backyard football games.

Hodgson, 38, is in his first year at South Florida after leading the Arkansas State Red Wolves for two seasons. He reportedly turned down the head coaching job with the Syracuse Orange.

South Florida Bulls head coach Bryan Hodgson speaks to the media before a practice session ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

South Florida (25-8) and Louisville (23-10) meet at 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday, March 19, on TNT. The Bulls are riding an 11-game winning streak coming off the school’s first American Conference Tournament championship. The Cardinals finished sixth in the ACC and fell to the Miami Hurricanes in the conference tournament quarterfinals.