Bryan Hodgson leaving USF to coach at Providence

Nicolas Villamil, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 22, 2026

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TAMPA, Fla. — Bryan Hodgson is leaving USF after one season to become the men’s basketball coach at Providence College.

Hodgson, 38, led USF to a 25-9 record, American Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and an NCAA Tournament berth this season. The Bulls lost 83-79 to Louisville in a first-round game Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y.

At Providence, Hodgson will replace Kim English, who was fired earlier this month following a second consecutive losing season. The school announced the hire in a news release on Sunday morning. He’ll be introduced on Tuesday afternoon.

“Deciding to leave is not easy,” Hodgson wrote in a statement posted to X. “This place, these people and this program mean a great deal to me. My hope is that we left it better than we found it.”

Hodgson came to USF from Arkansas State, where he led the Red Wolves to consecutive 20-win seasons in his first head coaching role after serving as an assistant for Nate Oats at Alabama and Buffalo.

Hodgson infused energy into a program still recovering from the unexpected death of beloved head coach Amir Adbur-Rahim at age 43 only days before the start of the 2024-25 season. He rebuilt the roster with transfers, frequently heaped praise on his players and staff, encouraged attendance by buying students (of legal drinking age with a valid ID) beer before a game at the Yuengling Center and kept Adbur-Rahim’s cherished memory central.

“I wear his two bracelets every day,” Hodgson said after winning the American tournament championship. “My AAR bracelet (and) our core values: trust, responsibility, unity, toughness and humility. Those are the traits that Coach Amir carried every day. Talk about a man who practiced what he preached, and he treated so many people the right way for so long.

“He built that program here at South Florida. I wouldn’t have taken this job had I not seen what Coach Amir did.”

As the Bulls rose through the American standings, so too did Hodgson’s stock. Leading USF to its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2012 and what a university news release hailed as “the most successful campaign in program history” made Hodgson a national name. Syracuse pursued the Western New York native, but he’ll instead take on the task of turning the Friars into contenders in the Big East Conference.

CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins praised Hodgson in a post on X and said that USF prepared for this possibility while aggressively working to retain him.

“Coach said he would come and win championships and he delivered on that promise by leading the most successful season in the history of our program,” Higgins wrote.

“Rest assured, we did everything within reason to try and retain Coach for the long term. We will always be proactive and aggressive in working to retain high performing coaches, but equally as important, we will also always be the ultimate stewards of our department’s financial resources.”

When football coach Alex Golesh left for Auburn last year, Higgins quickly pivoted to then-Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, a hire that has been widely hailed as impressive. He’ll now look to do the same with the men’s basketball program.

“Through candid conversations throughout this process, we have been preparing for this possibility in recent weeks,” Higgins said of Hodgson’s departure. “This includes working diligently to put our program in prime position to land the perfect leader to not only build on this special season, but to also help take us to even greater heights in seasons to come.”

Higgins will also have to hire a women’s basketball head coach after longtime program leader Jose Fernandez departed for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings in November. Michele Woods-Baxter served as the interim this season and is among the candidates for the position.

The departure of three successful head coaches since Higgins took over in September only further underscores one of the chief challenges he faces. As the Bulls enjoy an uptick in success, Higgins must make USF into a destination, not a breeding ground for more traditional powers.

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