Henry B. Plant's resort was converted into Plant Hall, and the Moorish minarets atop the distinctive structure have long been a symbol of both the school and of the city of Tampa in general.
UTampa grew gradually in the 20th century while navigating several periods of financial difficulty, including in the 1970s, when the school decided to fold its locally popular football program due to concerns about costs. Successful fundraising and marketing beginning in the 1990s helped put the school on more stable footing. Since then, it has extensively expanded and modernized its campus while increasing enrollment to over 11,000 students.
== History ==
=== Tampa Junior College ===
In 1931, Frederic Henry Spaulding, the principal of Tampa's Hillsborough High School, established the private "Tampa Junior College" to serve as one of the first institutions of higher education in the Tampa Bay area. The college offered a limited selection of degree programs, with most classes held in the evening on the campus of Hillsborough …
