& World Report, achieving a 44th-place ranking in 2019
=== 2020s ===
Currall led the university through the COVID-19 pandemic, which included budgetary hardships brought by a loss in state funding (including a controversial proposal to phase out the College of Education - later dropped due to fierce opposition). On July 19, 2021, Currall announced his retirement as president, citing "health and family reasons." He remained on the faculty of the Muma College of Business.
After Currall's resignation, Rhea Law, a USF alumna and former USF Board of Trustees chair, was appointed as interim president. The Board of Trustees selected Law for the permanent job as president on March 22, 2022, and she is the first USF graduate to serve in the role. Law stated her top priorities were for USF to reach a top-25 public university ranking, to gain admission into the Association of American Universities, and to build an on-campus football stadium. USF was accepted into the AAU in 2023.
In 2025, the university established the …
