USF men's basketball team gives back to long-time team administrative specialist

Giving back to USF basketball supporter

Around the USF men's and women's basketball programs, Administrative Specialist Barbara Riffe is known by another title. Sean Barie reports.

TAMPA - Around the USF men's and women's basketball programs, Administrative Specialist Barbara Riffe is known by another title.

"So many people around the building call me Miss Barb," Riffe said.

But over her 15 years at USF, Miss Barb has come to mean so much more to those who wear the Green & Gold.

What they're saying:

"We all love her," said the Bulls' head men's basketball coach Bryan Hodgson.

"She takes care of us. It's almost like having a second mother here at the office."

Miss Barb isn't just always there to support her basketball family, but her real family as well. 

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The backstory:

Riffe lives in Temple Terrace down the road from her grandchildren.

Her two grandsons, Mason and Hayden, have autism but both love music. 

To spend more time with her grandkids, Riffe was looking to purchase a used golf cart to take them on rides around the neighborhood. 

But when Hodgson got wind of that, having two sisters with special needs, the Bulls' head coach decided Miss Barb wouldn't spend a single penny. 

"She comes here every day to serve us, non-stop, and then goes home and serves them," Hodgson said.

"So we wanted to find a way to serve her."

So Hodgson sent out a text to his team and within 30 seconds, Hodgson says all 15 players offered to use their own NIL money to chip in to surprise Miss Barb. 

"I see all the players lined up," Riffe remembers.

"And we go downstairs, and I'm standing there and Bryan (Hodgson) comes around the corner in a golf cart and all the players are yelling and so excited."

Now, not only does Miss Barb have a new set of wheels, but a way to make new memories with her grandsons. 

"It has lights and music. My grandson hooks up the bluetooth, and we drive around Temple Terrace and listen to music. It's wonderful," she said. 

It's a small gesture of gratitude that doesn't just display the kindness of a team but the heart of it. 

"These young men have hearts and are just such fine young men," Riffe said. 

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