Lee Roy Selmon Has Passed Away

I know that sounds maudlin, but bear with me.

It wasn’t until my father died that I realized what a massive presence he was in my life. Whether I was learning to walk, participating in a band recital, playing youth soccer, moving to college, trying to lose weight, dealing with a messy breakup, or anything else — my dad was in the photo. It’s a quality that’s hard to identify, and even more difficult to appreciate. But he was just always THERE, ready to lend whatever support my current level of development called for… or quietly stay in the background when I didn’t need his help.

And I feel like that’s what USF football has lost with the death of Lee Roy Selmon. It lost someone who was always there when needed, who provided a lot of different kinds of support during his (and USF football’s) life. In the early days, he raised funds and stumped for the new program. He took over as Athletic Director and was a calming influence after an ugly racial incident. He got the university accepted into the Big East Conference, a move that will benefit USF for eternity. And on the micro scale, he was a positive influence in the lives of everyone associated with USF football, up until his last days on Earth. And the rest of the time… he was THERE, if we needed him.. or quietly in the background if we didn’t.

And as with my father, it is only now, in death, that I realize just how much Lee Roy Selmon gave to the USF team I care about so much.

When we’re fortunate enough to have someone like that in our lives, we don’t realize how much they’ve done until they’re gone. It is only when they’re no longer here to turn to that we realize how much we needed them, how much they helped us along the way, how massive a part they’ve played in our lives, how much of their DNA is in our own DNA.

It’s hard not to see Selmon’s drive reflected in a guy like George Selvie, a lightly-recruited lineman who became an All-American. It’s hard not to see his love for this community reflected in Ryne Giddins, a local player who could have gone to any college he wanted, but saw the value of USF and Tampa Bay. It’s hard not to see his success despite difficult circumstances reflected in all those upsets USF pulled over schools they had no business beating. Like yesterday.

It’s tough to say goodbye to people like Lee Roy Selmon, or my father, because there just aren’t any words powerful enough to describe how much they’ve done for us or how fortunate we are to have had them in our lives. All we can do once they’re gone is try to remember what they’ve taught us, carry their values forward, honor their memory, and maybe try a little harder to be as good to the people we care about as they were to us.