Tampa Spartans football program was an intercollegiate American football team for the University of Tampa ( UT ) located in Tampa , Florida that began play in 1933 . The program competed against other small college programs in the forerunner of today 's NCAA Division II for almost forty years before moving to the top level of NCAA Division I as an independent in 1971 . Successfully competing against top college programs as a much smaller school put an enormous strain on the university 's finances , and the school decided to discontinue football after the 1974 season
independent
NCAA Division I FBS independent schools
Tampa Spartans football