{"id":323499,"date":"2026-06-29T16:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/323499\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:43:10","slug":"usfs-soccer-stadium-has-a-direct-link-to-the-declaration-of-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/323499\/","title":{"rendered":"USF\u2019s soccer stadium has a direct link to the Declaration of Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Paul Guzzo<\/a>, University Communications and Marketing<\/p>\n

Fifteen years ago, a $1.5 million gift from Dick and Cornelia \u201cCornie\u201d Corbett transformed
\n USF\u2019s soccer stadium into one of the nation\u2019s premier collegiate venues. Less obvious
\n was what came with it: A direct connection to the founding of the United States.<\/p>\n

Cornelia Corbett, whose last name now adorns the stadium, is a descendant of Elbridge
\n Gerry, one of the men who helped shape the nation\u2019s earliest years and is counted
\n among the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n

As the university celebrates its 70th anniversary and the nation its 250th, that connection
\n places USF within a broader arc that stretches from the founding era to present day.<\/p>\n

\"Corbetts\"\/<\/p>\n

Dick and Cornelia \u201cCornie\u201d Corbett …<\/p>\n

\"stadium\"\/<\/p>\n

… and the USF soccer stadium that bears their name<\/p>\n

\u201cCornie comes from a family that was there at the very beginning of the country, the
\n Founding Fathers,\u201d said her husband, Dick Corbett, a former aide to President John
\n F. Kennedy who later worked in the Kennedy business office and on U.S. Sen. Robert
\n F. Kennedy\u2019s presidential campaign. He\u2019s now one of Tampa\u2019s leading real estate developers.
\n \u201cWhen your roots go back to people who helped shape the nation, it gives you a different
\n perspective on giving back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The connection begins with Gerry, Cornelia Corbett\u2019s great-great-great grandfather.<\/p>\n

Born July 17, 1744, into a merchant family in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Gerry emerged
\n as an early critic of British rule. He opposed the sale and consumption of British
\n tea in the years leading up to the American Revolution, served in the Massachusetts
\n legislature and later represented the colony in the Continental Congress.<\/p>\n

\"Gerry\"\/<\/p>\n

A painting of\u00a0 former vice president Elbridge Gerry [Photo courtesy of U.S. National
\n Archives]<\/p>\n

\"Declaration\"\/<\/p>\n

The United States Declaration of Independence [Photo courtesy of U.S. National Archives]<\/p>\n

Gerry\u2019s role in supporting independence led John Adams to praise him<\/a> by writing, \u201cIf every Man here was a Gerry, the Liberties of America would be safe
\n against the Gates of Earth and Hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, Gerry was among the delegates
\n supporting the break from Great Britain. Though absent from the formal ceremony on
\n Aug. 2, he signed the document around a month later and is recognized as one of its
\n 56 signatories. Today, his name remains among the most legible on the Declaration.<\/p>\n

However, when asked to sign the U.S. Constitution, Gerry refused, arguing it did not
\n do enough to limit federal power or protect individual liberties. His objections helped
\n fuel demands for additional protections, contributing to the adoption of the Bill
\n of Rights. He went on to serve under President James Madison as fifth vice president
\n of the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoots like that shaped Cornie\u2019s lasting commitment to giving back,\u201d Dick Corbett
\n said.<\/p>\n

That commitment deepened when the Gerry and Corbett families were joined through the
\n marriage of Dick and Cornelia.<\/p>\n

Dick Corbett\u2019s own life intersected with another significant chapter in American history.
\n He worked with the Kennedy organization during John F. Kennedy\u2019s 1960 presidential
\n campaign and was seated near the podium when Kennedy delivered his infamous, \u201cAsk
\n not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country\u201d remarks
\n during his 1961 inauguration ceremony. Corbett then served in the Kennedy business
\n office and became national treasurer of Robert F. Kennedy\u2019s 1968 presidential campaign
\n before building a successful development career that included Tampa\u2019s International
\n Plaza.<\/p>\n

Cornelia Corbett later owned the Tampa Bay Rowdies from 1986 through 1993.<\/p>\n

Despite neither attending the university, together the Corbetts made philanthropy
\n a priority, with USF among their most significant commitments.<\/p>\n

\"wall\"\/<\/p>\n

Dick Corbett and the digital wall his family funded\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"soccer\"\/<\/p>\n

Fans watch a soccer game at Corbett Stadium<\/p>\n

Their support includes a gift that helped build Corbett Stadium and a later $500,000
\n donation that funded the digital wall inside the Muma College of Business building
\n on the Tampa campus. Made up of 32 high-resolution screens, the wall serves as a central
\n information hub featuring a stock ticker; student, faculty and alumni stories; campus
\n announcements; social media feeds; and live news programming.<\/p>\n

\u201cUSF is part of our community,\u201d Dick Corbett said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed that if
\n you have the ability to help, you should. That is what this great nation was founded
\n on. Supporting the students here just felt like the right thing to do.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing Fifteen years ago, a $1.5 million gift from Dick and Cornelia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-323499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}