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Former USF football coach James Leavitt arrested on battery, grand theft charge: affidavit

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PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Former USF football coach Jim Leavitt faces multiple charges after a domestic incident in St. Petersburg on Monday.

According to a Pinellas County arrest affidavit, Leavitt was charged with domestic battery, grand theft (greater than $5,000 and less than $10,000) and simple battery.

Leavitt is accused of holding his ex-girlfriend's arm, taking her purse, and refusing to give it back to her in an incident at the Ibis Walk apartments in St. Petersburg. A third affidavit said he pushed another man in the chest during the same incident.

Leavitt was hired as the first football coach in USF history in 1996.

Leavitt was fired in 2010 after a school investigation concluded he grabbed one of his players by the throat, slapped him in the face and lied about it, according to ESPN reporting.

He is set to be inducted into the USF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025.

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