There was much to unpack from Rob Higgins’ introduction on Monday as the first CEO of Athletics at USF. We could spend a week on the subject and still not cover it all.
But one stood out in particular, and that is his four-step plan to have the Bulls stand with the elite college athletic programs in the country.
First, win the building.
Then win the campus.
Then win the greater Tampa Bay community.
Finally, win the country.
“You can’t expect to win the hearts and minds of the campus until we know we have our very own people 100 percent bought-in and obsessed with what we get a chance to do every day,” he said.
If there were any doubters about Higgins in the USF athletic department building beforehand, I would imagine they are now 100 percent converted. To use the phrase the late Amir Abdur-Rahim coined, this ain’t the same old South Florida, my brother.
However, being converted doesn’t necessarily mean they are obsessed. I’ll leave it to Higgins to define exactly what that is, but his history at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission suggests it’s along the lines of never being satisfied.
The USF coaches that I know certainly are obsessed. Football coach Alex Golesh frets over the smallest detail, and that filters from the staff to the players.
When freshman Locklan Hewlett threw the touchdown pass off a fake punt against Boise State, he shared that the snap seemed a little off because he was 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage when he should have been 15.
That’s obsession.
Then there is the point about winning the campus. That’s well underway. Do you notice how full the student section is at Raymond James Stadium? The students are making this team their own.
There is still work to do to convince the Tampa Bay community that this is their team. There are thousands of fans here with loyalties to the Gators, Seminoles, Hurricanes, and, yes, even UCF. But there are many unaligned others whose allegiance can be won. It will take a consistently excellent product, because victories and championships are the best marketing tools.
The on-campus stadium will help with that. I always believed Ray-Jay was too large for USF. With a capacity of about 65,000 seats, there was generally no urgency to buy tickets because fans knew they could walk up on game day and probably score a 50-yard line seat.
The new stadium will seat 35,000 and will no doubt be a hot ticket. It will also be a great atmosphere, the way college football is supposed to be.
Total buy-in by the staff, campus, and community will lead USF to Door No. 4: national recognition as an elite program.
Rob Higgins just laid out the game plan in terms that are easy to understand.
Oh, and one more thing. An elite program is a destination, not a portal, where coaches are always looking for the next shiny bauble. Being in a power conference would help make that a reality.
The current reality is that USF is not there.
Yet.
“As you look at realignment and take a hard look in the mirror at this very moment, we currently check two to three of the four boxes needed,” Higgins said. “We have the academics and the television market. Our resources are improving, and now our (on-field) performance is starting to trend in the right direction.
“We have a very small window here before the realignment discussions are likely to begin, and it requires all gas and no brakes.”
The message there?
Floor it.