As you drive onto the USF campus and pull into the parking lot at the Lee Roy Selmon Athletics Center, you hear a steady Thump! Thump! Thump! Look off a few hundred to the north and you see the source of the noise.
It's the on-campus football stadium that will be the home for the Bulls in 2027. It's coming up out of the ground as the superstructure takes shape. Work starts early in the morning and goes late, and that building stands as the metaphor for the urgency around the Selmon Center these days.
CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins spoke about that Friday in an exclusive sit-down with Green, Gold and Bold.
Start with the charge given to his most recent hires as an example of the expectations around the Selmon Center. Men's basketball coach Chris Mack and women's basketball coach Kristy Curry have explicit goals.
"We're in a race against time right now, and the emphasis has got to be on winning and winning now. So that was the number one prerequisite," Higgins said. "The fact that I think that there's a strong likelihood that both are here for the long term is awesome. That's the frosting on the cake. But the cake is their ability to be ultra successful right out of the gate."
Let that sink in. It's not just winning someday -- it's winning now, The same goes for each of the 21 varsity sports at USF.
Higgins was named the head of the athletic department a little over six months ago, and since then he routinely tweets about when he arrives at work. It's meant to convey energy, drive, and passion -- or maybe sleep deprivation.
(Pre) Sunrise from the Selmon: The football portal is officially open (!) and so is https://t.co/8nQ4gdk72q for your tickets to the @USFWBB (1/3 at 7pm) and @USFMBB (1/4 at 1pm) conference home games this weekend!
— Rob Higgins (@RHiggins_USF) January 2, 2026
😉🤘🏻📈 pic.twitter.com/5KfvYQwXPo
I asked him, half in jest, if he ever sleeps. But his answer -- against the backdrop of USF possibly joining a power conference in a few years -- was telling.
"I really don't sleep. I probably sleep four hours a night, at best, and what I would tell you, I mentioned the term earlier, but the race against time. That's a product of a lot of different things," he said. "What I would say is one I've never been one to sleep much to begin with. I think a lot. And so for me to lay in bed and stare at the ceiling fan, thinking about everything I need to be doing, would do a disservice to actually getting up and doing those things.
"Then I faced a really tough health battle a year and a half ago."
That's when he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. After radiation and chemo, he is cancer free.
"I think you learn a lot about yourself when you face something like that. You also learn a lot about time. You learn that the days are long and the years are short. And when we're in this situation where these next three years are critical, there'll be time for sleep some other time," he said.
""And when we're in this situation where these next three years are critical, there'll be time for sleep some other time," "Rob Higgins
The three-year time frame he referenced is telling. TV contracts between networks and conferences will begin expiring around then -- if not before through renegotiations. That's when realignment is expected to start happening, and USF is doing everything possible to be in the best position to join a power conference.
"What I would tell you is that we have to be the absolute best members of the American Conference that we can be. And then the future will take care of itself. Tim Pernetti (Commissioner of the American) is a dear friend of mine. I talked to him last night and we're in constant communication," Higgins said.
"He's well aware of our aspirations. We're going to be a trusted transparent partner to them. And we've just got to make sure that we perform at the at the highest level possible. not only on the field and on the court, but off of it as well."
Winning USF's first conference title in football would be a great start, but it's not the whole focus. Every sport matters, and the Bulls are excelling across the board this spring. There are also sky-high hopes for new head football coach Brian Hartline.
And, of course, there is the Thump! Thump! Thump! It's the promise that no matter how good things are going now, by 2027 it's going to be better.
As the late Amir Abdur-Rahim famously said, this ain't the same ol' South Florida.
Higgins is a big reason for that. He is Tampa through and through. After graduating from Jesuit High School, he enrolled at USF when, well, it wasn't too cool to do that.
"I took a lot of griief when I told my friends that I was going to stay home and go to USF. I got made fun of a lot because my friends were going Gainesville, Tallahassee, you know, the Ivy League. They asked me what was I doing, staying home, going to USF?" he said.
"I went a few weeks back to my alma mater and spoke at the father-son dinner. And I probably spent an hour after the event talking to a line of fathers and sons that with pride shared that either they were coming to USF or that they dream of coming to USF in the future. I was on an island back then, 30 years ago, and it wasn't a fun place to be, but to think about how the perception is pivoting in this very moment. USF is quickly becoming the cool place to go to, not only for local kids but around the country. My eyes start to water when I think of how well it has worked out so far."