USF's Rob Higgins: "The model right now in college athletics is very broken"

The Protect College Sports Act currently percolating in Congress certainly has the potential to dramatically affect how USF operates its athletics program.

So far, many of the proposals appear to be unworkable, including media rights pooling throughout the NCAA, conference realignment caps, and enforcement limitations.

But as the Bulls' CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins told me at the American Conference Football Kickoff last week in St. Petersburg, something has to be done.

"I think the model right now in college athletics is very broken. I applaud any and every attempt to be able to correct that. I think there's a lot of really good aspects of the Protect College Sports Act, but I think it will continue to evolve in the days and weeks ahead. " he said.

"So while we stand here now, it's written one way. I think that the ultimate final version could end up looking a lot different. We're going to continue to be totally locked in, making sure that we're as knowledgeable in the overall landscape and we utilize the relationships and communication that we've, you know, we've always had, and we've been fantastic to have so many great partners throughout. We're keeping an ear to the ground. We're positioning ourselves for a tremendous amount of success."

I asked him what parts of the college model were, in his words, "very broken."

"I think there's a lot of different aspects of it that can be improved upon. I would start with the fact that everything should be centered around, protecting our student athletes' well-being," he said.

"And when you're in a system that does not require agent certification, let alone agent attestation, you are not doing the student athletes the service that they deserve."

By "attestation" for agents, Higgins meant requiring a system where a player's agent makes a formal written promise or certification that he or she confirms that they follow all league rules, state laws, and ethical standards. That includes a certified promise that the agent did not offer cash, gifts, or false promises to trick a player into signing.

'I think there are a lot of people that are in this for their own reasons, and they have agendas that are self-driven and don't have the student athlete's best interest in mind," he said.

"I'm not saying that every one is like that. There are a lot of great agents out there. Those are the same agents that would be in favor of certification."

The U.S. House settlement with the NCAA a little more than a year ago, among other things, opened the door for direct payments to athletes by a university. USF and Memphis are the only American Conference programs paying the full agreed upon $20.5 million cap to their athletes.

That doesn't include NIL money, however, and programs like LSU reportedly spent more than $40 million just on its football team. The extra dough comes from boosters and sponsors.

"The house settlement, came with a set of guardrails that not everybody wanted to abide by. So all of a sudden, the rules were no longer the rules, the cap was no longer the cap. And when you have a lack of commitment around adhering to the rules, you get to a broken model."

How broken? He offered some examples.

"I think that there are countless times of student athletes being encouraged to go into the Transfer Portal when it's not in their best interest. I'm not reference relating to us in any means. I'm just saying in general, where they're walking away from a great situation at a great university, and they're finding themselves in the Transfer Portal months later," he said.

"Or, they're finding themselves at a in a situation that was not what it was made out to be, and it's all at the hands of an uncertified advisor trying to make upwards of 20 percent on potential compensation. There's a story for that every, every second of every day, and it's just, it's, it's really sad that that's happened."

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