TAMPA, Fla. — One of the greatest Tampa Bay Buccaneers players in history is now the chief operating officer for University of South Florida's (USF) athletics department, according to a post on the university's site on Thursday morning.
University of South Florida CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins said Hall-of-Fame linebacker and Tampa Bay-area sports executive Derrick Brooks will serve as COO "and join the department’s senior leadership team effective immediately."
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brooks was an All-Pro linebacker, won a Super Bowl, and the team recently named him the top player in Bucs history.
According to the release, Brooks has spent over 15 years as a key front office executive in professional sports. At Vinik Sports Group, Brooks was executive vice president of corporate and community development since 2017. He is also the president and founder of Derrick Brooks Charities, and co-founder of Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School.
“We have committed to Bulls Nation to build something special here in USF Athletics to best serve our student-athletes, coaches, faculty, alumni and fans,” Higgins said. “Derrick Brooks has been a pillar of Team Tampa Bay for the last 30 years and a leader in the state of Florida his entire life. We have been fortunate to work with Derrick many times over the last two decades, including bringing the Super Bowl to Tampa and hosting that event. We could not be more excited to welcome his passion, energy and expertise at USF Athletics as our new COO. He’s the ultimate role model for our student-athletes.”
According to USF, Brooks will "lead community ambassador, football and men’s basketball administration (in tandem with Higgins), revenue generation, sports tourism strategy, enhancing student-athlete experiences, and Team Tampa Bay/local pro franchise relations."
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