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Forty Under 40

Forty Under 40: Rob Higgins

TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
When Rob Higgins led the Tampa Bay Sports Commission’s pitch for last year’s Women’s Final Four, he promised the NCAA committee reviewing bids that he and his staff would work their “pants off” if the region were awarded the event.

Then he proved it, stepping from behind the lectern to reveal boxer shorts emblazoned with “Vote Tampa Bay.”

That sort of showmanship was nothing new for Higgins. When he chased the NCAA’s Frozen Four hockey championship in 2005, only his second year heading the commission, Higgins had NHL MVP Martin St. Louis burst into the room during the presentation, Stanley Cup in hand. It was a bold, and ultimately effective, stunt for a guy who got the job at age 25 and since then has gone on a spectacular run landing events, including the ACC football championship game, ACC and SEC men’s basketball tournaments, last year’s Women’s Final Four, and a slew of Division II championships. Higgins will punctuate it in January, when Raymond James Stadium hosts the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Higgins long has been an early achiever. He was 7 years old when he found himself in the pew behind a University of South Florida assistant basketball coach on the morning after a big win. When the coach shook the small boy’s hand and said “Peace be with you,” he responded, “Good game, coach.” “See me after Mass,” the coach said. Higgins worried that he was in trouble but instead was invited to be a ball boy. He was making road trips with the team as a manager by the time he started high school and was named head manager his sophomore year.

He landed a scholarship to USF and got his career started working in athletic administration at the school — work that quickly led to the sports commission break.

“People focus on getting their degree and then looking for ways to get experience,” Higgins said. “Here I was, getting experience at a very young age. That led to opportunities.”

— Bill King

Rob Higgins

Tampa Bay Sports Commission | Executive Director
Age: 37
Where born: Tampa
Education: University of South Florida (B.A., mass communications)
Family: Wife, Casey; children, Laney (11), Landon (10)

Advice I’d give to my younger self: Continue to try to make communications and relationships a priority every step of the way. That’s been an important part of everything we’ve done.
2016 will be a good year if: We maximize the event opportunities we have at hand.

Person in the industry I'd like meet: Kevin Plank.
I'd like to change jobs for a day with: Anyone at our Tampa International Airport. I would love to spend a day learning more about how they create such a phenomenal first impression for our visitors.
Group supported: Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
Most thrilling/adventurous thing I’ve done: I skydived, and I’ll never do it again. It was a dumb idea; it will not happen again. … It was horrific.
You'd be surprised to know: I absolutely hated social media four years ago. Now, 6,000 tweets later, I’m on about every platform there is and I absolutely love it. It was probably based out of fear and lack of knowledge.


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