The University of South Florida has drafted an NFL legend to be the new chief operating officer of its revamped athletics department.

Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks officially joined USF Athletics’ senior leadership team on Thursday, the university announced. 

Known for his Super Bowl-winning career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and stand-out performance at Florida State University, Brooks also has more than 15 years of experience as a front office executive working in professional sports, workforce development, sports media and community engagement, the university says. 

He’s also held key leadership roles that straddle the worlds of professional sports, business and philanthropy. 

Prior to joining USF Athletics, Brooks was executive vice president of corporate and community development for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s ownership, Vinik Sports Group.

Since 2017, Brooks has worked as executive vice president of corporate and community development at Vinik Sports Group, which owns the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is president and founder of Derrick Brooks Charities and co-founded Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate high school, a public charter school, with former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. 

Brooks also serves on numerous community boards, including Kforce, the Florida Department of Education Foundation and the Florida State Fair Authority. 

“There is no better time to be a Bull,” Brooks says. “I cannot think of a university or an athletics department with brighter futures than ours.”

In the university’s announcement, USF Athletics CEO Rob Higgins calls Brooks, 52, a “pillar of Team Tampa Bay.” Higgins too is a recent addition to USF Athletics, having been recruited just last month from his long-time position as executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. 

In his new position, Brooks will act as a lead community ambassador for USF Athletics and, in tandem with Higgins, will oversee administration for the university’s football and men’s basketball programs. Brooks will also be looked to for revenue generation, sports tourism strategy, enhancing student-athlete experiences and maintaining strong relationships with local pro franchises and “Team Tampa Bay,” the university says. 

Those are all areas where Brooks has developed significant work experience since retiring his football career, the university says. 

Brooks has held similar leadership positions before, the university says, both as president of Tampa Bay Sports & Football Entertainment LLC and as owner of the Tampa Bay Storm arena football team from 2011 to 2017, when the team folded. 

Brooks has also worked as an investor and advisor in numerous start-ups, private equity and lending ventures, and was a managing member of Brooks 55 Labor Enterprises LLC, a staffing and workforce solutions company, from 2006 to 2012. 

Brooks, whose No. 55 jersey is now retired in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. 

This won’t be Brooks’ first experience in the world of academia. He was named to the FSU Board of Trustees in 2003 and served as a member until 2011. He also has served as a board member for Saint Leo University and the Florida Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.

Brooks has four children with his wife, Carol, and his daughter DaNia is a junior infielder on USF’s softball team, the reigning American Conference Tournament champions.