TAMPA, Fla. – University of South Florida CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins announced today the appointment of Jason Layton as Chief Business Officer for USF Athletics and a member of the department's senior leadership team.

Layton returns to Tampa Bay and joins USF after more than a decade at the University of Miami, where he most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer for Legends Global at the University of Miami. In that role, he oversaw ticket sales, membership services, ticket operations, the Hurricane Club's annual fundraising efforts, consumer marketing, retail operations, and corporate partnerships.

"Jason Layton is a fantastic addition to our USF Athletics leadership team," Higgins said. "It's really rare for a person to have both the internal operations and revenue-generation expertise that Jason possesses, which is exactly in line with the 'one of one' dream team we promised. His experience across both collegiate and professional sports blends perfectly with where we are going as an athletic department and university. Jason is no stranger to Team Tampa Bay, and we could not be more excited to welcome him back as our Chief Business Officer for USF Athletics."  

As Chief Business Officer, Layton will oversee USF Athletics' business operations, including budgeting, purchasing, RFPs, contracts, and legal matters. He will also lead efforts in human resources, information technology, equipment and apparel partnerships, merchandise and licensing, ticket operations and secondary market distribution, and fan data, analytics, and CRM. Additionally, Layton will manage facilities, capital projects, event management, and logistics, and will assist in football business operations, including serving as a liaison on NIL and revenue-sharing initiatives.

Layton previously served as Senior Deputy Director of Athletics at Miami beginning in June 2023. He also held the roles of Deputy Director of Athletics and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Associate Athletics Director for Communications and Sales, which he assumed upon joining the Hurricanes in December 2014. During his tenure, Layton oversaw marketing, digital strategy, communications, ticketing, client experience, corporate partnerships, video production, business operations, and broadcasting.

Layton also directed the department's licensing program, managed Hurricane Global Partnerships, and served as ACC Network liaison. Miami achieved record growth in ticket sales and video production, significantly expanding its ESPN and ACC Network broadcast presence.

Under his watch, Miami has seen record season ticket sales in football and men's basketball. Miami saw an unprecedented growth in football season ticket sales setting record number of season tickets in in 2017, 2018, and 2025.  In addition, Miami sold out its entire men's basketball season ticket allotment for the first time in 2015-16 and repeated this accomplishment during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. 

Layton also served as the primary contact for ESPN during the launch of ACC Network, first in digital format in August 2016 and building to the linear network in fall of 2019. Since 2015, Miami has annually produced nearly 100 live events across the ACC Network and ESPN.

A Florida native, Layton joined Miami after two seasons at Colorado State University, where he served as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Sales and Marketing. There, his sales strategies drove double-digit increases in ticket revenue and attendance across football, volleyball, and basketball programs.

Before his collegiate athletics career, Layton spent 13 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, advancing from a customer service representative in 1999 to Senior Director of Business Administration in 2011. His responsibilities with the Buccaneers included sales, marketing, ticketing, suite operations, advertising, finance, and purchasing.
Layton earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida.

Layton and his wife, Laura, have three children – Preston, Logan, and Makenna.
 
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 21 varsity teams, with 20 competing at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference, including the recent additions of women's lacrosse and women's beach volleyball. The Bulls' athletic program, founded in 1965, will enter its 60^thseason in 2025-26.
Nearly 500 student-athletes train and compete in the Tampa General Hospital Athletics District on the east end of USF's Tampa campus. The Bulls have won 154 conference titles across 16 sports, with 82 men's championships and 72 women's championships. Men's tennis and men's soccer lead with 20 titles each, while women's programs have been headlined by women's tennis (14) and volleyball (13). Since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013, USF has secured 36 conference team titles.
Academically, USF student-athletes have achieved a program record of 21 consecutive semesters with a combined GPA of 3.0 or above as of spring 2025. Since 2015, more than 800 Bulls have earned their degrees.
 
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Get your tickets today!
Call 1-800-GO-BULLS (1-800-462-8557) or email BullsTickets@usf.edu to claim your season or single-game tickets. You can also download the USF Bulls app on the Android or Apple stores to purchase tickets and parking. Visit USFBullsTix.com for more information.