Tampa Bay’s XFL football team has filled a key role in its front office, tapping local sports marketing executive Josh Bullock to be its president.
Bullock comes to the XFL from the University of South Florida, where he had been the senior associate director of athletics and the senior director of development since March 2018. Prior to USF, Bullock had been the Tampa Bay Rays’ vice president of corporate partnerships for more than seven years.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, an official announcement could come as soon as today.
Bullock said he wasn’t looking to leave USF, but he was drawn to the uniqueness of the XFL job. He’ll oversee the team’s business operations and fan engagement.
“Opportunities like this just don’t happen in sports, to be part of building a professional sports franchise, to come in at the ground floor and be able to roll up your sleeves and really have impact,” he told the Times. “There’s so many advantages to doing it this way, where your voice can be heard. There’s not a whole lot of pre-existing rules and regulations. There’s very little baggage to kind of sort through to get something going.”
He was asked how he thought the AAF folding would impact the upcoming XFL Season.
“Them ceasing operations when they did, it does in a way clear a path in regards to players being available or its not as much of maybe a diluted product where fans are choosing between one league or the other,” Bullock said. “We would have gone down the path of both playing games at the same time, so I think it does clear the way a little bit just for focus during that time of year. That’s going to be the exciting piece — as soon as the Super Bowl is over, we’re going to ramp up and be really the only football product available.”
When considering the job, Bullock wanted to be sure that the rebooted XFL would be better than and different from the XFL of 19 years ago.
“A lot of my questions were about, ‘What’s the product going to be like? What’s the mission statement?” he said. “Because I initially thought about He Hate Me and the initial launch in 2001, so my gut reaction when the opportunity came to me, it was negative because I didn’t like the initial product. I think the people involved were very open to say, ‘That is over and done. It’s gone. This is completely different.’”
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UPDATE – Official Press Release from the XFL
Stamford, Conn., June 3, 2019 – The XFL announced today that Josh Bullock, former Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at the Tampa Bay Rays, has been named President of the XFL football team in Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay XFL team will take the field in February 2020 for its inaugural season and will play its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Marc Trestman is the team’s head coach and general manager.
Bullock, who most recently served as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Director of Development at the University of South Florida, will be responsible for the team’s fan engagement and business operations, including ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing, content, communications, community relations, and the game day experience.
“Vince McMahon, Oliver Luck and I are thrilled that Josh has joined the XFL as our president in Tampa Bay,” said Jeffrey Pollack, XFL President and Chief Operating Officer. “His experience with the Rays and USF, and his incredible network across the region, will help set us up for success on and off the field, on game day, and in the community every day.”
“I am excited to join the XFL and play a role in bringing more great football to Tampa Bay,” said Bullock. “The opportunity to help start a new football franchise was something I couldn’t pass up. I look forward to working alongside Coach Trestman and his staff to build-out our team, and to engage with our community, grow our fan base and create an experience that’s truly authentic to Tampa Bay and the region.”
Bullock joined USF Athletics in March 2018 as Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Development after more than seven years with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he served as Vice President, Corporate Partnerships. Before arriving in Tampa, Bullock served as general manager for ISP Sports (now IMG College) at UCF (2007-2010), and as associate general manager for ISP Sports at Virginia Tech (2004-2007).
In 2012, Bullock completed coursework at Leadership Tampa, an intensive nine-month program sponsored by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce that introduces attendees to major facets of the greater Tampa community, and he served as the Chair for the Class of 2018.
Bullock is a University of Kentucky graduate, where he served as Athletic Relations Coordinator for Football (1997-2000). He lives in Westchase, Fla. with his wife Christie, daughter, Anna, and son, James.
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