These haven’t been easy times for FSU fans. Will a return to greatness come soon?
How do you respond when your back is against the wall? That’s the situation for Florida State athletics where leadership was a significant issue. But AD Stan Wilcox is gone, and so is football coach, Jimbo Fisher. Enter new faces who will address athletic woes … and fast.
The Budget
Wilcox, who’s now in an administrative position with the NCAA, left Tallahassee with a budget mess. David Coburn, his replacement, is now in charge.
On the bright side, the women’s side of the athletic department has performed well in recent years–especially in soccer and softball teams (both teams have won national titles recently). But neither sport is a money-maker.
Football makes the big bucks–just as it does at major athletic programs. And, in Tallahassee, football isn’t in good shape–either financially or on the field.
Since the Seminoles appeared in the 2016 Orange Bowl, the athletic department has struggled to generate the kind of gridiron revenue you’d expect from a high-profile program. If that wasn’t enough, academic and disciplinary issues plagued the team, the team started losing, and Fisher left for Texas A&M.
A loser on the field in 2018 (at 5-7), the 2019 schedule isn’t up to fans’ expectations. Home games against Louisiana-Monroe and Alabama State elicit yawns. Disinterest is showing, too. FSU probably won’t achieve its season ticket goal, having sold fewer than 25k of its 40k season ticket target.
A Fallen Football Dynasty
After Coach Fisher bolted for A&M University (with the biggest contract in college football history–10 years/$75 million), former AD Wilcox grabbed Willie Taggart from the University of Oregon. Despite saying it was his “dream job,” at issue is whether Taggert is the right guy for the job.
The new man in town (photo, Western Journal)
His first season wasn’t a confidence-builder. The team finished 5-7 and didn’t play in a bowl game for the first time in 36 years. A bad record wasn’t the only problem. The Seminoles lost their starting quarterback Deondre Francois to behavioral issues, and fans misbehaved, including hurling abusive, racist comments.
Not unexpectedly, Taggart has made coaching changes. He hired OC Kendal Briles, along with offensive line coach, Randy Clements, both from Houston. They will be tasked with correcting the worst offensive performance in FSU football history. The squad struggled to score consistently, which is a shocking outcome for a program that had been an offensive juggernaut.
Privatizing the Athletic Budget
Will privatizing the athletic budget help the Seminoles address program woes? We’ll find out soon.
Orlando Sentinel reported recently that the FSU athletic department, in conjunction with the Seminoles Booster, Inc., is privatizing its budget to streamline the relationship between both. The FSU Board of Trustees voted to create The Florida State University Athletics Association, a direct support organization to run the athletic department. The transition will give the athletic department the luxury accorded private corporations, including the ability to decline public-records requests.
Why make this change? Over the years, there have been conflicts between the fundraising organization and athletic administration.
But, now, FSU President John Thrasher believes that he has the right leadership and structure in place to solve those issues.
Fan Impatience
Fan impatience is at an all-time high, but 2019 could well be a year of recovery. Taggart is making big changes on the football side. And even though he’s still in the hot seat in the eyes of many fans, I think his job is secure…at least for now.
And while concerns are legion regarding the new structural change (asking whether it’s appropriate for a public university to run its athletics as a private company), the move may pave the way for a quicker turnaround of FSU athletics.
One thing is for sure: the status quo wasn’t working.
