FSU athletic department misfires....a history

A department riddled with good ole boy hires and two past athletic directors hired mainly to serve the acute agendas of micromanaging past presidents (TK and Barron).  The FSU athletic department has endured a series of incompetent incidents since the Dave Hart regime (the last professional that ran the department).

With the logo fiasco and Title 9 investigation under way, here are just a few of FSU's athletic department miscues. 

My issue isn't so much the new logo here.  I am OK with it.  I am OK with FSU trying to make money (but I am not convinced it will here, for MANY reasons).  Here are my issues:

*FSU tried to relate sexism and racism with accepting the new logo in the Ignition Tradition video.  Simply inappropriate.
*FSU claimed it was about colors, etc but nothing that made the face change necessary.  This comes off as a lie.
*It was suggested or hinted at the Seminole Tribe initiated this.  It was clearly FSU or Nike itself that did.

Most important of all.  To make money, FSU just needed to do nothing.  FSU is basking in a post national title and all it has to do is breath now.  Fans are happy and ready to spend and donate.  This is the equivalent of hitting water if falling out of a boat and the FSU athletic department screwed it up.  I am not unhappy, but a lot of our spenders and donors are and that makes this another stupid move at a stupid time.

Side note:  I have been unable to locate the best article, a Tallahassee Democrat article in January, that details much of this history with some solid detail.  When I do, I will add it.

Not a good look: On FSU's recent changes to the Seminole head logo and Florida State's relationship to its fans

"For argument’s sake, let's temporarily ignore a few details regarding FSU’s recently leaked logo redesign:

1. Let's ignore how blatant FSU’s attempt to monopolize and monetize its football team winning a national championship is with its redesign to not only its logo, but all sports teams’ uniforms and gear.

2. Let’s ignore that FSU’s fanbase decries this redesign, and how their fervor has transformed into a legitimate, growing petition.

3. Let’s ignore how Florida State has tried to sell out before with new mascots and logos before with cash-Brony Cimarron.

4. Let’s ignore how egregiously expensive logo and mascot redesigns are—how it requires changes to every shirt, hat, paper, painting, brochure pamphlet, building, bronze signage, every minute detail. Let’s acknowledge that this means FSU’s old logo needs to be re-touched, re-printed, re-painted, etc., and let’s consider who will be paying for that.

5. Let’s ignore, too, how these costs come at a time when newly university-owned Tallahassee Civic Center is decaying, becoming more decrepit every day, and that gorgeous-on-the-outside, trapped-in-the-90s-inside Doak S. Campbell Stadium requires renovations.

6. Let's ignore this comment from FSU’s Athletics Department: “The issue was that our Seminole Head, while as recognizable and iconic as any in all of sports, does not reproduce well in a number of mediums (sic). It is particularly difficult to embroider and impossible to accurately represent on some materials including at midfield at Doak Campbell Stadium” and how it belies this new logo will solve all these problems."

U.S. investigating FSU's handling of Jameis Winston case

Too early to understand what this issue is, but again, a public black eye.

"At least two FSU departments knew about the case a year before the hearing.
Allegations were first reported to university police shortly after the Dec. 7, 2012, incident. In January 2013, the Tallahassee Police Department called Winston to set up an interview. Later that day, an unnamed "Athletic Directors Assistant" called investigators to ask about the case, according to Tallahassee police emails obtained through an open records request."

Florida State Senior Associate Athletics Director on Rick Ballou's radio show to discuss Jeremy Pruitt rumors

One of the more unbelievable screw ups in FSU athletic department history.  How FSU had a high level employee think this was a good idea is one thing....the fact FSU had an AD not STOP this is unthinkable.  He was either asleep at the wheel or his decision making is just horrible.

"Yesterday, Wednesday 1010XL radio personality Rick Ballou, who does have some strong sources inside the program, discussed a rumor about why Jeremy Pruitt, Florida State's defensive coordinator, left for the same job at Georgia -- a lateral move, at best. The rumor involved infidelity."

"Thursday, Florida State associate athletics director Monk Bonasorte came on Ballou's show to dispute some parts of his claim, and to ask that people not spread rumors about a certain young female FSU employee who people on some fringe message boards (not Tomahawk Nation or any national outlet) were claiming was involved in an affair with Pruitt, who is engaged but not married. It is important to note that Ballou did not name the FSU employee at any time.

Ballou stood by his story, and beyond that, this call is very difficult to describe, so you'll just have to listen to the audio."

"My early impressions on this are mixed. I wonder if Florida State approved Bonasorte going on the radio. If so, did it approve of what he said? I think Bonasorte probably had good intentions with this, as the young lady in the Florida State athletics department who was perhaps misidentified by some on social media, anonymous message boards, etc., has had her life turned upside down on social media and perhaps in person as well.

But this was not the way to handle it. This story was going to die. No national media outlet had picked this up. Now, after a senior administrator at Florida State went on the radio for 20+ minutes to address this rumor, that may change. This was absolutely not the right approach to take. This radio appearance empowered and lent credibility in many ways to the story told by Ballou Wednesday. It legitimized it. Further, the response was rambling, unclear, and if it came off that way to me, someone who is very familiar with this information, I cannot imagine how discombobulated it sounds to the typical listener."

 

What's Going on with Florida State's Athletic Department?

Another athletic misfire.

"And this is where the timeline and order of events leading up to last week's decision to remove Spetman as AD, appoint an interim director and then begin an AD search become a little confusing. This is where, despite statements from those in FSU's Athletic Department, it doesn't appear to have been handled all that delicately.
Spetman's contract ran until February 2014. But last Wednesday– the day before Spetman was set to present a five-year plan to the Board of Trustees– the decision to remove him was made.

"I was in Indianapolis for a rules seminar up there and I got a call from President Barron at about one o’clock on Wednesday," said Fuchs. "This wasn’t something that he and I had talked about previously, it was a little bit of a surprise.”

“These circumstances, I wasn’t fully prepared for that, I guess.”

No kidding. Nobody was, and I bet that includes Spetman who has been unavailable for comment ever since he was replaced. FSU had already distributed the plan to the media and reporters were preparing to attend the BoT meeting to cover Spetman's presentation. Then just 24 hours before presenting his vision to the board Spetman was out, the agenda item was no longer listed and the five-year plan was more or less scrapped.

Spetman's long-term future at FSU has been in doubt since he was given a one-year extension with no raise last football season. That never bodes well for anyone. But the impression given by those in the Florida State Athletic department was that this transition was always part of the plan and it was done with deliberation and precision– at the right time.

That notion is contradicted by a few key elements of this turnover though. First, Randy Spetman was on the Board of Trustees' agenda just 24 hours ahead of the meeting, up until the middle of Wednesday he was still scheduled to present a fairly large long-term plan for FSU's Athletic Department and was even scheduled to field questions afterward. 

Why even go through the motions of scheduling it and sending the plan to the press if it was never going to be presented. 

"Just even the notion of presenting a strategic plan that you're not going to implement– that doesn't make sense," said President Barron after Thursday's BoT meeting."

Fair point, but the timing of replacing Spetman and pulling the presentation off the agenda lends itself to the perception that FSU only realized it didn't make sense this past Wednesday.

Then there's the fact that the person being promoted to interim AD wasn't even in the same state and had no idea it was coming.

“In athletics you’re told you’ve got to be prepared for anything and this is one of those moments,” Fuchs said on Tuesday.

That's a good philosophy to live by, but it hardly makes this move seem premeditated.

So what was Fuchs told to expect in her position as the interim AD? Heck, how long will she even be in the role?

"I don’t know that that’s known," said Fuchs of the timeable. "I’m prepared to serve as long as that takes and work with our staff for as long as this interim period takes. But obviously the timing of this was just prior to the board of trustees meetings, so the President Thursday and Friday was attending those. We had a great meeting [Monday] and this is a priority now that these meetings have concluded. That this is now something he’s moving quickly on and it’s a priority for him to identify our next AD."

"I think he’s given us a very clear charge as to what he expects for us over this time period whether it’s three months, six months or a year."

Right now Florida State is yet to even form a search committee for the school's next AD.

Fuchs is certainly capable of running the program in the interim. In her last role, Fuchs worked closely with all of FSU's different sports programs to ensure compliance to NCAA rules. Under her direction, Florida State's football team got off of its probationary period this past season. 

So what is expected in her new role?

"The first priority was meeting with the staff and coaches and reassuring them that we’re not in a holding pattern here," said Fuchs. "We’re going to continue moving forward and advancing.”

Technically, without a long-term plan that's still a holding pattern. But the issue at Florida State is hardly Fuchs, if not at FSU she was already on track to become an Athletic Director somewhere, she is not wanting for qualifications. She is a solid choice.

The issue is how this was planned, when it was decided and how it was executed. If this was indeed meticulously planned and executed, it certainly doesn't look that way. And regardless of whether it was or not, will their AD search in the coming months be handled more delicately than the transition from Spetman?

Time will tell."

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/florida-state/2013/06/whats-going-on-with-florida-states-athletic-department.html#storylink=cpy

Championship celebration delay disappoints FSU fans

Article detailing FSU's misfires with the national title celebration.  I believe they delayed it twice.  It wasn't so much the delays that were the issue, but the horrible execution of the whole process.

"Wyatt Rogers burst into tears when he got home from school Wednesday afternoon.
The 5-year-old Florida State fan was upset when his mother, Kelly Rogers, told him they were no longer going to Tallahassee this weekend to celebrate the Seminoles national championship season."

"The hometown celebration of FSU’s most recent national championship was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium. On Wednesday, university officials announced the event, three days away, would be postponed."


Florida State puts athletic program on probation

It has been said this whole athletic screw up was TK trying to get Dave Hart out of office so he could micro manage the athletic department.  It blew up in TK's face, but he was able to micro manage FSU's athletic department......which he did very poorly, and stuck FSU with a lame duck AD.

"Florida State has placed itself on two-year probation and plans to reduce scholarships in several sports relating to academic misconduct involving approximately 60 student-athletes and a former learning specialist and former tutor, both hired by the athletics department.
FSU, in a self-report delivered to the NCAA on Thursday, listed a reduction of grant-in-aids among the six punitive actions it has or will take as result of its findings. The report did not specify how many scholarships would be affected or in what sports.
The NCAA will make the final determination relating to any loss of scholarships. FSU President T.K. Wetherell said he expected the scholarship reduction for each affected sport to reflect the number of student-athletes involved. He hoped the scholarship losses could be spread over multiple recruiting classes in some cases.
Wetherell said that he expected the NCAA to conduct its own investigation into the matter."

"Twenty-two football players, including several walk-ons, were suspended from the Music City Bowl in December as part of a four-game -- or 30-percent -- penalty approved by the NCAA Student-athlete reinstatement staff. Previously, two other football players were suspended during the season. Other sports, including men's and women's basketball, have already been impacted by the 30-percent ruling for involved student-athletes.
No more than 12 scholarship football players are expected to miss the first three games of the 2008 season.
The NCAA could increase FSU's self-imposed probation that went in effect on Wednesday. Other punitive action taken by FSU included:
** The already reported non-renewal of contracts for learning specialist Brenda Monk and an unnamed tutor who provided answers for tests on an on-line course;
** A four-hour training program on NCAA compliance that will be required of athletics department administrative and non-administrative staff members
** Changes within the athletics department's senior administration and athletic academic support services staff.
Additionally, student-athletes who admitted to wrongdoing and are currently enrolled at FSU were required to re-take the course this semester."