Thursday, October 31, 2019

Seminole Booster Restaurant



https://51onmadison.com/

FSU adds LSU, Bama, and UGA to home schedule

FSU better start hiring professionals across the board at the athletic dept REAL fast, or it will be a LONG decade.

That stated, nice adds and appreciate ANY direction with scheduling to this point.  Past efforts were inconsistent.  Now we have to get presidents away from moving games for political points.




Next 10 years

2020
West Virginia (Atlanta)
@ Boise State
Samford
Florida

2021
Notre Dame
UMass
@Florida

2022
LSU (New Orleans)
Louisiana
Florida

2023
LSU (Orlando)
@Florida

2024
@Notre Dame
Florida

2025
Alabama
@Florida

2026
@Alabama
Notre Dame
Florida

2027
Georgia
@Florida

2028
@Georgia
Florida

2029
Notre Dame
@Florida

2030
@Notre Dame
Florida

Seminole Legacy Golf Club nears completion


Seminole Legacy Golf Club nears completion

Fourteen months ago, Florida State started work on an $8 million renovation of its Don Veller Seminole Golf Course and Club. The university partnered with Nicklaus Design to redesign the 57-year-old course, located in southwest Tallahassee adjacent to Innovation Park
The end product is a brand-new golf course that is the first Jack Nicklaus Legacy Course in North America.
Only the 18th hole is left from the original routing, but Nicklaus Design was able to utilize most of the old golf corridors. Everything else is new - the fairways, bunkers, greens, cart paths. 



Thursday, October 24, 2019

Insight into FSU financial variances


here is an example from a recent podcast

UGA
McGill Society :
1050 people who give 25K over a 5 year period and IS NOT related to football season tickets
Silver Circle:
apx 38 people who give 1Mill over a 5 yr period (200k per yr)


FSU:
last year 14 people who gave 25K or more


https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/question-for-jam-re-booster-memberships.270854/

Fundraising is probably the best its ever been. We started the Unconquered Campaign January 1, 2018 to raise $100 million in 5 years for facilities and scholarships. Less than 23 months into a 60 month campaign and we are over 80 million. Its been amazing to see, I remember the campaign to raise 15 million for IPF. It was a huge fundraising project just 8 +- years ago and we did it, now look what we are doing. Andy hiring Mike and Greg to manage fundraisers and upping stewardship with Kari and Blake was a heck of a move, the fundraisers now have 2 partners to help them with everything and help to steward their gifts.

Season tickets and annual fund goes up and down with wins and losses, that part is down and I dont have the numbers. We need all fans to help, join Boosters today. Lets talk, I'm always available. Jwarren@fsu.edu
 

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Coaches Salaries...








Friday, October 18, 2019

Dave Hart FSU AD (1993-2007) the man who built FSU Athletics

Sadly, many FSU fans don't know. Yes, Bobby Bowden made FSU a national brand, but it was Dave Hart who built FSU athletics. Many don't know that the results they see today are still the left overs of the program Dave built.

TK Wetherall was the demise of FSU athletics and set the failed tone of FSU presidents hiring weak ADs while they played part time AD. If only FSU woke up one day and fixed the mess they are in. Sadly, the connected insiders would rather fully control a train wreck than give up control.

But, this is about Dave Hart and how he built FSU athletics:




Sue Semrau (Women's bball)
Dwayne Hultquist (Tennis)
Leonard Hamilton (Bball)
Bob Braman (T&F) - Won multiple National Titles
Trey Jones (Golf)
Jennifer Hyde (Tennis)
Mark Kirkorian (Soccer) - Won multiple National Titles
Jimbo Fisher (Football) - Won national Title



Directors CupACC RankADFacility ImprovementsCoach Hires
1993-9425Dave Hart
1994-9524Dave Hart
1995-9624Dave Hart
1996-9749Dave HartSue Semrau (Women's bball)
1997-9846Dave Hart
1998-9939Dave HartDwayne Hultquist (Tennis)
1999-0046Dave Hart
2000-0135Dave Hart
2001-0239Dave HartLeonard Hamilton (Bball)
2002-0338Dave Hart9.2Bob Braman (T&F). Trey Jones (Golf)
2003-0422Dave Hart1Jennifer Hyde (Tennis)
2004-0530Dave Hart12.5Mark Kirkorian (Soccer)
2005-0617Dave Hart
2006-0715Dave Hartsubtotal 22.7 MillionJimbo Fisher (HC in waiting)

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/fsu/2019/09/19/florida-state-fsu-soccer-mark-krikorian-secret-success-formula-consistency-seminoles-tallahassee/2337690001/


After stints at Franklin Pierce, the University of Hartford and with the Philadelphia Charge of the now defunct WUSA professional league, Krikorian arrived at FSU ahead of the 2005 season.
He saw shortly upon his arrival that FSU was a place that would give him the administrative support that can be tough to find across collegiate women's soccer.
"I was so impressed with Dave Hart when I met with him, at the time the athletic director. It was clear to me that their vision was comprehensive excellence. They said it, but it was clear to me that not only were they talking about it, but they were prepared to support it," Krikorian said.
"I think that we've had a lot of administrative teams have been very supportive of our program and I would say that we've been successful because of those three elements all work together."
All Krikorian has done with the opportunity is shape FSU into one of the titans of college soccer.

He took over a program that had one season with 16-plus wins in its 10 years of existence before his arrival and has impressively led the Seminoles to 16 or more wins in 12 of his 14 seasons.


https://www.nydailynews.com/os-xpm-2007-12-20-fsuhart20-story.html

Dec 20, 2007

Dave Hart, the Florida State athletic director, was somewhere else.
His absence wasn't a surprise. Almost two months earlier, Hart had walked into the same room to announce that Dec. 31 would be his last day here. Months before, FSU President T.K. Wetherell informed Hart his contract, which was to last through January 2009, would not be renewed.

Since he announced in October the date of his resignation, Hart's presence has faded. He stopped attending the FSU booster luncheons with Bowden every Monday in football season, for instance. And he didn't attend perhaps the most anticipated FSU press conference in years -- the one that announced Fisher, the Seminoles' offensive coordinator, will eventually take over when Bowden retires as head football coach.

In some ways, Hart's appearance mirrors the kind of department he has worked to create: organized, professional, tidy. It's a stark contrast to the program he inherited at FSU.
The women's soccer team, for instance, played on a ramshackle field with a telephone pole rising from one corner. FSU had earned notoriety in few sports besides football, baseball and softball. And the Seminoles lagged behind their ACC rivals in facilities, success and exposure.
Hart pushed grand visions: massive facilities improvements; increased TV exposure; increased budgets and fund-raising drives.
"It was a pie in a sky," Hart said. "And that's how it was received by a lot of folks. . . . Any time you're trying to impart a vision and get a buy into that vision, it takes some time."
The facilities came -- a new soccer and softball complex, the modern Moore Athletic Center. He helped raise $75 million for the facilities improvements. He negotiated $175 million worth of contracts, including ones with Nike, which clothes all FSU teams, and Sun Sports, which puts the Seminoles on TV. The salaries of FSU coaches are now in the top half of the ACC.
Hart became influential in the power structure of collegiate athletics. He received a lifetime achievement award in his profession. The FSU athletic department, with an operating budget of about $45.8 million, has never been richer. The facilities never better. And the teams, overall, never more competitive.

D'Alemberte's departure from FSU in 2003 marked the beginning of Hart's end at FSU. Wetherell, in his first days as president, hired a consulting firm to study the athletic department. The findings, released in June 2003, issued 48 recommendations.



https://www.savannahnow.com/article/20070710/SPORTS/307109933

FSU recently finished 15th in the national Directors Cup standings, which measure the performance of overall athletic programs. It was the Seminoles’ highest finish in school history.

Meet the Big-Money Boosters Behind College Football’s Top 25 Teams



https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/college-football-boosters-top-25/

In anticipation of a new era of spendy “friends of the program,” here are Mother Jones‘ boosters of the top 25, based on this week’s Associated Press poll. It’s not a comprehensive list—in fact, feel free to add more boosters in the comments—but we tried to pull together some of college sports’ biggest names, a colorful and diverse crowd of folks with common traits: They’re all very rich, they’re all very powerful, and they’re treated with the deference reserved for university presidents and pro team owners.

1. Florida State: Al Dunlap
Known as “Chainsaw Al,” the 77-year-old Dunlap became infamous in the business world as a ruthless corporate downsizer while CEO of companies like Scott Paper. He’s been successfully sued by everyone from the Securities and Exchange Commission to his own shareholders over accounting fraud, and once physically attacked a critic. Dunlap retired in Ocala, Florida, and he and his wife have given $15 million to Seminole athletic facilities. (Dunlap, a West Point grad, never attended FSU.)

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Warrick Dunn charity work


https://www.postguam.com/sports/nation/bucs-dunn-donates-new-home/article_25c10d08-effb-11e9-8178-73c2725e2275.html

This marks the sixth home presentation in Pinellas County and the 173rd home presentation nationwide thanks to Warrick Dunn Charities as part of its “Home for the Holidays” initiative, which helps single-parent families achieve homeownership.

His family never got to see that joy after his mother was killed just days before Dunn’s 18th birthday. Instead, he became the father figure and raised his younger siblings while pursuing a football career at Florida State University and then moving on to play in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997.
“Once I started going to counseling I realized that I was on cruise control and just going through it that I didn’t have time to mourn,” Dunn said.
“I just had to put my head down and get it done. I was just so focused on making sure that I could take care of my brothers and sisters, so that was my driving force.”
But now, he gets that joy through his charity and every family that benefits from his program.
“I’ve used this program as therapy,” Dunn said. “Every time I hand over those keys there’s a little piece of my mom and the things she wanted.”
And in every home, he leaves a “piece” of his mom by giving the families a baked apple pie, which was his mother’s favorite dessert.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Just like FSU in 2014, the media/voters pushing narrative for conference loyalty

Pro SEC media did the exact same thing to FSU in 2014 that is happening to Clemson now.

The ACC doesn't think this has anything to do with them.  They are wrong.  They were wrong to leave FSU to fend for themselves in 2014 and are wrong for doing the same with Clemson today.

A reigning national champion who is undefeated and the pro SEC media is working hard to knock them down.

Wake up ACC, you need to have your network fight for you, not against you.


Monday, October 14, 2019

Coach Ham lands a 5 star player. FSU basketball is killing it.


If Barnes signs, Ham will have signed at least one composite 5-star in 5 of the last 6 classes

2018 was the only year without one in which Vassell was the only member of the class.

2nd highest recruit we have signed per rivals 1 spot behind Isaac. In the composite he and Isaac had the same ranking.  (UPDATE.  Think Doug Edwards was #2 overall.  Von Wafer was up there as well)

 The earlier ones were Dwayne Bacon in 2015, Jonathan Isaac (2016), M.J. Walker (2017) and Patrick Williams (2019).





Friday, October 11, 2019

Clemson approves $68.7 million in stadium upgrades


On Friday, the Clemson Board of Trustees met to approve concept design of Memorial Stadium upgrades. It was unanimously approved.

— Renovations are expected to be completed by Summer 2021 and cost $68.7 million. Construction is expected to begin December 2020. Next step is hiring an architect.
— The current main video board in the east is 65 feet wide by 25 feet tall (1,625 sq. ft.) and was installed in 2010. A new board is proposed at 126 feet wide by 57 feet tall (7,166 sq. ft.), or nearly five times the surface area. Included would be a new sound system and LED stadium lighting.

— The bottom of the new video board will be approximately 20 feet above ground, opening a 365-day view connecting the stadium and Scroll of Honor Memorial.

— New structures in the east will add nearly 2,500 lower deck seats and enclose that end of the stadium.

— A reconfiguration of the concourse level will allow for a new club area with more than 700 outdoor seats and accompanying indoor space comparable to the current Younts South Club.
— A club on field level in the west will offer a new premium experience. The 240 seats on field level connect to a club underneath a reconfigured first level of the WestZone.

— The gameday locker room will be renovated and expanded to nearly 8,000 sq. ft. for the 120 student-athletes and coaches. The field level space will be reconfigured with a new equipment room, training room and club.


— A new Tiger Walk development and reorientation highlight enhancements to Lot 5.

DBU part 3?

As always, ESPN pushes SEC narratives, but lost of data on this debate.  interesting....



https://allthingsfsu.blogspot.com/2019/01/fsu-dbu.html

https://allthingsfsu.blogspot.com/2018/04/pre-draft-can-we-make-it-29-dosomething.html









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https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/the-real-dbu-florida-lsu-miami-ohio-state-south-carolina-or-texas/

DEFENSIVE BACK U COMPARISON
TEAMNFL STARTSPRO BOWLSDRAFT PICKSFIRST-ROUND PICKSTOTAL POINTS
1. Texas6876125738
2. South Carolina668292696
3. Ohio State6467123693
4. LSU6356124683
5. Miami5151583570
6. Florida4854103522

Long-term vision produces ideal course



https://theosceola.com/long-term-vision-produces-ideal-course-for-runners/

What was once tall grass and dense woods has become a runner’s paradise.
Call it a modern-day, cross country take on “Field of Dreams.” They built it and runners – as well as their families – have come to Tallahassee.
FSU track and cross country coach Bob Braman remembers first stepping foot on the Apalachee Regional Park and it was very much a blank canvas. Braman as well as Brian Corbin from Gulf Winds Track Club began painting a picture while often hacking away with a machete to make the dream venue a reality just eight miles south of the Florida State Capitol on Apalachee Parkway.

What you don’t think of with cross country is revenue generation. The FSU Invitational won’t charge an admission to parents or fans. But it has been a financial positive for Tallahassee businesses, especially when meets are scheduled on weekends when FSU football is playing an away game.
“This is about bringing visitors with their money, hotels, restaurants, things like that,” Braman said. “And it’s been it’s been a really, really good partnership.”
There were nearly 2,700 finishers in the 2017 FSU Invitational, the largest in meet history. The 2018 meet was canceled due to Hurricane Michael.) 
Visit Tallahassee is also investing more than $2 million for extensive upgrades on the course, including a permanent structure, operations building, concession area, restrooms and awards stage beginning in December as the preparations ramp up to host the NCAA Championships in 2021. Braman is also optimistic that Tallahassee could be awarded future NCAA championship meets.
The other bonus for Braman and FSU cross country is that the course has hosted the FHSAA meets. When the state’s top high school runners step foot on ARP, they typically like it. And as much as stadiums or arenas help recruit top student-athletes in football, basketball or baseball, ARP does the same for Braman’s program.
“Most of them had a bunch of races, including their state championship on our course,” Braman said. “I would say over 90 percent of the kids that we recruit really like the ARP. And it might for many of be their favorite course. 
“I think that’s a help in recruiting. Having major championships here, that their parents and high school coaches and friends can watch is a big deal because we host a whole bunch of NCAA regional meets here, it won’t be too long before we’ll have another ACC meet here. Two years from this November we’ll have the NCAA championship here. So those things, you get to stay and play at home rather than kids who go out of state and parents don’t get to see them race.”
And because of that familiarity, runners get comfortable at home on the course. They have run it for years in high school and another four years in college. Landing an NCAA Championship meet was long a goal for FSU and ARP has delivered that, too. 
“I felt like it’s something we could do,” Braman said. “I just felt like with the right support and the right vision, that we could build something that would be better than what’s out there. It’s just really cool to finally have a national championship here.
“It can only get better. Each year we do more and more fencing and more and more infrastructure. And by the time you get to the 2021 meet there’s not going to be a place like it in the country.”



Thursday, October 10, 2019

Nobody Compares to Burt Reynolds’ Legacy at Florida State University



Nobody Compares to Burt Reynolds’ Legacy at Florida State University





Known as “Buddy” before he was famous, actor Burt Reynolds was a football star out of West Palm Beach where he played halfback for Palm Beach High School. He accepted a football scholarship to play for FSU and roomed with ESPN College Gameday co-host Lee Corso.
He started his career as a college football player in Tallahassee pretty well, rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and adding four catches for 76 yards.
But that would come to an end due to a knee injury during the 1954 college football season. Reynolds took the next year off as well, but after a car accident leading to the loss of his spleen and re-aggravating his knee injury, his football career was ultimately over.
Reynolds left the school before graduating, though he did eventually go to Palm Beach Junior College where he took up acting.
But the end of his playing days did not end his relationship with Florida State. Not even close.

Burt Reynolds’ Florida State Uniforms

After the 1980 season, Reynolds wasn’t impressed with the Seminoles’ uniforms, so he took it upon himself to get new uniforms designed and sent them to the team without anyone inside the program knowing about it. The Seminoles began wearing the new uniforms shortly after.
While he was a famous actor in Hollywood with starring movies roles throughout the 70’s like DeliveranceThe Longest Yard, and Smokey and the Bandit, Reynolds was still a part of the FSU football program. He was close with former head coach Bobby Bowden and would even join him on a weekly television show. Reynolds was regularly spotted on the sidelines and in the stands at FSU football games.
Reynolds gave back to the school, not just the football program, enough that they eventually named a new dormitory building after him.
Burt Reynolds made sure to always support his school, hanging FSU pennants around the sets of his movies and also had it in his contract that he wear Florida State clothing at least once in each movie.
In the 1981 film Cannonball Run, Dom DeLuise’s character, Victor Prinzim, was named for Reynolds’ former FSU teammate, quarterback Vic Prinzi.
The man known as the Bandit, Buddy, or Burt may not have had the great career as a running back with Florida State football he dreamed of, but he was always thankful to the school that gave him an opportunity, and he will be remembered for his dedication.
His connection to football always continued, even away from his school. He had roles in several football movies like both versions of The Longest Yard, he starred in Semi-Tough, and also became a part owner of the Tampa Bay Bandits, a USFL football team.
He will not only be remembered as one of the best actors ever multiple accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Boogie Nights, but as a great member of FSU athletics. Reynolds was elected to the Florida State Hall of Fame in 1977.
Burt Reynolds died of a heart attack at the Jupiter Medical Center in Florida on September 6, 2018. He was 82 years old. Bobby Bowden, Lee Corso and Doug Flutie were among those in attendance at his memorial service.
When it comes down to it, the reason Reynolds will always be remembered as a great Seminole is because he always had garnet and gold in his heart. When a player or student leaves a school, it is a dream to have them support the school half as much as Reynolds did throughout his life after leaving Tallahassee. He was a true FSU great, and he always will be.