A ridiculous standard for Florida State football
rob hodges
Jimbo Fisher is 58-11 (.841) at FSU. That comes out to 10.1 wins (1.9) losses a year. I'd back people off expectations, too.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
A ridiculous standard for Florida State football
A ridiculous standard for Florida State football
rob hodges
FSU Law Moot Court
Florida State Univ.
The accolades keep coming for @FSUCollegeofLaw, the BLSA Moot Court team are national champs! http://fla.st/1ML5R3N pic.twitter.com/IR0ZGlbPoA
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Funny rumor of the day....
Utini @PromiscuousJawa · 2 hours ago
I expect Cincy to be calm and quiet on the situation until the announcement is official. This is happening.
I don't have a "when" yet but you can absolutely take it to the bank Cincinnati is ACC bound. B12, you whiffed on this.
Second in a Series: Making club seats affordable key to success
Second in a Series: Making club seats affordable key to success
"Premium seating is breaking out at college football programs. It's another key revenue source of most recent stadium improvements and expansions.
In Tallahassee, Florida State is continuing to invest in this new business model for college athletics.
More importantly, the Seminoles are also making sure that some of the best seats in Doak Campbell Stadium are affordable.
The new 6,000-seat addition called The Champions Club is scheduled to be built in the south end zone for the 2016 season.
This exclusive indoor-outdoor section of club seats will cover four levels and allows fans to experience game day from different vantage points without losing sight of the field.
It will also provide a list of amenities and use of the complex in different capacities year-around.
"It is going to be one of the best values in college football in premium seating," said Andrew J. Jacobs, Director of Sports Architecture at Rosser, an Atlanta-based company that is working with Seminole Boosters, Inc., and FSU on the project.
"The stadium financial model over the last few years has drastically changed."
College programs across the country are upgrading their facilities in big ways – at the cost of a pretty (and expensive) penny.
Premium seating is expected to cover 20-percent of stadium capacity to help balance the ledger.
Stan Wilcox, FSU's Director of Athletics, said it's important the program meets the evolutionary changes that are occurring in the athletics industry as it relates to fans and amenities. If not, fans will simply watch games on television from the comfort of their homes.
"We have to do it in a very smart way," Wilcox said.
"We want to be able to create the same thing you can do at home but even better if you are in the stadium because you are here and you are part of the action. That's some of thinking that goes into that, in creating something that people really desire, making it affordable and making it so it can generate additional dollars so that we can put those dollars into other areas of the stadium."
Oklahoma, for example, expects to have renovations complete on part of its football stadium by the 2016 season.
The budget for the planned enclosure of the south end zone and construction of luxury boxes and club seats is expected to cost $160 million.
FSU knows that improvements to 82,300-seat Doak Campbell Stadium are needed to keep pace with the demands of fans.
"We saw opportunities and identified areas that we could look to ratchet up the quality levels and fan experience levels for our first phase," said Brad Innes of Elliott Marshal Innes, P.A. (EMI), a Tallahassee-based firm that has helped create a master plan for Doak Campbell.
"I think our team believes it will be one of the finest facilities in college football when it's all done."
Construction during the first phase on the Champions Club is expected to begin in July and will be completed by August 2016. Seminole Boosters, Inc., has sold 1,700 seats in the new section.
Ticket holders can reserve a Champions Club seat for as little as $900 down and $125 per month over 12 months.
"It's nice where a group of people, friends and families can be in one location, instead of being spread all over the stadium," said Tallahassee's Andy Gibbens, among a group of 10 who plan to sit together.
"I think it's the greatest thing they've ever done at that stadium."
At Clemson – FSU's primary rival in the Atlantic Coast Conference – the Tigers in 2006 added a thousand club seats in the west end zone of Memorial Stadium.
The section sold out and now has a waiting list, according to Travis Furbee, Director of Clemson's IPTAY Annual Fund and a former Leon High graduate who worked as an assistant in FSU's ticket office.
Clemson is installing an additional 600 club seats on the home sideline for the upcoming season.
Furbee said 535 have been sold. A one-time campaign gift to purchase two seats (in either section) is $25,000. The ticket price in the new edition is $2,000 to $2,5000 depending on location.
"People want the easy access, and indoor amenities are huge," Furbee explained. "Everything is right there in the club area."
Scott Dungey, founder and owner of Consulting Solutions International (CSI) in Tallahassee, likes the flexibility FSU's new premium seating offers.
Last season, three of seven home games had a mid-afternoon (3:330 p.m.) kickoff.
"When it's hot early in the season, you can get out of the sun, relax inside and watch the game on the big screen," said Dungey, who has purchased 12 tickets.
"When it starts to cool down later in the season, you can be outside. I really like sitting in the stands. It's the best of both worlds."
Coming Sunday
The need for improvements and upgrades to Doak Cambell Stadium"
Orlando Science Schools cited for taking kids to the best jobs
Orlando Science Schools cited for taking kids to the best jobs
"The Ultimate I-4 project is now in the earliest stages of its six-year construction schedule, John Thrasher noted, but it represents something more than just a widening of Interstate 4, he added.
The project, he said, will require skilled engineers and those with an education and background in fields like science and technology, said Thrasher, the president of Florida State University.
And it will be schools like the Orlando Science Schools in College Park, he added, that help prepare students for those very high skill, and high paying, careers.
“That’s why this school is so important,” Thrasher said. “If you’re not starting in the stream of math and science courses, you’re not going to be prepared enough for those fields.”
On Thursday, Thrasher and FSU physics professor Paul Cottle visited OSS, the school at 2427 Lynx Lane, which gives local students an education in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math.
Thrasher and Cottle met with Dr. Yalcin Akin, the founder and executive director of OSS, while also providing science demonstrations to middle and high school students.
“I’ve heard so much about this school from Paul, and I wanted to see it personally,” Thrasher said. “Hopefully, we can recruit some of the fine students here to FSU.”
In addition to providing students with a much-needed emphasis on STEM learning – which Thrasher said is leading to some of the hottest career fields in fast-growing Florida – he’s also impressed that OSS has an emphasis on the arts as well.
“There are many kids who come here who are interested in the arts, and we have a very good arts program at FUS, in music and theater,” Thrasher said.
Thrasher said schools like OSS are doing a great public service by providing students with an education that can lead them into highly in-demand fields like engineering.
“The rigors they’re going through today,” Thrasher said, “prepares them to get the best jobs tomorrow.”
Cottle agreed, saying “This is an extraordinary place. There are some fantastic students here. They are being prepared for any career they want to go into.”
Cottle noted that recent studies of the top ten fields with the highest salaries show that “eight of the top ten salaried positions have the word ‘engineer’ in them. These fields also offer the best opportunities for economic advancement for students.”
Thrasher, who previously served as the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and in the state Senate, said OSS is also a good example of the success of privately-run charter schools.
OSS is a charter school with a campus in College Park, and they just opened a second campus in Seminole County.
“Now we’re at the point where more and more people understand the value of charter schools – and that is not to denigrate the public schools,” Thrasher said. “Parents need choices. If they want to get their kids into a school that emphasizes science, they should be able to.”
Cottle said their next challenge will be getting more girls and minority students into STEM programs.
“The thing to keep in mind,” Cottle said, “is these fields can take kids who are economically disadvantaged, and get them into the middle class.”
Bill would develop FSU charter school institute
Not a big win for FSU, but worth noting.
Bill would develop FSU charter school institute
"Florida State University would develop its own research institute to help those wishing to start new charter schools if a House committee bill becomes law.
A school choice bill proposed by the House Choice & Innovation Subcommittee would strengthen accountability for charter schools and revise charter school funding provisions, but it also would establish the Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation at FSU.
The institute's mission would be to research policy related to charter school accountability, instruction, finance, management and operations. It would connect teachers with job opportunities at charter schools and provide support to charter school applicants and their sponsors.
New charter school creators could get help from the institute in writing their charter applications plus tap into financial and operational knowledge for their schools. The goal is to create better charter school pitches and weed out bad proposals, according to the committee.
Rep. Robert Cortes headed up committee efforts to nail down a final version of the bill, which was presented and then voted favorably out of committee Tuesday.
There are no sure funding details attached to the bill, but it's estimated about $1.5 million will be needed to start the institute, and Cortes said the organization would not need new facilities. It would have a director, appointed by FSU President John Thrasher, and between three and five staff members, a structure based on a Colorado model.
Cortes said FSU was chosen because the university has the size and curriculum capabilities to take on the initiative.
"It's obviously new, it's innovative," he said.
FSU is on board with the bill and is willing to take on the new institute should the bill pass, according to Dennis Schnittker, FSU spokesman.
The bill also received support from the Florida Charter School Alliance and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Jim Horne, president and chairman of the Florida Charter School Alliance and a former Florida Education commissioner, said an institute for charter school innovation is "long overdue."
Horne said some school districts receive a flood of charter school applications and the institute would help sift out the ones that aren't ready to move forward.
"We have seen a lot of applications that probably aren't quite fully baked and ready for prime time and I think with some help and effort we can do that," Horne said."
Bill would develop FSU charter school institute
"Florida State University would develop its own research institute to help those wishing to start new charter schools if a House committee bill becomes law.
A school choice bill proposed by the House Choice & Innovation Subcommittee would strengthen accountability for charter schools and revise charter school funding provisions, but it also would establish the Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation at FSU.
The institute's mission would be to research policy related to charter school accountability, instruction, finance, management and operations. It would connect teachers with job opportunities at charter schools and provide support to charter school applicants and their sponsors.
New charter school creators could get help from the institute in writing their charter applications plus tap into financial and operational knowledge for their schools. The goal is to create better charter school pitches and weed out bad proposals, according to the committee.
Rep. Robert Cortes headed up committee efforts to nail down a final version of the bill, which was presented and then voted favorably out of committee Tuesday.
There are no sure funding details attached to the bill, but it's estimated about $1.5 million will be needed to start the institute, and Cortes said the organization would not need new facilities. It would have a director, appointed by FSU President John Thrasher, and between three and five staff members, a structure based on a Colorado model.
Cortes said FSU was chosen because the university has the size and curriculum capabilities to take on the initiative.
"It's obviously new, it's innovative," he said.
FSU is on board with the bill and is willing to take on the new institute should the bill pass, according to Dennis Schnittker, FSU spokesman.
The bill also received support from the Florida Charter School Alliance and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Jim Horne, president and chairman of the Florida Charter School Alliance and a former Florida Education commissioner, said an institute for charter school innovation is "long overdue."
Horne said some school districts receive a flood of charter school applications and the institute would help sift out the ones that aren't ready to move forward.
"We have seen a lot of applications that probably aren't quite fully baked and ready for prime time and I think with some help and effort we can do that," Horne said."
2015 the Year of Living Dangerously for the ACC
Interesting read.......don't believe much of it....I do believe UVA to B1G is a threat. Do believe an ACC Network WITH revenue is essential to the ACC being a legit home to FSU.
We will see.
2015 the Year of Living Dangerously for the ACC
"I've been following expansion since Oliver Luck became the AD at West Virginia in 2011. In the intervening years I've made many great contacts and made mistakes and learned valuable lessons. The most important was who to trust.
I trust the individual who is the source of the insight on Big Ten strategy for this post. He has proven a source of reliable information over and over again.
Expansion is a popular topic of discussion. Everybody has an opinion and everyone has a friend who knows somebody.
My sources for this post have direct knowledge of the current state of the expansion landscape. They know because they are affiliated with the conferences, the schools or work for a network.
I've verified what I've learned as much as possible.
There is only one scenario in which current P5 schools switch conferences and that is a raid of the ACC by the Big Ten.
Before I get into details I want to address the Big 12. The Big 12 is solid. Texas, and therefore Oklahoma, are 100% committed to the conference. The reasons are many but the primary reason is both believe the Big 12 champion has the easiest access to the playoffs.
The other, less controversial reason, is the grant of rights. Each Big 12 school received a bonus payment from Fox & ESPN for signing the GoR.
More importantly the Big 12's grant of rights was required by the networks prior to agreeing to the TV deal. That's important because the conference is required to have a minimum of ten members else the TV contract is invalidated.
That means the departing school & their new conference would be liable for tortuous interference with real damages totaling the lost TV money for each school for every year remaining on the TV contract.
Do the math - the damages would be near $1.5 billion.
Nobody is leaving the Big 12 now or in the future.
But what about the ACC?
The ACC signed their grant of rights after their TV deal was renewed and after it was redone when Notre Dame joined as a partial member.
It was not required by ESPN and therefore ACC schools did not receive any financial consideration for signing it.
So why did they sign it?
According to a source at NC State it was signed to calm ESPN's fears that FSU, UVA, GT or UNC would leave.
The ACC reasoned the only way to increase revenues was with a conference network. The only way they could get ESPN to even discuss the possibility was by signing the grant of rights.
Why would the Big Ten risk an ACC raid?
It's not that big of risk. The Big Ten believes the ACC grant of rights is vulnerable because of the lack of financial compensation. They believe that state schools in the ACC cannot legally assign rights without receiving fair market value.
A source currently with the Big Ten Network in an executive position tells me the conference will approach UVA & GT about membership prior to
renegotiating its primary rights deal next year.
The Big Ten expects revenues to be nearly $45 million per school in 2016. That number could climb as high as $50 million if they are successful luring UVA & GT.
Will that be enough? Maybe yes, maybe no.
More than half the ACC has revenue problems including GT but UVA isn't one of them.
FSU recently announced they were cutting 2% from the athletics budget. Pitt is losing about $6 million each and every year. Syracuse can't find a way to pay for a new roof on the Carrier Dome and Wake, BC and even VT face problems.
UVA doesn't have great need and that's a necessary component to produce movement but that may be temporary.
It's clear the ACC grant of rights is linked to a conference network. I'm told by the same source at NC State that's the case - without an ACCN the grant of rights is invalid.
They key is ESPN. If the Big Ten selects ESPN as the T1 TV partner ESPN is unlikely to go ahead with the often promised ACC network. Yet if the Big Ten picks Fox as the primary partner then ESPN is likely to give the ACCN the green light.
If only it were that simple.
UVA isn't a sure thing with or without a ACCN.
But there is one school that would certainly leave if ESPN passes on a the ACCN.
Sitting in the corner wearing the dunce cap, at least in the Big Ten's opinion, is FSU.
The Big Ten could blow the ACC apart by inviting FSU and add both UVA & GT in the aftermath of subsequent raids in the ACC by the SEC and Big Ten.
Adding FSU means UVA, Duke, and UNC have no other choice but leave too.
Yet FSU isn't a AAU member. That means Jim Delany can't even approach them.
The Big Ten's Council of Presidents and Chancellors is willing to waive the contiguous state requirement but they have decreed that AAU membership is a must.
So it's all down to this: if ESPN partners with the ACC for a network then realignment, at least among P5 schools, is over.
If ESPN partners with the Big Ten & the Big Ten uses its influence to kill the ACCN then we can expect the Big Ten to entice UVA, GT or UNC to move opening the door for the SEC and Big 12 to expand with the leftovers.
BYU and the other G5 schools with aspirations to move up can only hope that ESPN decides an ACCN is worth the risk and that the Big Ten chooses Fox as its primary TV partner."
We will see.
2015 the Year of Living Dangerously for the ACC
"I've been following expansion since Oliver Luck became the AD at West Virginia in 2011. In the intervening years I've made many great contacts and made mistakes and learned valuable lessons. The most important was who to trust.
I trust the individual who is the source of the insight on Big Ten strategy for this post. He has proven a source of reliable information over and over again.
Expansion is a popular topic of discussion. Everybody has an opinion and everyone has a friend who knows somebody.
My sources for this post have direct knowledge of the current state of the expansion landscape. They know because they are affiliated with the conferences, the schools or work for a network.
I've verified what I've learned as much as possible.
There is only one scenario in which current P5 schools switch conferences and that is a raid of the ACC by the Big Ten.
Before I get into details I want to address the Big 12. The Big 12 is solid. Texas, and therefore Oklahoma, are 100% committed to the conference. The reasons are many but the primary reason is both believe the Big 12 champion has the easiest access to the playoffs.
The other, less controversial reason, is the grant of rights. Each Big 12 school received a bonus payment from Fox & ESPN for signing the GoR.
More importantly the Big 12's grant of rights was required by the networks prior to agreeing to the TV deal. That's important because the conference is required to have a minimum of ten members else the TV contract is invalidated.
That means the departing school & their new conference would be liable for tortuous interference with real damages totaling the lost TV money for each school for every year remaining on the TV contract.
Do the math - the damages would be near $1.5 billion.
Nobody is leaving the Big 12 now or in the future.
But what about the ACC?
The ACC signed their grant of rights after their TV deal was renewed and after it was redone when Notre Dame joined as a partial member.
It was not required by ESPN and therefore ACC schools did not receive any financial consideration for signing it.
So why did they sign it?
According to a source at NC State it was signed to calm ESPN's fears that FSU, UVA, GT or UNC would leave.
The ACC reasoned the only way to increase revenues was with a conference network. The only way they could get ESPN to even discuss the possibility was by signing the grant of rights.
Why would the Big Ten risk an ACC raid?
It's not that big of risk. The Big Ten believes the ACC grant of rights is vulnerable because of the lack of financial compensation. They believe that state schools in the ACC cannot legally assign rights without receiving fair market value.
A source currently with the Big Ten Network in an executive position tells me the conference will approach UVA & GT about membership prior to
renegotiating its primary rights deal next year.
The Big Ten expects revenues to be nearly $45 million per school in 2016. That number could climb as high as $50 million if they are successful luring UVA & GT.
Will that be enough? Maybe yes, maybe no.
More than half the ACC has revenue problems including GT but UVA isn't one of them.
FSU recently announced they were cutting 2% from the athletics budget. Pitt is losing about $6 million each and every year. Syracuse can't find a way to pay for a new roof on the Carrier Dome and Wake, BC and even VT face problems.
UVA doesn't have great need and that's a necessary component to produce movement but that may be temporary.
It's clear the ACC grant of rights is linked to a conference network. I'm told by the same source at NC State that's the case - without an ACCN the grant of rights is invalid.
They key is ESPN. If the Big Ten selects ESPN as the T1 TV partner ESPN is unlikely to go ahead with the often promised ACC network. Yet if the Big Ten picks Fox as the primary partner then ESPN is likely to give the ACCN the green light.
If only it were that simple.
UVA isn't a sure thing with or without a ACCN.
But there is one school that would certainly leave if ESPN passes on a the ACCN.
Sitting in the corner wearing the dunce cap, at least in the Big Ten's opinion, is FSU.
The Big Ten could blow the ACC apart by inviting FSU and add both UVA & GT in the aftermath of subsequent raids in the ACC by the SEC and Big Ten.
Adding FSU means UVA, Duke, and UNC have no other choice but leave too.
Yet FSU isn't a AAU member. That means Jim Delany can't even approach them.
The Big Ten's Council of Presidents and Chancellors is willing to waive the contiguous state requirement but they have decreed that AAU membership is a must.
So it's all down to this: if ESPN partners with the ACC for a network then realignment, at least among P5 schools, is over.
If ESPN partners with the Big Ten & the Big Ten uses its influence to kill the ACCN then we can expect the Big Ten to entice UVA, GT or UNC to move opening the door for the SEC and Big 12 to expand with the leftovers.
BYU and the other G5 schools with aspirations to move up can only hope that ESPN decides an ACCN is worth the risk and that the Big Ten chooses Fox as its primary TV partner."
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