Monday, June 30, 2014

Research shows FSU's new logo liked less by FSU fan base than US Congress


I know FSU doesn't have professionals running the show that have heard of focus groups and market research.......but how does Nike not know about this?

Makes you wonder if someone got paid for this....and it wasn't FSU.  Something stinks in Denmark here.


Warchant.com @Warchant  ·  5h
Survey shows 92% of those polled are not in favor of the new logo released by .
 
 
 
 

New FSU logo gets thumbs down in survey

"Administrators at Florida State University may have thought that the brouhaha over the school's retooled Seminole logo was a thing of the past.
Call it wishful thinking.
Three researchers with ties to FSU on Monday released the results of a survey that found that few in the FSU community – 8 percent – prefer the new look.
Fifty percent of the respondents most like the original Seminole logo, and 42 percent favor the modified look created by Jodi Slade, a digital artist who works at FSU's medical school.
She designed her version of the Seminole logo in one night because she was not at all a fan of the logo the university is now using.
"I'm sticking to my guns – I'm not going to buy anything with the new logo on it," Slade said. "I'm incredibly humbled. To even be in the conversation of people discussing it, I'm still kind of in this shock."
FSU unveiled the new logo in April. University officials were immediately inundated with emails protesting the change. Facebook pages opposing the new logo sprang to life.
In a spring rife with controversy at FSU – an unflattering front page story in the New York Times involving the university's response to allegations of sexual assault involving its star quarterback, and a president search that went off track almost as quickly as it got underway – nothing has produced more outraged reaction by FSU alumni than the new logo.
The three men who conducted the survey received more than 6,500 responses to their query about the three different logos.
Joseph St. Germain, an FSU graduate and a vice president at Kerr & Downs, said he didn't have any preconceived expectations for the survey.
"We wanted to better understand the feedback, what people think about the logo," he said. "We were not trying to make change happen."
For the most part, the furor over the change has died down. Stefano Cavallaro, FSU student body president, said he believes most of his fellow students have gotten over their initial reaction to the change.
The fact that almost half of the survey respondents preferred Slade's logo says that modifying the logo was not the primary issue, Cavallaro said."

FSU Track Recruiting class

Would love to see FSU track compete for national titles again.....things look good so far.



FSU's Friday named Gatorade National Track Athlete of the Year


"Trentavis Friday thought he was showing up for a regular practice on Monday afternoon.
But it didn't take long for the incoming Florida State track recruit to realize something much different was going on.
The North Carolina native, who posted the fastest 100-meter and 200-meter times in the country this season as a high school senior, was surprised at the FSU track facility when Gatorade representatives presented him with the Gatorade National Track and Field Athlete of the Year award.
"I knew I was one of the final candidates, but I had no idea I was winning it today," Friday said. "I talked to my mom on the phone two nights ago. And she just said her and my dad were coming here to visit. And then the next thing I know I come in the door and all of these people are here and the cameras — I'm not used to that.
"So I'm still wrapping my mind around it."
Despite its storied history of accomplished sprinters, Friday became the first Seminole to win the national honor.
"He's really special," FSU head track coach Bob Braman said. "I'm still blown away that this is the national athlete of the year and we've got him. Walter Dix didn't win that, Ricardo Chambers didn't win that, Rhodes Scholar Garrett Johnson didn't win that.
"... It's an incredible list. And we have a really rich sprint tradition, certainly in the last decade. And he's at the top of that as the only guy to win the national (award)."
Not only did Friday learn he had been named the best track performer in the United States, but he also learned during the press conference that he would be traveling out to Los Angeles in the middle of July to attend the ESPYs. At a ceremony before the annual awards show, Gatorade will announce its overall male and female athletes of the year — previous winners include Peyton Manning, LeBron James and Andrew Wiggins.
As for Friday, even a half hour after the ceremony on Monday he still couldn't quite believe it.
"First thing I think of is I don't deserve to be with these athletes," Friday said as he looked over his shoulder a picture of Manning. "I think it's a big honor to be on the same list as those guys."
The superstar prep sprinter had the fastest 100-meter (10.17 seconds) and 200-meter (20.33) times in the nation this season. He was also the national champion in the indoor 60. Fellow FSU recruit Kendall Williams, of Jacksonville, was second in the 200 (20.55) and fifth in the 100 (10.28) and was the Gatorade track athlete of the year for Florida. While incoming freshman shot-putter Benjamin Bonhurst won the honor in his home state of New York.
"Not a bad recruiting class," Braman said with a smile."

Corey Clark/TDO.com @Corey_Clark 2h
Friday had fastest 100 (10.17) and 200 (20.33) in U.S. Fellow FSU recruit Kendall Williams 2nd in 200 (20.55), 5th in 100 (10.28).

Corey Clark/TDO.com @Corey_Clark 2h
Friday is the first FSU recruit to win the honor - which is saying something considering amount of talent rolling through that program.


Retweeted by
signee Trentavis Friday accepting the Gatorade Boys National Track and Field Athlete of the Year award


Brandon Hon @CoachHonFSU 4h
Breaking News: FSU freshman wins Gatorade National Athlete of the Year!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Embedded image permalink

Random Jerry Kutz info...



Re: Oklahoma / Arms Race

Jerry Kutz
6/29/2014

"If you want to compete for championships, you have to pay your coaches and build facilities, simple as that. Just think about what all we have done already with the $15 million IPF last year, a cutting-edge dormitory/apartment complex for football opening in August, the renovations to the locker room, players lounge, coaches offices, and what we plan to do for Doak. Not to mention the millions of additional dollars we are spending on assistant coaches salaries and additional personnel to provide services to our student athletes so they are prepared to compete for championships.

What we are looking at for Doak will be determined by what our individual fans are willing to give. We have a multi-phase plan that we will execute as rapidly as we can raise the money. We think we can make some very significant changes for about $200,000 that can be phased in beginning with the club seat project. We will announce the Champions Campaign on August 1 and begin the process of showing people the projects, asking for contributions, and pre-selling club seats.  We are not tapped out on bonding capacity. We have enough to do the first phase (the club seat section) and if it sells as projected, it will fund itself, and the revenue generated by it will increase our bonding capability to do more.

Every donation to the Champions Campaign increases our ability to build more. Every new Seminole Booster member and upgraded membership increases our ability further more.

We won't build waterfalls but we will build facilities our fans want to come to and helps the coaches attract top prospects.

You have to raise the money to spend the money to keep the coaches you want and build the facilities the prospects and fans are attracted to."


Re: Good News - No Chief Walmart on new booster plates / materials!

Jerry Kutz
6/29/2014

"Thanks for the advise. I welcome venting and that's why I give my cell phone and email address. Its a good way to get to know people, to share information, and to listen to another's perspective. I can get more out of a personal conversation than I can just by exchanging on a message board with an anonymous poster.

You'll be glad to know that I haven't been able to spend much time on the boards recently as we have been very busy the past six months with ticket sales, Booster memberships and Booster Life events. We have broken records in attendance and will break records for ticket sales, Booster memberships and revenue. The ticket sales for Dallas and for our events out there are also outstanding. Our fans have really responded to the upcoming schedule and to the championship.

We also have more projects underway then I can ever recall. The dorm/apartment complex will open on time on August 1 just like the IPF did last year. The locker room and coaches's office renovations are in process. The Tucker Center will have new seats, video boards and graphics packages as well as a lot of planning for more improvements.

My time has been spent on planning the Champions Campaign to fund these projects which will launch August 1. The Champions Campaign will play an important part of the university's capital campaign to launch in October. In addition to all these projects, we're taking a deep dive with architects and engineers on ways to into improve Doak and will entertain bid proposals in late July, selecting the design/build team the first week of August. We advised the Board of Trustees this past week of our plans, including a pre-sale of the club seat section starting August 1, and received encouraging remarks. So its full steam ahead over the next 12 months to sell the project. Assuming we are successful, we'll seek official BOT and BOG approval next year and break ground right after the 2015 season.

We also received approval for College Town Phase 2 so there is a lot of projects going on all at once.

So we are now just 30 days away from the launch of what will be the largest campaign for FSU athletics yet, a campaign that will have a getting on place for every Seminole fan who wants to participate even at the annual membership level. And we're less than 30 days from the start of fall practice and preseason Booster Life events.

Exciting times."



Incoming student and recent grad success stories



He Dropped A Bomb On His Classmates During His Valedictorian Speech. He Was Homeless All Through School.

"A Jacksonville, Fla. native has taken the country by storm with his message of never giving up. Through homelessness, the death of his mother and numerous other hardships endured on his way to becoming class valedictorian, Griffin Furlong never missed a class and has graduated with a perfect GPA from First Coast High School. His story is beyond inspiring. It sheds light on the issue of teenage homelessness and the will to get through anything. Griffin’s friends started a fundraiser to help him throughout his time at Florida State University. They’ve raised over $100,000 thus far.



Meet Brooke Rucker of Georgia, America's Distinguished Young Woman for 2014


"Brooke Rucker of Cartersville, Ga. knew from the time she was 11 years old that she wanted to be a Distinguished Young Woman.
When she walked across the stage Saturday night to accept the title of 2014 Distinguished Young Woman of America, it was a culmination of a journey that started with her family.
"(My brother) had a friend who participated back when it was Junior Miss, and he told me, 'Brooke, this is a great program, I think it's something you should definitely consider doing,'" she explained. "So my junior year comes along, I sign up for my local program, and just being a part of that already made me fall in love with Distinguished Young Women so much."
Rucker credited her family as her constant inspiration, right up through finals night where they cheered her from the audience.
"My entire family has really inspired me to keep going even when it gets hard," she said. "There's been times where I've just sat on my bed, and I've said, 'I don't think I can do this anymore,' and they've encouraged me to keep working hard – that I can get through that and I can achieve that final goal at the end."
Along with the title came a gold medal and a $50,000 scholarship. But just as important, Rucker has been inspired to give back to her community each step along the way – and that community has continued to grow.
"As I got to each building block, it kind of became a bigger contribution to me, the more I wanted to give back," she said. "Being here, now I just want to give back to the whole nation, really just reach out and touch everyone."
On top of the duties that come with being America's new Distinguished Young Woman, Rucker will attend Florida State University in the fall to study choreography. She fell in love with creating dance routines after joining a musical theater group in high school.
"In my sophomore year, my director actually chose me and another girl to be dance captains," she said. "So basically, we began to choreograph some of the numbers for our shows -- so as we started to choreograph, I realized I just enjoyed making up dances and interacting with people, teaching them the dances. So by my junior year, I had decided I definitely wanted to be a choreographer and this was something I wanted to do with my life."
Living up to Distinguished Young Women's message of Be Your Best Self, Rucker already plans to get involved with community life on campus.
"I can't wait to really put myself out there and get to meet new people, and maybe even get to start a club of my own," she said.
Rucker doesn't plan to stop at becoming America's Distinguished Young Woman, though. In the future, she sees herself choreographing on Broadway – though she's prepared for the hard work it will take to get there.
"I'll probably have to start off as a dancer, so I'd really like it if I could get – maybe in New York – a new job and something that will really help me transition into that choreographing aspect," she said.
But for now, she's content to tackle the immediate future, with the help of friends she made along the way.
"You'll see so many competitions, and people can be so bitter, disappointed – however, that's not this program and that's not these girls," she said. "They're all so supportive, and they're just so loving and caring and saying all great things like, 'We know you'll be a great representative.' It's nice to know you're supported by your peers like that."


We are happy to share with you about our former GG- Tori Cowen who just won Miss Florida and will now compete for Miss America


"They're the nations best and we are happy to call them Noles- the FSU Golden Girls. We are happy to share with you about our former GG- Tori Cowen who just won Miss Florida and will now compete for Miss America"


FSU men finish 5th in Capital One Cup, women 14th


FSU men finish 5th in Capital One Cup, women 14th


STANDINGS

"See how your school stacks up. Standings are updated after official results are posted for every NCAA Championship. Download the full standings list here.

  Men's Cup Standings

SCHOOLPOINTS
1.Notre Dame98.5
2.Oregon92
3.Florida86
4.Virginia77
5.Florida State68
5.USC68
7.Connecticut66
8.Duke60.5
9.Maryland60
9.North Dakota State60
9.Vanderbilt60
12.Michigan State51

  Women's Cup Standings

SCHOOLPOINTS
1.Florida152
2.UCLA110
3.Stanford106
4.Maryland94
5.Texas A&M89
6.Connecticut80
6.Oregon80
6.Texas80
9.Penn State72
10.North Carolina68
11.Georgia62
12.Virginia56"

Florida State Football: Is Fisher Off to Best Start of Any ACC Head Coach, Ever?



Florida State Football: Is Fisher Off to Best Start of Any ACC Head Coach, Ever?


"Jimbo Fisher had one of the longest job titles in college football—Florida State offensive coordinator/head-coach-in-waiting.
But strip away the "in waiting" and Fisher had never been a head coach, at least not until he officially took over from coaching legend Bobby Bowden in January 2010. Fisher was a salesman from the start, envisioning what the program could be as he assembled a coaching staff and recruited student-athletes.
Florida State was far from the Florida State of the 1990s dynasty days in January 2010. The program was middle-of-the-pack in the ACC after a 7-6 finish in 2009.
Four years later, it's been quite a turnaround: Fisher is 45-10. He's won a national title and a pair of ACC titles, to boot. Plus a 4-0 mark against Miami and a 3-1 record vs. Florida.
The impact of what he was able to accomplish was not lost on Fisher when he spoke at a February ceremony honoring the national champions.
"We didn't just develop a team, folks," Fisher said. "We developed a program. We plan on being here for a long time."
What Fisher achieved is also the best four-year start to a coaching career in the ACC.
ACC coaching wins in first four seasons
CoachYearsW/LPct.
Jimbo Fisher (FSU)2010-1345-10.818
Bobby Bowden (FSU)1992-9543-5-1.888
Frank Beamer (Va. Tech)2004-0742-11.792
Atlantic Coast Conference

Yes, Bowden had a higher winning percentage than Fisher. But Bowden had an established program that was on the rise and was able to dominate an ACC that, in 1992, was not nearly as deep as it is now, 20 years later. The FSU teams of the 1990s were impressive on offense and defense, but the league also lacked quality competition.
That makes Fisher's 45 wins in 55 games stand out more than Bowden's 43 wins in 49. Fisher had to rebuild the program, and he had to do it on the fly in his first stint as a head coach.
Bowden had been a head coach at Howard, West Virginia and for 16 seasons at FSU before the Seminoles joined the ACC before the 1992 season. Fisher had been an assistant coach for two decades but had never called all the shots in leading a program.
Fisher could tell he was on to something special going into the 2013 season. He delivered this confident quote in August at media day.
"I love where this program is," Fisher said. "I love where it’s going. I love what we’re about to accomplish. It’s not going to stop this year. This is going on for a long time."
It's interesting to reflect upon those words now. Fisher had a feeling how good not just the team would be in 2013, but how good the program would be once again."

Sunday, June 29, 2014

College Town Update



College Town Update

Jerry Kutz
6/28/2014

"CollegeTown Phase II was recently approved and construction will begin in the near future. It will likely be on line by 2015 season.

I recently wrote a story about CT with updated financial information. What I learned from that exercise is that you have to look at a much bigger picture when evaluating CT early success. It's kind of like lining up a putt. If you just read the green, without looking at the overall topography of the course, you'll probably miss the putt.

The CT project has exceeded financial expectations for investors and is producing revenue that Seminole Boosters uses to fund athletics, so in the very short term it is fulfilling its goal. CT has enjoyed 100 percent occupancy in its residences, very close to 100 percent occupancy in its retail and while several of the establishments struggled in their first year, which is typical of any new project, adjustments are being made to help those retailers and there is a healthy list of retailers wanting to lease space in CT. The area referenced about America's Back Yard will be developed. There were some concerns about the original plan with just ABY so the developer, ABY and the Boosters are re-imagining what will be built there. In the mean time its good parking for CT. I would imagine we'll see construction on that site in the next couple of years.

When you look at CT you have to look at the bigger picture and what CT in conjunction with the City of Tallahassee's work along Gaines has inspired in that area. 4000 new beds will open in August. Numerous retailers are moving into the once blighted area. Railroad Avenue is growing.

If you want an unbiased measurement of CT just look at what property values have done in the area.

While the Boosters income statement on CT is better than projected for the first year, the real bonanza is on the balance sheet where Booster real estate holdings in that area have escalated beyond expectation. That's great for the financial health of the Boosters and Athletics. As just one example, the Hoggly Woggly convenience store on Pensacola, donated to the Boosters some years ago, was recently leased to CVS pharmacy at a much, much higher lease rate. CVS had the vision to see what was happening in the area and wanted in. That drives the value of that parcel north as well as the other 20-plus acres of land held by the Boosters in the area. Urban Outfitters opened this past winter. There's a condo project -- Railroad Lofts -- selling well, a boutique hotel with parking garage in the planning stages, and a major grocer taking a hard look too. North American properties is leasing retail as well as residential at excellent pace.

The university and Boosters commitment to develop that side of campus gave national apartment complex developers like North American and retailers like CVS and Urban Outfitters the confidence to invest and the retailers in college town will enjoy the impact of those 4000 new residents this fall. The city of Tallahassee is investing in infrastructure too with beautification of Gaines, the renovation of Woodward from campus to gaines with wider sidewalks, underground utilities, street lamps, etc. An area that had generated little or no sales tax or real estate tax for the city is now generating millions of dollars which is great for the city, county, state, university, Boosters and athletics.

You will see CT continue to evolve as it matures as mixed use properties tend to do in their early years but throughout the process, look around at the bigger picture and realize all of that development ultimately benefits FSU."

Saturday, June 28, 2014

ACC talking points....

This is a standard Dave Teel ACC cheerleading piece. 

I do agree Louisville is a good add for the ACC, I just find it contrived to see the ACC try so hard pushing propaganda.  Here is the combining the word 'stability' with the word 'ACC.'

The ACC is anything but and the next 5-10 years will show that.  It might stay together, but that doesn't equal 'stability.'  My guess is football schools will get increasing frustrated at coming revenue differences and promises made during GOR time that won't be kept.

But again...that is just all old news....but this is worth repeating:

"Louisville is the seventh former Big East member to enter the ACC since 2004"

That is NOT good for the ACC, but revenue dynamics and now the actual schools themselves show the ACC future to be very much in line with the Big East part 2.

Expect lots more propaganda coming for the ACC in future years to try and win the battle they are in with empty words and slogans instead of actual revenue, networks, and competitive football teams outside FSU/Clemson.


Louisville's arrival likely to bring welcome stability to ACC


"The ACC has expanded from nine to 15 members in the last decade, but if you want to see a growth spurt that would make Yao Ming blush, check out the University of Louisville.
"When I took the job 17 years ago, I think our budget was $14.9 million," Cardinals athletic director Tom Jurich said. "Now we're pushing $100 million, and although it's been rapid, I think it's been very smart growth. We had a goal in place, and the ultimate goal was to find our way to a conference with the (status) of the ACC."
That ambition will be officially realized Tuesday when Louisville enters the ACC, a forceful counter to charter member Maryland's exit for the Big Ten. Announced in November 2012, the move certainly enhances both parties and likely dawns an era of welcome stability for the league.
     
ACC commissioner John Swofford is traveling to Louisville for a downtown throwdown to mark the occasion. No word on whether mint juleps are on the menu or if California Chrome will give the keynote speech.
"Louisville is just riding a crest of momentum coming into the league that really is pretty remarkable," Swofford said. "As a former athletic director (at North Carolina), I have a lot of respect for what Tom Jurich has done in his time there and the leadership he has shown and where he's brought that program from to where it is today.
"I don't know that there's an athletic director in the country over that span of time that's done a better job. Their facilities are top-notch. Their teams are top-notch. They have a tremendous fan base that will be great for our league as well."
The Cardinals are 23-3 the last two football seasons combined and have sold out their 63 suites for 2014, a first. They join an ACC Atlantic Division that includes the reigning national champion in Florida State and Orange Bowl winner in Clemson.
Louisville won the 2013 national championship in men's basketball and perennially ranks among the nation's top five in attendance. The women's basketball program has reached five Sweet 16s in the last seven years, twice falling in the NCAA title game to Connecticut.
                                     
Louisville baseball has advanced to three College World Series in the last seven seasons, including the last two. The men's and women's soccer teams christen a new stadium in August, reflective of programs that have become postseason regulars — the men fell to Akron in the 2010 NCAA final.
Softball, rowing, women's lacrosse and men's swimming also were nationally prominent in 2013-14 as the Cardinals placed 30th in the Directors' Cup all-sports standings, their second-best finish, but behind five of their new league rivals.
"We're strong across the board, (but) we're going to have some incredible challenges," Jurich said. "I think the ACC is the best conference in the country, especially in the Olympic sports. They just excel like nobody else. We have to raise the bar on our campus."
Previously the athletic director at Northern Arizona and Colorado State, Jurich has steered Louisville from Conference USA to the Big East to the American Athletic Conference to the ACC. Most impressively and improbably, he has orchestrated a 545-percent increase in department revenue, without power-conference television windfalls and without burdening students with onerous fees.
Louisville reported $96.2 million in athletic revenue for 2013-14, more than any ACC public school and 18th nationally, according to a USA Today database. No public school from outside the five power conferences — ACC, Pacific 12, Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern — approached those numbers.
Connecticut of the American Athletic reported $63.3 million, but $18.9 million was courtesy of student fees/subsidies. Rutgers, departing the American for the Big Ten on Tuesday, took in $79.0 million, but $47.0 million in subsidies. Louisville's total included only $10.9 million in subsidies.
Since 2005, the Cardinals' revenue has more than doubled, from $41.2 million, with exponential increases in merchandising, donations and ticket sales. Rather than hoard that money, Jurich has used it to build state-of-the-art infrastructure and to hire and retain quality coaches — Louisville spent $92.4 million in 2013-14.
"I want to make sure our coaches have the resources to compete," he said.
"Louisville's had the foresight and good sense to recognize an outstanding leader and understand what that kind of leadership over an extended period of time can mean, and have kept him there, because Tom's had numerous opportunities to leave," Swofford said. "I think the fact that he has stayed and built something very special has to give him a great deal of satisfaction. Tom won't make it about him, and good ADs don't, but you can't help but understand that much of what has happened at the University of Louisville is due to his vision and his leadership and his energy."
Louisville is the seventh former Big East member to enter the ACC since 2004, joining Virginia Tech, Miami, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame. This for a conference that added only Georgia Tech and Florida State the previous 50 years, while losing only South Carolina.
With current membership bound by a grant of media rights signed last spring, the ACC is poised to remain intact long-term. Such stability can do nothing but help the league as college football's Bowl Subdivision adopts a four-team playoff in 2014 and Division I braces for radical reform authored by the major conferences and designed to empower athletes.
Moreover, the ACC has no reason to even consider expansion unless Notre Dame joins for football. And no one is holding his breath waiting for the Fighting Irish to forgo football independence.
"That would be a welcome change, obviously," Swofford said of Notre Dame football entering the ACC. "But I say that hesitantly in the sense that I don't think people should have that expectation. If Notre Dame does join a conference in football, it would be the Atlantic Coast Conference. But when we as a league made the agreement with Notre Dame on full membership with the exception of football, but playing five ACC-Notre Dame football games per year, we did that on face value, not on some anticipation that Notre Dame would be expected to join (for football)."
Louisville is among the ACC schools playing the Irish this football season, and the Cardinals debut as conference members with a nationally televised, prime-time home game versus Miami on Labor Day. Further extending the welcome mat, the ACC scheduled marquee home basketball games for Louisville against Duke and North Carolina.
"This is our fourth conference (in 17 years)," Jurich said, "and hopefully it's our last. … It's been incredible for this community to stand behind us the way they have and to be so generous and gracious. … We can grow so much more. The doors that will open in the ACC will be phenomenal for us."

2014 US News Best Law Schools




2014 US News Best Law Schools


FSU in at #45, UF at #49

Friday, June 27, 2014

FSU Trustee Meeting Tweets Part 2

Great news on FSU research awards at $225 Million.  Here is past history (red is Barron term and green is TK until 2006):

2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
$225,000,000 $190,300,000 $203,500,000 $215,300,000 $200,000,000 $195,800,000 $193,000,000 $190,000,000



doug blackburn @dblackburn 1h
FSU's $1.28 billion operating budget greater than those of 64 countries.


Gary Fineout @fineout 2h
Seminole Boosters president Andy Miller is proposing to put in new high speed elevators in Doak south end zone


Ariya Massoudi @AriyaMassoudi 1h
The plan with the Club Seats is to open up the 3rd floor ball room in the UCC and have access through that floor. Will look great


doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  2h
Big change coming to Doak Campbell Stadium. 10K seats coming out of south end zone and being replaced by 6,500 club seats.



doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  2h
FSU falls to No. 12 in Directors Cup this year after a best-ever fourth place finish in 2013.



Gary Fineout@fineout 3m
's top fundraiser said abrupt resignation of Eric Barron as president led several big money donors to pull back gifts >$1 mill



 doug blackburn@dblackburn 4m
FSU VP Tom Jennings says several donors who were ready to make 8-figure gifts have put donations on hold until new president in place.



Gary Fineout@fineout 3m
top fundraiser says FSU won't meet goals this fiscal yr. blames "headwinds" inc Winston investigation & resignation of Prez Barron
 


doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  17s
40 members of Florida Legislature also part of Seminole caucus; 12 re-elected last week without opposition while 3 termed out.


doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  14m
FSU faculty combined for $225 million in federal grants and contract this year, an all-time high.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  24m
FSU planning to have hired 100 new faculty members by mid August. Preeimence funding makes a difference.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  44m
Ties to Koch brothers raised by 2 public speakers at FSU BOT. Call for Bense, Petronis, McKay and Devoe Moore to quit search committee.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  1h
One FSU student and one professor call for Bense to quit search committee because of Koch-James Madison Institute ties.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  1h
Allan Bense, chair of FSU BOT, admits bumpy search has resulted in criticism of FSU. 'We've taken some hits,' Bense said.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  1h
Trustees at FSU debating how involved they should in search for new president after already forming search committee.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  2h
FSU trustees voted to interview at least 3 finalists for president.
 
 
doug blackburn @dblackburn  ·  2h
At FSU BOT meeting, where one of first items on agenda is presidential search update. Will trustees address speak out?
 
 
 

Top 10 college football teams of the 1990s



Top 10 college football teams of the 1990s

"2. 1999: Florida State (12-0)
Biggest regular-season win: at Florida, 30-23.
Postseason: Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech, 46-29.
Narrow escape: at Clemson, 17-14.
The skinny: Quarterback Chris Weinke threw for 3,103 yards and 25 touchdowns in leading the Seminoles to an unbeaten year. Wide receiver Peter Warrick pulled in 71 receptions for 934 yards. Defensively, tackle Corey Simon, linebacker Brian Allen and pass rusher Jamal Reynolds led a dominant group. Longtime Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski -- a first-round pick the following spring -- gave the Seminoles a long-distance three-point man, as well."

Thursday, June 26, 2014

In Selecting Peers for Comparison's Sake, Colleges Look Upward

The huge outliers here are endowment (FSU has half of what it's peers do) and expenses ($900 Mill to $1.5 Bill).

FSU just doesn't have money.  It has been a perfect storm for FSU where it has no local corporations pumping money into it, few high paying degrees (due to the 'male' school limiting the 'female' school for 4-6 decades), abnormally low tuition rates (due to state leg), and it's youth as a school. 

Not sure how FSU fixes this issue.  It should start with asking for money more often, which has been something FSU hasn't done enough of in it's existence.

In Selecting Peers for Comparison's Sake, Colleges Look Upward


Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

72Colleges selected as peers by this college

19Colleges that selected this college as a peer

7Peer colleges that also chose this college as a peer

Arizona State U, Tempe
  • Iowa State U
  • Rutgers U, New Brunswick
  • SUNY, Albany
  • U of Alabama, Birmingham
  • U of Illinois, Chicago
  • U of South Florida

  • Rank: 309 of 1,595
    ?
    Ranks are based on the PageRank algorithm, which underlies Web searches. Institutions are weighted on the basis of how many colleges link to them, and how many colleges link to those colleges.

    • Florida State U
    • Colleges selected as peers by Florida State U
    • Admission rate
      60%
      62%
    • Endowment
      $370,354,896
      $749,907,387
    • Enrollment
      40,416
      31,603
    • Expenses
      $911,787,861
      $1,513,915,771
    • Graduation rate
      74%
      68%
    • Median SAT
      1,200
      1,181
     
    "When colleges look to compare themselves with others, they're not much different from high-school students chasing popularity: Everyone wants to be friends with the Ivy League, but the Ivy League is really picky about whom it hangs out with.
    Each year colleges submit "comparison groups" to the U.S. Department of Education to get feedback on how their institution stacks up in terms of finances, enrollment, and other measures tabulated in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The groups sometimes represent a college's actual peers but more often reveal their aspirations.
    The Chronicle analyzed the relationships of nearly 1,600 four-year colleges that make up those groups to map out the power players in higher education.
    The typical college selected a comparison group of 16 colleges with a higher average SAT score and graduation rate than its own, lower acceptance rate, and larger endowment, budget, and enrollment.
    The eight Ivy League colleges among them chose only 12 institutions outside their own number as peers—not surprisingly, often including the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University.
    But 55 colleges outside of the Ivy League selected at least one member of that group for comparison. Some of those colleges, such as Tufts University and New York University, are rich private research institutions.
    Other colleges selecting an Ivy League institution as part of its comparison group were bigger surprises: Alabama A&M University, which selected Dartmouth College, and Regent University, which selected Harvard University, Prince­ton University, and Yale University.
    The University of Phoenix's Jersey City campus selected 74 four-year colleges as peers, including six Ivy League institutions. (It left out Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania.)
    Institutional-research officers acknowledge that their institutions' comparison groups often include desired peers that are not true peers. Colleges want to receive data reports on enrollments, graduation rates, student costs, faculty, and budgets for institutions they aspire to be more like.
    The University of Delaware included not only seven other public research universities in its comparison set of 12, but also ambitiously added a few elite private universities, such as Brown.
    Heather Ann Kelly, director of the Office of Institutional Research at Delaware, says the university conducted analyses, based on size, finances, graduation rates, and other variables, to come up with peers and aspirational comparison institutions.
    The group of 12 colleges that Delaware submitted to the Department of Education is a mix of these, she says, and the university makes a point of referring to them as "comparison institutions" rather than "peers."
    When it assesses data from comparison institutions regarding finances, research, admissions, and other measures, Ms. Kelly says, the university wants to look at colleges it wants to be more like.
    "If you took a look at your actual peers, the likelihood is that you stand up pretty well with them," Ms. Kelly says. "In order to make progress, you want to be shedding light on not just your strengths, but also your weaknesses."
    Members of the Ivy League are not the only sought-after comparison institutions. The most commonly selected peer institution was one of the most selective liberal-arts colleges in the country: Carleton College, which was chosen 61 times. Tied for second were Oberlin College and Davidson College, with 56 selections each.
    The 107 most intensive research universities, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, also tended to choose one another as peers. Among them they selected only 65 institutions outside their number as peers, while 234 other colleges chose one of those intensive-research institutions.
    Bucknell University, a baccalaureate college, selected a diverse group of research universities, master's-level institutions, and liberal-arts colleges for its comparison group of 13 institutions.
    Jerome Rackoff, a former assistant vice president for planning and institutional research, says Bucknell established factors that distinguish it—such as being a large baccalaureate college and having Division I sports—and selected colleges that shared those traits.
    Some of them, he admits, are "aspirant schools" because they have traits that Bucknell wants to emulate, or because they are more selective. Mr. Rackoff says Bucknell uses the comparison group to measure how it stacks up on key metrics, such as faculty salaries and student costs.
    "There are a few aspirational institutions for us, like Dartmouth, but there are a number of institutions on the list that are similar to us on a number of critical metrics," he says. "The University of Richmond is very similar to us in its size and curricular structure. Colgate is similar to us in terms of its institutional type."
    The peer groups submitted to the U.S. Education Department are not the only ones colleges collect. They use other groups to benchmark presidential salaries, for example. But institutional-research officers say the former groupings are often more generic.
    Randy Swing, executive director of the Association for Institutional Research, understands that colleges choose aspirational peer groups because they want to match what other good colleges are doing. But reaching too high can make any data analysis "muddy," he warns.
    "You could have an aspirational group that includes Harvard," he says, but "the truth is you learn more if you benchmark yourself against closer peers than that."
    While institutional-research officers at Delaware and Bucknell systematically chose their peers, not all colleges put forth much effort, adds Mr. Swing. Many institutional-research offices, he notes, are staffed by part-time faculty who are not trained in making sophisticated decisions about benchmarking and comparison groups. In some cases, college leaders may cobble together a peer list driven in part by the college rankings in U.S. News & World Report.

     Mr. Swing emphasizes the importance of appearances: College should realize the extent to which, at face value, a group seems like a reasonable choice.
    "This is a real reminder to institutional leaders," he says, "that the data that their institutional-research office is reporting to Ipeds is publicly used and becomes the public face of their institution."