Friday, May 31, 2019

Top 10 Teams of the Last Decade






FSU boosters liquidating assets to make ends meet...

Times gonna be tough for FSU as the revenue gap grows.

https://theosceola.com/notes-fsu-sets-2019-20-budget-acc-distribution-to-increase/

Months of long hours repairing a broken 2018-19 athletics budget is now complete.
Florida State athletics director David Coburn and various administrators found solutions to the fiscal year’s budget through cost-cutting and is now balanced thanks to a $6.15 million additional transfer from Seminole Boosters, Inc. The Booster transfer will be funded by the liquidation of real estate held by the Boosters for such a need.
“It’s the product of a lot of hard work, a lot of cutting, a lot of effort from the part of a lot of people,” Coburn said. “We got there.”
Coburn and the FSU athletics board met on Wednesday afternoon and approved a proposed 2019-20 budget of $108.07 million – an increase from $106.95 million in 2018-19.
Among the highlights detailed by finance committee chair Joe Icerman and Coburn:
– The projected ACC distribution for 2019-20 is $32,076,073, an increase of $2.37 million from 2018-19. The additional revenue factors in money expected from the new ACC Network. Then-FSU athletic director Stan Wilcox had said in 2017 that revenue would jump by $8 million – $10 million annually but Coburn said that number is not accurate.
– Athletic operating revenues are projected to fall from $84 million to just under $75 million. The major difference is football tickets, which are projected to be $8.45 million lower in 2019 ($14,995,000 vs. $23,445,000).
– FSU has sold 24,000 season tickets and the budget is built on a foundation of 25,000 season tickets sold. But FSU officials are optimistic that its flex-ticket packs, previously detailed by Jerry Kutz, will entice fans to Doak Campbell Stadium in 2019.
Sales for FSU’s opener against Boise State in Jacksonville have already exceeded what was budgeted. The Aug. 31 kickoff was recently set for 7 p.m., which should help fans who want to enjoy the beach, golf or go fishing before going to watch the game.
“We have a very conservative number budgeted in there for ticket revenue,” Coburn said. “If we can make our nut there and these flex packages sell, we win a few games and start getting some walk-up business, all of that will help.”
– FSU will receive $4 million to buy gear from Nike, up from a $2.8 million allowance in 2018-19.
– FSU will host a Top Golf event this summer, although a date has not been released. Coburn said school officials are working with a group to promote concerts at Doak Campbell Stadium and are “actively looking” at options.
– Ross Cobb has been hired from the University of Arizona to be FSU’s new Chief Financial Officer. Longtime FSU athletics administrators Bernie Waxman (Associate AD for Facilities and Event Management) and Dr. Greg Beaumont (Senior Associate AD for Student-Athlete Academic Services) are retiring this summer.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

UNC, ACC leadership, and football expenses


So here is the list of football expenses for the ACC:


FSU $57,732,569
Clemson $46,302,285
Miami $37,268,190
VT $27,864,229
Pitt $27,141,760
UL $26,858,473
Duke $26,200,992
GT $25,096,298
SU $24,994,763
BC $23,477,213
UVA $22,552,489
NCSU $21,321,620
UNC $21,068,434
WFU $19,360,660


Note that the school that runs the ACC, UNC, is 2nd to last in football expenses.  Also note, UNC has the 2nd or 3rd largest athletic endowment in the nation.

Given that 80-90% of revenue come from football.....this illustrates one of the massive issues facing the ACC as it is dead last in conference revenue and trailing leaders but $20 Million plus per team per year.

The ACC just doesn't seem to want to learn.  Or worse, it doesn't care.  This tied with the revenue gap, does not bode well for the future of the ACC.

FSU World Affairs Program moves up in global ranking







https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2019/05/28/fsu-world-affairs-program-moves-up-in-global-ranking/?fbclid=IwAR27LMkyY1WGD_YCKOmf_o4PMJJtGNpwzXFD1nATLADC_09oRc2sHlFU4U4

The Florida State University World Affairs Program within the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy has lept four spots in the rankings of a globally respected organization for their success in Model UN competitions.
The program capped one of its most successful years ever in achieving the No. 8 spot in world rankings by Best Delegate, an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting student Model UN teams in competitions and conferences throughout the world.
“Florida State University’s year on the circuit was one defined with incredible new and dedicated talent that represents a bright and sustainable future for our Model UN program,” said outgoing Program Director Richard Sommers. “Watching underclassmen carry our torch has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I am so proud of the exponential growth that they experienced this year.”
According to Best Delegate, the team “dominated the southern circuit” in 2018-2019 and brought home Best Large Delegation Awards from several major events. The team  also brought home numerous individual delegate awards.
“It was clear that FSU was one of the teams to beat in the southern region this year,” the Best Delegate site wrote. “Florida State University’s Model UN program celebrated its 33rd anniversary and has made incredible efforts towards the continued sustainability of the competitive travel team.”
The team was able to expand its travel and competitive opportunities this year thanks to generous support from donors in the 2018 Great Give, FSU’s online fundraising event.
Sommers said he and his fellow program members were thankful they could show their talent on the Model United Nations circuit with the fantastic assistance from program alumni and support from throughout the university.
“The team is undoubtedly only going to get even bigger and better due to everyone’s hard work and persistence,” he said. “I look forward to witnessing their continued success on the circuit next year representing our incredible university.”
Best Delegate provides in-person programs that directly impact over 3,700 students and teachers worldwide every year. Its website is used by more than 750,000 Model UN participants from around the world every year and is considered the thought leader in the development of the global Model United Nations community.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

ACC Last in Revenue/Big 10 Revenue soars to $54 million per school (Update)

So the Big 10 is at $54 million per school.  Basically the SEC is looking at $25 million a year gaps PER SCHOOL.

ACC won't survive this IMHO.  Look for a Big East slow death for the ACC.  But most of us realized this long ago watching John Swofford screw things up.


https://floridastate.forums.rivals.com/threads/growing-conference-revenue-gap-adds-to-financial-concerns.256039/

Follow-up:

Don't mean to come off as the Grim Reaper with this story. But wanted to point out some of the harsh details surrounding FSU’s current financial state and the challenges ahead.

The ACC Network will undoubtedly provide a much-needed infusion of new revenue to FSU and other ACC member schools. However, some have overstated how much and how quickly that infusion will happen. A few things to consider:

* ESPN is already paying the ACC a penalty of approximately $3 million per school for failing to launch the linear network earlier. So the $29.5 million reported distribution per school will immediately drop to $26.5 million the minute the network is launched.

* Florida State invested a little over $4 million (actually much better than most other ACC schools) to build out the infrastructure for the network. So that money will need to be recouped.

* In this list of the largest alumni bases in the country, the Big Ten had a staggering 9 of the top 15 schools. The SEC had two of the top 15. The ACC had zero. That’s one of the reasons it’s unreasonable to expect the ACC Network to bring in anywhere close to the same TV revenue as the Big Ten, or SEC.

* The ACC simply doesn’t generate the same TV ratings as the Big Ten and SEC. See this list below of the top rated non-bowl games from the 2018 football season. As you can see, there are no ACC games listed.
[​IMG]

Commentary

When the discussion of finances comes up, there are always some that point out that Florida State has always been at a disadvantage compared to schools like Florida but have still been able to thrive. That’s very true and FSU has always been able to succeed at a high level despite this disadvantage.

However, it’s important to note that (1) the financial disparity between FSU and some of its rival schools has never been greater (see story), and (2) the costs to run a successful football program have never been greater. In just the last decade there has been a massive growth in support staffs, most major programs now have state of the art stand-alone football complexes, schools must now pay a stipend to student athletes (approx. $2 million annually for FSU), and the cost of tuition/scholarships has skyrocketed in recent years.

All that money has to come from somewhere. And if you skimp on facilities or support staffs it will catch up with you.

A prime example of this is Miami. The ‘Canes had a crazy run of success between 1983-2003. In addition to national championships, UM racked up 14 10-win or more seasons during this time. However, in the last 15 years they’ve managed just one. I spoke to someone pretty high up in the college football world recently that attributed most of the Miami’s decline to poor facilities. Through the 80’s and 90’s UM’s facilities (weight room, locker room, dorms, stadium, etc.) were only slightly behind that of other major programs. However, starting in the 2000s the divide grew exponentially. The gap finally became so wide that many elite South Florida recruits that would have normally stayed home went to schools with better facilities.

Florida State isn’t to that level yet but it may not be that far away. The standalone football complex will cost approximately $60 million to build. Significant renovations are also needed for both Dick Howser and Doak Campbell Stadium. I was informed by one university source that it will cost approximately $200 million to completely renovate Doak Campbell to where it needs to be.

Point is there are some major challenges ahead for athletics and the Seminole Boosters.


https://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt-acc-revenue-taxes-0526-story.html

Here are the ACC’s distributions to each member in 2017-18.
Clemson: $31.4M
Miami: $31.0M
Boston College: $29.8M
Virginia: $29.7M
Duke: $29.7M
Florida State: $29.7M
Louisville: $29.7M
N.C. State: $29.7
Virginia Tech: $29.5M
Wake Forest: $29.1M
Syracuse: $28.6M
North Carolina: $28.5M
Pittsburgh: $28.3M
Georgia Tech: $28.1M
Notre Dame: $7.9M






https://awfulannouncing.com/ncaa/big-ten-conference-record-revenue-759-million.html

Big 10: $54mill/school 
SEC: $43.7mill/school 
Big 12: $34.3mill/school 
Pac 12: $30.9mill/school 
ACC: $30.7mill/school 


https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2019/05/15/big-ten-revenue-hit-nearly-759-million-fiscal-2018/3686089002/

The revenue total was driven by new TV agreements that took effect at the start of the 2017-18 school year and resulted in payments of roughly $54 million to each of the 14-team conference’s 12 longest-standing members. Maryland and Rutgers received smaller revenue-share amounts, but both schools also received loans from the conference against future revenue shares.

Oklahoma Gave False Data for Years to 'U.S. News,' Loses Ranking



https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/05/23/university-oklahoma-stripped-us-news-ranking-supplying-false

U.S. News & World Report has stripped the University of Oklahoma of its ranking, citing incorrect information provided about alumni giving. The university told U.S. News that it has been supplying incorrect data since 1999.
According to the magazine, the most recent report from Oklahoma claimed that its two-year rate of alumni giving was 14 percent, when it is actually 9.7 percent. Alumni giving counts for 5 percent of the methodology in the "Best Colleges" ranking by U.S. News. As a result, the magazine removed Oklahoma from that ranking and several others, including "best value" colleges, top public universities and best colleges for veterans.
Colleges periodically lose their rankings because of false data, sometimes submitted incorrectly but without the intent to deceive.
This marks the second time in two years that a college has been found to have submitted false data to U.S. News -- and to have done so intentionally -- for multiple years. Temple University last year admitted that its business school had submitted false data about its online M.B.A. program from 2015 to 2018. The data fraud at Oklahoma went on longer.
The student newspaper at Oklahoma, The OU Daily, reported in December that the university was investigating reports that false data had been submitted for years. A university spokeswoman confirmed the report to Inside Higher Ed, as well as the detail that the law firm Jones Day was investigating the issue. She also confirmed that the incorrect data was submitted with the intent to inflate the statistic.
The incorrect data was submitted while David Boren was president.
The university discovered the problem and reported it during the tenure of James L. Gallogly as president. He resigned this month after less than a year in office.
Boren served from 1994 to 2018. The news about submitting false data on fund-raising has been overshadowed by another investigation Jones Day is conducting, at the request of the university's board, into allegations that Boren sexually harassed male aides.
In March, the news website NonDoc published a detailed article in which an Oklahoma graduate described being offered alcohol by Boren as a prelude to Boren touching him and making advances. The graduate is quoted by name, and friends of his confirm that he spoke to them about the allegations years ago, when they happened. The graduate also alleges one incident involving Tripp Hall, a former vice president for university development. Boren continues to deny wrongdoing, and Hall does so as well.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Most under appreciated basketball programs




The Top 25 College Football Stadiums



https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/g22522292/college-football-stadiums-ranked/?utm_source=facebook_arb&utm_medium=cpm&utm_campaign=arb_fb_pop_m_i_g22522292

2Doak-Campbell Stadium, Florida State
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: APR 14 Florida State Spring Game
ICON SPORTSWIREGETTY IMAGES
Florida State’s stadium was meant to mimic the academic buildings around it, using brick as an all-encompassing feature. It took three million bricks to make it work. Originally opened in 1950 with 15,000 seats, the Tallahassee venue has grown into a stadium of 83,000-plus seats and one of the largest continuous brick buildings in the nation.

Friday, May 17, 2019

Brooks Koepka & PGA Championship (Updated)









https://www.tomahawknation.com/2019/5/17/18628840/fsu-brooks-koepka-wins-pga-championship-final-round-golf-florida-state-seminoles-2019-beth-page
















FSU College of Motion Picture Arts is listed among nation's best film schools







Florida State University, College of Motion Picture Arts Tallahassee The College of Motion Picture Arts at FSU has been on the cutting-edge of student film production for more than 30 years, with 97% of graduates finding industry work within one year of completion. With 24/7 access to gold-standard production facilities, the program boasts a 5:1 student to faculty ratio, with 100% of student productions funded by the program. On offer are BFAs in motion picture arts as well as graduate programs that cover live-action and animated storytelling techniques. The Torchlight Program covers the business end of the industry.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Off Year for ACC TV Ratings

Nice research by https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/

https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/05/avg-tv-viewers-2018-season.html


Conf.Avg. ViewersTop 40 Avg.the rest
SEC4,041,2647,415,8751,996,045
B1G3,185,0095,983,7751,585,714
XII2,375,8224,641,675  890,016
ACC2,190,5474,385,775  860,106
PAC2,006,8223,363,350  921,600

Based on this analysis, we see that SEC football is the most valuable brand for that sport*, following by Big Ten football. For the 2018 season at least, the Big XII beat out the ACC for 3rd place, and the Pac-12 brought up the rear. If you examine the games outside the top 40 (aka "the rest"), the ACC was in 5th place last season (and the Pac-12 was 3rd in that category).

ACC Alumni/Donor comparison



https://syracusefan.com/threads/for-basketball.143787/#lg=_xfUid-2-1558022278&slide=0

Here’s the graph they provided at the time, with 2014 figures, sorted by percent of living alumni who donate.




...

Friday, May 10, 2019

ACC Sports spending breakdown by https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/

Great ACC spending breakdown by https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/

https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2019/05/spending-by-sport-2017-18.html

First, here's the total spending for the most common ACC sports:

FootballBasketballAll TrackSoccerBaseballAll Others
BC$23,477,213$10,626,557$2,105,751$2,911,580$2,092,021$16,503,701
Clemson$46,302,285$12,115,065$4,649,810$3,665,688$3,620,802$8,000,540
Duke$26,200,992$27,766,912$3,695,229$3,779,382$2,962,610$19,583,476
FSU$57,732,569$17,668,836$5,181,616$2,590,332$6,076,428$12,192,624
GT$25,096,298$12,804,589$2,153,379$1,809,897$7,648,978
NCSU$21,321,620$13,273,159$3,097,488$2,726,555$2,709,718$11,992,713
SU$24,994,763$20,190,487$4,032,387$3,910,179$18,953,765
UL$26,858,473$27,300,375$3,162,217$3,042,862$3,457,960$14,692,017
Miami$37,268,190$13,493,167$4,843,387$1,727,201$3,725,691$8,626,776
UNC$21,068,434$13,308,480$2,614,418$2,952,793$2,914,794$16,191,101
ND$42,822,063$13,614,854$3,491,614$4,113,986$2,256,408$24,277,296
Pitt$27,141,760$16,950,982$2,672,974$2,971,594$1,814,921$9,162,614
UVA$22,552,489$15,244,370$3,601,758$3,489,311$3,648,381$18,199,722
VT$27,864,229$15,363,901$2,875,111$2,437,934$2,794,995$11,041,908
WFU$19,360,660$11,378,381$2,610,959$3,524,246$2,466,918$7,163,869
AVG$30,004,136$16,073,341$3,385,873$2,922,910$2,823,436$13,615,407

FSU new Primary Health Center



https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/05/09/fsu-primaryhealth-center-set-open-monday-southwest-tallahassee-location/1142047001/

FSU PrimaryHealth – a public primary health center operated by Florida State’s College of Medicine – opens its doors Monday with a focus not only on the patient’s health, but the wellness of the southwest community where it is located.
The 10,000 square foot center is opening on schedule, a year after the college broke ground on the property at Roberts Avenue and Eisenhower Street, just up the street from Sabal Palm Elementary.
The patient-focused center will be staffed by physicians from the College of Medicine, along with physician assistants, nurse practitioners and staff. Dr. Tracey E. Hellgren, who has practiced family medicine for more than 25 years, is coming on board in June.
“This is really a major step forward for the College of Medicine in practicing what we have been teaching for the past 15 years,” said Van Durme, the college’s point person on the project. “We’ve been teaching about addressing the needs of under-served communities, we’ve been teaching about patient-centered care and we’ve been teaching students about dealing with the community’s health.”


https://www.wtxl.com/news/local-news/new-fsu-health-center-coming-to-southside-neighborhood


Thursday, May 9, 2019

Trip down the mountain top






Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Student Union update



https://union.fsu.edu/new-union/renderings

New Union_View from Woodward

New Union_Aerial

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/05/06/panera-bread-jamba-juice-pdq-more-coming-fsus-new-union/1118049001/



This past Monday, April 1, the Oglesby Union and the Florida State University Student Government Association Oglesby Union Board hosted the New Union Showcase. The event was held to update students on what they can expect when the new Union opens in fall 2020.

The event showed stunning mock-ups of the $120 million new Union project and gave insight into what the spaces would look like, as well as how the bookstore will be re-imagined and which dining locations will be available.

Currently, the new Oglesby Union will host a floating Starbucks, an FSU-themed grill, Panera Bread, Jamba Juice, Lime, Sushi With Gusto, Seminole Pies, Pollo Tropical, PDQ and Panda Express.


The $120 million renovation of the Union will bring a Panera, Panda Express, Jamba Juice and more to campus. (Photo: Andrew Salinero/FSView)

One thing that will remain the same is the pool tables and the bowling alley. Although the old Union had 10 pool tables, the new Union will have eight tables. All of the tables are from the original Union. Crenshaw Lanes will also remain in the Union.

“There’s a lot of student union and student centers around the country that are actually getting rid of their bowling alleys,” said Matt Watson, associate director of Oglesby Union. “Ours is actually one of the busiest in the country, so we can’t wait for it to be back.”

The new FSU Bookstore will be moving back into the Union. The store will be 25,000 square feet, at least double the size it is now. Sections of the store will be dedicated to Nike and Apple products. It will also include a lounge area, making it another place for students to to relax, study or hangout.


Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Ranking All 130 College Football Coaching Jobs for 2019

Nice find by https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-all-130-college-football-coaching-jobs-2019

9. Florida State
You can win a national championship at Florida State — the school won it as recently as 2013 — and there are a ton of built-in advantages due to the school’s location, but there are also some difficulties (just ask Jimbo Fisher) that keep it from being a top-five job nationally.

The first 100 years of FSU’s facilities




Wednesday, May 1, 2019

State Budget news, etc (UPDATE)


First, the House and Senate agreed to an overall budget reduction of $35 million for all universities. That equates to about $5.5 million for Florida State University. They did not provide any funds for performance or preeminence in the budget. The House had proposed and additional $100 million in cuts for universities, but the Senate was successful in preventing the more drastic reductions.

Thankfully, the Senate provided Florida State University with $6 million to prevent us from realizing the cut. Additionally, the Interdisciplinary Research and Commercialization Building (IRCB) received $4.24 million, adding to the $16 million we received over the past two budget cycles.

This year, the Legislature directed state dollars toward K-12 education, providing an historic increase of nearly $250 per student; the environment, with a $680 million; and Hurricane Michael, with $1.86 billion to assist with recovery.

Overall, higher education did not see the increases we had realized in the past years, but Florida State University did receive an appropriation to blunt the cuts that some of the other universities in Florida did not receive.

The next legislative session is just around the corner, staring in January of 2020.

Thank you for your interest in Legislative Affairs at Florida State University. We look forward to providing you with a complete summary next week of the higher education bills that are pending in the Legislature.

Kathy Mears​

https://govrel.fsu.edu/legisletter/2019/legisletter-2019-05-02


https://floridapolitics.com/archives/294773-budget-conference-house-reluctant-toward-super-preeminence-fund-for-uf-fsu

The House and Senate are at odds over how to spend $13 million on Florida universities.
During a budget conference Thursday, House higher-ed spending negotiators declined to take up the Senate’s position on creating a line item for “National Ranking Operational Enhancement.” The Senate wants $13 million for the fund, which would go toward Florida State University (FSU) and the University of Florida (UF).
Rep. Randy Fine, who’s leading higher-ed budget talks in his chamber, described the money as “kind of like super-preeminence” when speaking to reporters after the brief conference. The state rewards preeminent universities based on a series of metrics. UF, FSU and the University of South Florida have met that threshold
Instead of creating the $13 million pool for FSU and UF, the House currently wants to see that money — and then some — go toward support for regional universities.
“That’s an open issue that obviously the Senate will be visiting now,” Fine said. 
The Senate on Wednesday night produced an overall higher-ed spending offer that totals about $145 million less than the college and university budget it passed earlier this month.
The two chambers have agreed to a $35.3 million cut to university base funding. While it’s not immediately clear how that cut will affect each university’s budget, Fine suggested it would be proportional across the board.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-florida-budget-tuesday-20190430-story.html

Cummings and Sen. Rob Bradley, the Senate’s top budget negotiator, also agreed to put boost annual funding for some universities to make up for an overall cut of $35 million, but the University of Central Florida wasn’t among them.
The University of Florida and Florida State University received $15 million to keep moving up in national college rankings. Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Atlantic University, the University of North Florida and Florida International University each received $10 million for operational costs.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/294751-tentative-higher-ed-funding-is-a-win-for-uf-and-fsu-but-is-that-costing-usf

The Florida Senate added a $13 million budget item for the University of Florida and Florida  State University in its budget conference Wednesday for “national ranking operational enhancement.”
The funding is intended to ensure both universities continue to rise in the U.S. News and World Report higher education rankings. UF is currently ranked No. 8 and FSU No. 26 for public universities in the U.S. The goal is to bring UF into the top five and FSU into the top 25.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/06/08/fsu-trustees-approve-1-8-billion-budget-next-year-focus-academics-student-life/685990002/

Florida State University’s board of trustees Friday approved a $1.8 billion budget for next year that includes spending to hire more than 100 new faculty members, boosting scholarships for incoming students and increasing student success initiatives.
The spending plan represents a $130 million increase from this year’s budget. It is bolstered by a $25 million increase in new state funding, along with restricted increases in Pell grants ($17 million); state grants $34 million) and money from other grants and donations ($30 million).
Kyle Clark, vice president for finance and administration, told trustees FSU is expecting $2.8 million in new performance funding and an estimated $6.1 million in recurring preeminence funding.
Also, Friday, following a lengthy discussion, trustees voted 9-3 to impose an assessmenton all fraternities and sororities and student organizations not listed as Registered Student Organizations. Those organizations do not receive funding from student activities and service fees.
Under the plan, organizations would be required to pay an assessment up to $50 per member for the fall and spring semesters, to help offset costs associated with overseeing Greek life by the Office of Student Affairs.
The assessment could generate an additional $500,000 to the office’s budget for the 2019-2020 academic year.
The board first discussed the assessment idea in February. Then, it was challenged by Trustee Brent Sembler, who called it a “tax” in disguise. Trustees Emily Fleming “June” Duda and Craig Mateer joined Sembler in opposing the proposal Friday.
“To me, this is nickel and diming our students in a $2-billion institution,” Sembler said.
“I feel blindsided by this,” said Duda added, who complained the issue wasn’t raised in Thursday’s Student Affairs committee meeting. Clark said it was discussed in the budget and finance committee meeting.
Mateer called it a “socialist” tax.
But Thrasher and BOT Chairman Ed Burr said the vote gives the organizations a year’s notice of the possible changes in fall 2019.
Supporters of the plan agreed to gauge the impact of the new funding in next year’s budget.
Thrasher said his decision to place $1-million toward the division – rather than in another category – shows the importance of FSU improving supervision of Greek-life and investing in programs that will benefit student life campus wide.
“Until we implement these programs, we’ll never know,” he said of the university’s success of changing student culture. “I want to save the fraternities and sororities, I really do. But we cannot afford to have another incident like we had last November.”


https://trustees.fsu.edu/meetings/materials/20190221/Materials-2019-02-21.pdf

8th in country for percent of alumni who give back


FSU Professor’s Brand New Invention Could Save Football



https://fanbuzz.com/nfl/fsu-professor-auxetic-foam/

Thanks to Changchun “Chad” Zeng, an associate professor and researcher at Florida State University, football at all levels could change forever thanks to a brand new technology he developed.

Zeng invented something called auxetic foam. Basically, as the foam absorbs the hit from a high-speed impact, it becomes denser and actually hardens, which would drastically change how traditional football helmets were designed. (If you were like me, yours were probably filled with air, right?)
This new technology could change everything.


“Contrary to conventional foams, auxetic foams become denser and harder when being hit,” Zeng said. “The harder the foam is hit, the harder it gets. As a result, auxetic foams provide a much higher energy absorbing capability and much better protection.”
Changchun Zeng developed the foam with his research team at Florida State University’s High-Performance Materials Institute down in Tallahassee. The auxetic foam is exclusively licensed by Auxadyne, a company based in Florida. The company submitted Zeng’s invention to the NFL’s Play Smart. Play Safe. HeadHealthTECH Challenge VI where it was heralded for its game-changing design.
The NFL awarded Auxadyne an $86,688 grant to test Zeng’s foam in different capacities to potentially become the future of NFL players’ helmets.