FSU football: Positives of hiring Michael Alford as FSU Athletic Director

FSU athletics didn’t have to rush to make a hire when talks with Louisville’s Vince Tyra fell through unexpectedly Thursday morning. However, FSU moved to hire Seminole Boosters CEO Michael Alford to replace David Coburn Thursday, who can now make plans to retire earlier than expected.

Coburn agreed to stay on through the spring semester or until FSU hired his replacement. I always thought Alford was a great candidate for the position considering his background and what he had accomplished since arriving in Tallahassee last year.

It was surprising the FSU administration had their eyes set on Tyra early on. As awkward as the situation was with Tyra Thursday, I believe FSU ultimately handled the situation Thursday about as well as they could have.

It wasn’t their fault the Louisville administration seemed to sabotage themselves. They made a hire that most people hoped would be made, to begin with, and that was evident by how FSU fans showed admiration and were so congratulatory towards Alford on social media once the announcement came about.

The news couldn’t have come sooner with Miami hiring their new Athletic Director from Clemson, and Clemson promoting someone in-house to take over for them this week.

It’s like all three schools are starting a race at the same time, and may the best institution win. Let’s take a look at some positives of hiring Michael Alford.

Hit The Ground Running

One huge positive of hiring Michael Alford is he’s already aware of the lay of the land and already has his fingerprints on several things.

Think of it as similar to when Jimbo Fisher became head coach after Bobby Bowden. Fisher was the offensive coordinator for a couple of years before succeeding Bowden and was able to expedite the transition.

That allowed Fisher to jump right into recruiting since he knew where the holes in the roster were. The same will hold for Alford since he’s aware of some of the processes that need updating or modifying.

If someone brand new came in, they’d need more time to assess everything before rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. FSU isn’t in a space where they can afford to waste time, and Alford has already built relationships through his efforts with Seminole Boosters.

His efforts in modernizing that outfit have not gone unnoticed, and I think people will be more than willing to jump on board with his vision.

What’s crazy is some FSU fans are already increasing their donations to Seminole Boosters because of the move:

Alford led the charge for increased Seminole Booster contributions last year and hired some strong people to work with him.

Here to hoping he’ll put someone in place as the new CEO to capitalize on the momentum they already created.

From Seminoles.com

"Under Alford’s leadership, the Seminole Boosters have increased the annual fund and membership numbers, completed a successful $100 million capital campaign that includes funding for a new Football Operations Building, initiated a redevelopment plan of Doak Campbell Stadium, and entered a new contract with Legends, the premium experiences company, to operate the Dunlap Champions Club. Prior to his arrival at Florida State, Alford served as Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics at Central Michigan University from 2017-2020. He is credited with leading Central Michigan during the most successful fundraising period in its athletics history. Notably, Alford hired eight coaches at Central Michigan, four of whom went on to win conference coach of the year honors in their first two seasons. Alford also guided the renegotiation of CMU Athletics’ apparel contract which resulted in a 600 percent increase in revenue, spearheaded an all-time high in Chippewa Athletic Fund memberships and oversaw the department’s all-time fundraising record in 2018-2019 that eclipsed the mark set in 2017-2018 by 50 percent. From 2012 to 2017, Alford was the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development and Administration at the University of Oklahoma where he oversaw the Sooner Club, the principal fund-raising arm of OU Athletics. The Sooner Club set annual giving records and increased membership to an all-time high under his leadership. He also played an integral role in the $160 million capital campaign for the renovation of the Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and the university’s football facility. In addition, Alford oversaw the men’s basketball program, which advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 2016. Alford served as senior director of corporate partnerships and sales for the Dallas Cowboys from 2008-2012 and as general manager of Crimson Tide Sports Marketing from 2004-2008."

That’s a great deal of experience across several different collegiate settings and in different markets. I believe that experience will prove valuable in getting things done in Tallahassee.

One of the most important is to create fundraising opportunities, as FSU looks to create new ways to generate revenue in a league that’s failing to compete with schools in the SEC and Big 10.

Alford has experience hiring coaches that have excelled and embrace the importance of funding for athletic programs. The latter is something FSU has been missing for over a decade.

Parting Thoughts

FSU football has been bad the past few years, but other sports have excelled. FSU women’s soccer won its third national title in the last eight years.

FSU basketball has carried the load the last 5-6 years although the young team is going through some growing pains this season. For whatever reason, it feels like FSU athletics is finally getting its ducks in a row.

The Seminole Boosters organization is working hand-in-hand with the athletic department for the first time in over 40 years. FSU has an athletic director that understands the importance of fundraising and state-of-the-art facilities. FSU fans have been re-energized by Michael Alford over the past year, and booster contributions are heading back to where they used to be when FSU was elite in football.

It couldn’t happen at a better time with Clemson football showing signs they are about to fall back to earth after an incredible run over the past 6-7 years. Miami seems to have re-committed to its football program, at least for now, and Florida has a new head coach that might be in over his head already.

I can’t overstate the importance of when Alford came on board at FSU. It gave him a first-hand account of what Mike Norvell inherited as a coach instead of wondering what was happening from afar. I think that experience will serve their relationship well as long as Norvell continues to show progress on and off the field.

The next couple of years could be a prime opportunity to return FSU football to where it deserves to be, among the elite programs once again.

I think Michael Alford understands the importance of that, knowing if FSU football does well, everyone at FSU does well.