One thing about Florida State in the Mike Norvell and Michael Alford era is that if there’s anything the media can put out there with a negative connotation, it’ll make its way out into the news headlines.
There always seems to be a negative perception. Gus Malzahn's retirement announcement on Monday and Florida State's massive debt were in the headlines on Tuesday.
It’s like Florida State fans can’t catch a break. The Malzahn news looks like it was out of the blue, but it was clear FSU had an idea it was possible since they had already promoted Tim Harris Jr. a few weeks ago to co-offensive coordinator.
Here was one of the headlines on social media on Tuesday regarding Florida State’s finances:
NEW: Florida State University reported $437 million in athletics-related debt for fiscal year 2025, per @DanielLibit.
— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) February 3, 2026
Athletics made up 71% of FSU's total debt.
Read: https://t.co/j7RqMb5LHR pic.twitter.com/AqfXbukDtw
Florida State’s debt isn’t news to anyone who been around the program. Florida State has done stadium renovations and built a standalone football-only facility over the past couple of years. The fans who saw FSU upset the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2025 season opener saw all of the renovations and upgrades first-hand. Nobody was complaining about the renovations then.
The football-only facility opened a few weeks later, and it's one of the top facilties nationally. We can argue if it was a wise investment, or whether it came too late compared to other schools.
However, those structures make up the majority of the debt. In July 2025, Florida State had an AA++ Fitch Rating, which is the same as it was in 2022 (the second-highest rating possible). That means it's a very high credit quality with very low default risk, meaning they'll be able to take care of the debt with no likely issues.
People placing blame on FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford must not be aware that he's not making these decisions alone. They must be approved by the President and Board of Trustees.
It's not like FSU is borrowing money to pay players and going into debt or something outrageous. It's no different than if you had a house and went into debt to build another house and had good credit.