New FSU Athletics Association brings promise of shared vision for future

John Thrasher might not remember the exact date that he realized change was needed, but it was sometime during his first year or two as Florida State University president.

The Seminoles' football program was riding high -- with Jimbo Fisher's team in the midst of an incredible three-year run that included a 2013 national championship -- and yet Thrasher could already see "cracks" in the structure of Seminole Athletics.

Those cracks would ultimately become gaping holes by the time Fisher began flirting with Texas A&M in 2017.

The then-head football coach wanted more control of the overall direction of the athletics department, meanwhile former athletics director Stan Wilcox and Seminole Boosters President and CEO Andy Miller were at odds regarding some high-profile projects -- most notably the construction of a new standalone football operations center.

That three-pronged relationship -- which had long been of concern to Thrasher, FSU Board of Trustees Chair Ed Burr and others -- suddenly was untenable.

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Fisher, of course, would end up bolting for College Station. Wilcox left about eight months later for a job with the NCAA. And on Thursday -- about three weeks after the announcement of its creation -- the university's newly empowered FSU Athletics Association took shape with the adoption of policies and bylaws regarding its governance of the athletics department.

"I think this is an auspicious occasion," Burr said following Thursday's official votes. "I think this will put our FSU athletic department and our FSU boosters in a format and organizational structure that will be unprecedented in their ability to be successful going forward."

According to an earlier press release, the new-look FSUAA will bring together the two organizations with the following goals: "Oversee all aspects of FSU’s athletics program, approve budgets, strategic plans, develop policies regarding scheduling, financing facilities, prioritizing projects and programs and will be responsible for hiring, evaluating and compensating the Director of Athletics."

The five-member FSUAA board will be chaired by Thrasher, and it will include the university's faculty athletics representative (Pam Perrewe'), the chairman of the Board of Trustees (Burr), chairman of the Seminole Boosters board (Doug Russell), and a member of the faculty or staff to be appointed by the president for a two-year term (James Clark, dean of FSU's College of Social Work).

As opposed to the previous organizational structure, Miller will now report to both the Boosters' board of directors and also to the athletics director. And Coburn will now serve on several key committees for the Boosters.

"It's been a long time since everybody's pulled in the same direction," said Russell, the chair of the Boosters board. "And right now, when it comes to Florida State Athletics and Florida State Seminole Boosters, we’re all pulling together, and it feels good. You do better work when you pull together."

Russell then shared a quick story illustrating how much better that relationship has become. He said second-year head football coach Willie Taggart came to the boosters about 45 days ago and asked about putting together a golf fundraiser for his Touchdown Club.

Within a month -- after numerous meetings with Taggart and his staff -- the tournament was planned and executed. Russell said it ended up being a "fabulous" event and accomplished the goal of bringing in additional money for the football-specific booster club.

He added that it might not have been possible under the old way of doing business.

"I felt like this was the perfect example of what we can do when we're all working together," Russell said.

Those comments were echoed by Perrewe', FSU's longtime faculty rep for athletics.

"This is the first time that I really feel strongly that we're all on the exact same page and we’re working for the same goal," she said. "So I'm very excited about the new structure."

Now that the philosophical path has been set, Coburn said it will be up to him and Miller -- and their respective staffs -- to put plans into action. That will mean working not just on big-picture goals but also seeking ways to save money by "finding efficiencies" throughout the two departments.

"We're gonna work through it slowly," Coburn said. "Try not to make mistakes, and try to identify the key places where we can get the most bang for our buck and do those first. And then work through some of the lower priorities."

While it's too early to know how long it will take to merge everything, the Seminoles' first-year athletics director said his early discussions with Miller have been very promising.

"I've deferred to him on some things, he's deferred to me on some things," Coburn said. "It's gone about as well as one could have hoped at this point."

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