There was a few moments on Friday, when he was being formally introduced as the new athletics director at Florida State University, where Michael Alford got noticeably emotional.

The former head of Seminole Boosters, who has worked all across the country for various colleges and even a few pro sports teams, has had a whirlwind last week.

Three days ago he, like everyone else, thought a different candidate might be named FSU's next athletic director. But after that plan stalled and FSU's administration pivoted quickly, it was Alford at the podium on Friday.

And he appeared almost overcome with gratitude.

"It's such a long process," Alford said, when asked about his emotions. "And being a citizen of this industry and just building such great relationships with the university administration, the board, our donor base here, you know, it's a special place.

"And it's just something that doesn't come open very often. That's one of the reasons I first came. I mean, that job (CEO of Seminole Boosters) came open every 45 years. Florida State is special. It is one of the special places in our industry that people earmark as a destination place. Tallahassee is a destination community. So, just to have that opportunity is just special."

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Alford replaces David Coburn, who started as an interim A.D. when Stan Wilcox left to work with the NCAA but wound up being in charge of the FSU athletics department for over three years.

The son of a coach, Alford played baseball at Mississippi State University before transferring to UAB. He received a master's degree from Arkansas, and over the last 25 years he has worked for such organizations as the Dallas Cowboys, the University of Alabama and the University of Oklahoma.

Before coming to FSU in 2020, he had been athletics director at Central Michigan for three years.

Now, he's heading one of the premier departments in the country.

"All of these programs ... are so strong," Alford said. "We've got such great coaches, we have wonderful student-athletes. We do things the right way."

The new A.D., who will take over officially in early January, says his main job is to just "enhance" the experience for the student-athletes and the athletics department as a whole.

"And then use my experience in revenue generation," Alford said. "And what can we do to enhance that student-athlete experience by providing them elite facilities to compete at the highest level?

"That's something I'm really excited about."

Alford said he also is excited about the relationship the athletics department now has with Seminole Boosters. For four decades, they were separate entities, run by different people, with different personalities. And sometimes, they weren't on the same page.

Alford says those days are over. After all, he is coming over directly from running the Boosters operation, so he knows firsthand how much the two entities need each other.

"The alignment that we have right now is something I'm excited about, and in talking to others, they're excited about," Alford said. "Between our coaching staff, the department, the boosters, all the way up to the chairman of the Board [of Trustees], all the way up to the president, we are truly aligned. We are working together. We are working together on the same vision.

"We know what each person needs to do to accomplish our goals. That's where I think we're really going to benefit from me having spent that time in the booster organization, is that I have that understanding of what it takes to provide the experience to our student-athletes, to provide the facilities to compete at a high level.

"And we couldn't be at a better alignment at FSU."

Alford said Florida State would be starting a national search "real soon" to find his replacement at Seminole Boosters. A leading candidate is expected to be Stephen Ponder, the recently hired executive vice-president of the fundraising organization. Ponder is a former administrator at Ole Miss, Arizona State and N.C. State.

In the meantime, Alford will be settling into his new role and working with the man who ultimately hired him, FSU President Richard McCullough.

"I just can't tell you how thrilled we are to have him here ...," McCullough said. "He is just the perfect pick for this job.

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