AMELIA ISLAND — Michael Alford discussed revenue distribution and other topics at the end of Tuesday's meetings between ACC athletics directors and coaches.

Below are some comments from Alford and a full video:

(Opening thoughts on revenue distribution) "I’m very optimistic. I want to praise (ACC commissioner) Jim Phillips, (Deputy Commissioner/CFO, Business & Administration) Ben Tario, the whole staff of providing solutions. They’ve really taken a proactive approach to this. They understand the issues. They’ve brought some various models to us that are being very aggressive. That’s something as a league we need to look at so we can make sure we are keeping pace with our peers out there, that we’re continuing to be able to fund our programs at a championship level. So commend them, they’ve done an amazing job and I’m optimistic about the future."

(Does he think they will leave Amelia with a vote) "That’s a good question. I don’t know the answer to that right now because I think there’s some other people that would have to vet it out amongst the board of directors and some others when you’re talking about success initiatives. It’s going to take a while but I don’t think it’s going to take that long. We understand the urgency, our CEOs understand the urgency to take a look at this. I’m very thrilled the CEOs are engaged in this and really examining how we can move this forward."

(Have his comments to BOT pushed the issue to the forefront) "I will say this that these conversations we’ve had in these last two days have been the most open, transparent discussions that we’ve had since I’ve been in this conference. Now I haven’t been in the conference very long. But talking to others who have been here for many years, they’ve commented that as well, that they’ve never had this open, transparent discussions amongst the ADs and the commissioner and his staff before. The dialogue has been great. People are understanding the issues. Not that they didn’t before but they are really taking a look at how are we going to fix this model that we have in the ACC that will allow us to compete amongst our peers."

(How much of the gap between the ACC and the SEC and Big Ten would you be able to close?) "That’s some of the things that we’re looking at. I don’t want to comment on that yet because we still have to iron that out and flush out all the numbers and see what else can we add. It’s a work in progress. I’m thrilled with the work and the direction that it’s going."

(Is it a step in right direction?) "Step in the right direction. We’re never going to cover the entire gap but it will allow you to be competitive."

(what number is FSU looking for) "There’s not a magic number right now. Really what we’re looking for is to be competitive. You look at the revenue shares of other leagues and what they’re going to have and how they’re going to invest it, you need to be able to make sure that you can stay up to par with some of the changes that they’re going to do and how they are going to use that revenue. We just need to be in the competitive look. We’re the third-best media agreement right now. We want to stay the third best. We’ve been able to compete with them being the third-best media agreement. A lot of it comes down to choices that we make on funding. As long as we’re there and competitive, that’s what the number is."

(Best scenario for FSU staying competitive and in the ACC?) "100%. The ADs, the universities are very unified. It's a great league with great leadership. We thoroughly enjoy being in this league. Once again, we're a top-20 public institution of like institutions. We compete, especially in football, at the top and we're really thrilled about being in the league and competing for championships. You look at what we do in Olympic sports. That's big at Florida State and you look at the ACC and its championships. We win more championships than any conference. We're very thrilled about being in this league and we want to stay in it."

(Has the fact that FSU was last in ACC in percentage of money directed to football changed?) "That's changed a little bit. We've already made big strides. When I first became athletic director, with the support of the board of trustees and the president, we made significant upgrades to personnel, really modernizing the front office of the football program. You see what we're doing with facilities, we've made investments into the weight room, we made an investment and re-did the whole locker room. We re-did the playing surface. We have made significant investments in that sport and other sports. We are now investing, we're competing at a high level and you've seen the success from that."

(32-32 in last eight years of ACC play. Need to be better than that?) "We need to compete, not only for conference championships, compete for national championships. That's where we're investing."

(Concern that new ACC revenue model is just a temporary fix that will be an issue again in a few years?) "We're going to continue to look at it. Even though we may approve a revenue model this year, it may change. We're going to continue to tweak it and what can we do to grow it. We have been looking at different revenue streams that are going to change, different revenue streams are going to become available to us as technology changes and everything that goes along with that. It's something we're continuously (working on). It's something that when I wake up, the first thing on my mind is revenue. I know when the commissioner wakes up, the first thing on his mind is, 'How do we fix this revenue model?' I'm going to say it's going to be a work in progress every year."

(What is your top option for new model) "Any option that narrows that gap. Not to get into the details, but any option that is really going to allow us to fund our programs. all of them, competitively to compete for championships."

(Still exploring possibility of unequal television revenue?) "There are conversations that the commissioner and our partners are having every day. Those discussions will continue, I'm sure."

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