Q&A with FSU President Thrasher: Talking ACC, Showtime series, more
With the Florida State academic year about to begin, Warchant.com requested a sit-down interview with FSU President John Thrasher to discuss a variety of issues related to the Seminoles’ athletics department and the university in general.
Thrasher spoke with managing editor Ira Schoffel for about 30 minutes on Wednesday regarding a variety of topics, including the decision to launch a new ACC Network and the extension of the conference’s Grant of Rights agreement, as well as the decision to extend athletic director Stan Wilcox’s contract and the approval of the Seminoles’ new documentary-style series on Showtime.
* Warchant Extra: Ira's observations and thoughts from the Thrasher interview
Here is a complete transcript of that conversation. (Note: Some questions have been edited for clarity or to provide context.)
Q: Well, it looks like you’re getting a game in Jacksonville like you wanted. (The Seminoles reportedly have agreed to move their 2019 game against Boise State from Doak Campbell Stadium to EverBank Field.)
A: Well, that’s one of the things I’ve kind of pushed the athletics department folks on, and it looks like it’s working out. Rick Catlett (CEO of the Jacksonville Sports Council) has been a longtime friend and does a fantastic job over there with the Gator Bowl and the whole deal. And Stan tells me it looks like it’s going to work out, yeah, with Boise State in ’19.
Q: FSU football has had some pretty special moments in Jacksonville, with the most recent being Bobby Bowden’s farewell game after the 2009 season.
A: Coach Bowden’s last game was there, and like I said, Rick’s been a good, longtime friend. And I promise you, Jacksonville will do it up right. And that stadium – Shahid Khan has done some really amazing things with that stadium. It’s almost going to be as nice as our stadium. (laughing)
Q: Do you like these neutral-site games for college football?
A: Yeah, I think for a one-game experience, it’s good for the fans. And our fans will fill it up. I’m sure there will be some Boise State folks there as well, but I think our fans will really enjoy that experience. And again, Mr. Khan seriously has done a great job over there. He’s been a great friend of Jacksonville, and he’s invested an awful lot into the stadium and into the football facility and the players. And he’s got three of our great athletes who were here not long ago (Jalen Ramsey, Telvin Smith and Rashad Greene). That’s going to be fun, too.
Q: Another recent development for the FSU football program is the agreement with Showtime to document the season as part of their “A Season With” series. Did you have much input with that?
A: Been working on it for six months, man (laughing). You know, two of the producers are FSU grads … from our film school. So they came to us last summer, I believe, and kind of threw out the idea. And we didn’t know how the Notre Dame thing was going to go [last season]. But we did some due diligence and had a lot of conversations with Jimbo [Fisher] and Stan and with our lawyers. And with ESPN, I might add, because of our Grant of Rights issues and all that with the ACC. So finally, it came together. The last big thing I did was get on the phone with Jimbo and say, “You sure this is something you want to do?” Because it’s going to be somewhat intrusive. I don’t know that they (the cameras) will follow them to the bathroom, but they’ll be around.
But what an opportunity to showcase Florida State University in a very positive way. To me, if we could have done it, I thought it was going to be good. But I obviously wasn’t going to sacrifice certain things (from a competitive standpoint). But I’m proud of it, and I think it’s going to work out well.
Q: Jimbo said recently that he isn’t worried about players being presented in a negative light. If anything, he said the players might be motivated to be on their best behavior because they’ll know cameras are around everywhere.
A: I think it has a lot of benefits. But it is something these coaches won’t be used to. You get out there and start filming Coach [Rick] Trickett at practice … that might not be something you want to put on prime-time TV. I love him to death, but (laughing) … For Florida State generally, though, I think it’s going to be a positive thing. And Jimbo’s bought into it, and I’m happy about that.
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