This is a seminal moment in Florida State athletics history

One would need to look long and hard to find an era in Florida State University’s athletics history as pivotal as we are living through today. At the same time the Seminoles are breaking ground on nearly $400 million in football facilities, and the Florida State University Board of Trustees is embroiled in a complex legal battle to escape the Atlantic Coast Conference, FSU was defending itself against the University of Alabama, which was in pursuit of football coach Mike Norvell. If that isn’t enough to chew on, FSU has to navigate the changing landscape of Name, Image and Likeness as well as the transfer portal.

What do these seminal moments all have in common? Money, money and more money. When athletics needs money they turn to their fundraising arm, Seminole Boosters, Inc., so we turned to Stephen Ponder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Seminole Boosters, in this in-depth interview to provide readers some answers and insight during these most challenging of times.

Because of the far-reaching topics discussed in the interview, we’ve divided the story into two parts. This story focuses on how FSU Athletics and the Boosters plan to fund nearly $400 million in projects and why the projects helped to keep FSU head coach Mike Norvell at Florida State as well as help fund athletics for years to come.

The second article focuses on how the Doak Campbell Stadium project will affect fans and attempts to clarify the misinformation causing unnecessary consternation among fans as they wait to learn what the seating options and prices will be.

With all these major projects underway, and collegiate athletics having to design the plane as they fly it, how important was it to keep Mike Norvell to maintain the “Climb” Seminole fans have embraced?

“We’re really excited for sure,” Ponder said. “Coach Norvell has done a great job here and he has invested his time, effort and energy in this place, and I think this place has invested in Coach, and that takes a while to develop. To have to start that process over? We could do it, but we don’t want to do it. We’ve got the guy we want.”

Ponder traveled to Booster tour stops with Norvell and heard him speak to his teams and in each setting he has felt his passion.

“I think everyone realizes, when you hear Coach Norvell talk about this place, that it is very personal for him,” Ponder said. “A number of factors came into play and that is one of them. He is happy here and he’s building something here in the image of Coach Bowden and I think he is very comfortable with that.”

Alabama has always presented a serious threat because of its tradition, donor support for facilities, NIL and ability to fund whatever staff is needed for football.

Ponder gives FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford, President Richard McCullough, the FSU Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Collins and a lot of generous Seminole Booster members credit for providing Norvell with the resources he has asked for over the past four years.

While many point to the raise Norvell recently received as his reason for staying, the FSU administration deserves credit for proactively fortifying the school over the years for this inevitable day by enlarging Norvell’s staff, giving his assistants several raises and beginning construction on the long-awaited football operations building.

It didn’t hurt that just when Alabama came knocking, the construction fence for the new 150,000-square-foot football operations building was going up in the parking lot outside the Moore Athletics Center, a tangible monument of FSU’s support for Norvell to see during the process.

“The administration, across the board, really did a good job of supporting coach,” Ponder said. “Obviously, we are invested in football. We’ll continue to invest in football but all our other sports too. Coach Norvell is a big proponent of (all FSU's sports) as well, so it is good to see him stay and lead the program but also be a great community asset, and member of the athletics program and Seminole Boosters.”

The two athletics buildings under construction – Doak Campbell Stadium and the Football Operations Building -- must be self-funded as state law precludes the university from using tax-payer dollars to fund athletics facilities.

FSU is adding nearly $400 million in new debt to fund those two buildings, on top of nearly $200 million in existing stadium debt.

“The university is very supportive of athletics but technically they are not funding it,” Ponder said. “They are helping us as much as they can and again, supportive.”

It is the Boosters who are charged with raising the money from individuals for both buildings, which involves charitable facility gifts to the football operations building, as well as capital campaign gifts tied to Doak seating.

“Fundraising for the Dunlap football center started back in 2017 and then the building grew with changes in leadership,” Ponder said. “We have a guaranteed maximum on that building of $138 million and have fundraised to about half that number.”

Funding will also come from gifts to the Bowden Society, which are facility gifts of $50,000 or more funded over five years. Bowden Society gifts can be used by the athletic director for facilities of next highest need. All gifts to the Bowden Society will be used to fund the football operations building unless the donor designates a specific sport other than football.

“Our goal is to have 1,000 people giving into the Bowden Society,” Ponder said, of a fund started only a few years ago. “We are now at 352.”

Florida State has a list of 5,000 seat holder accounts, who purchase 17,500 seats on the west sideline of Doak, who are affected by the demolition and reconstruction of the west sideline of Doak. Ponder said the top priority is to contact each of those account holders individually to give them the first right to buy the new seating products.

The staff is reaching out to those 5,000 account holders in priority order and of the 3,000 members contacted thus far, more than 1,600 have viewed the seating presentation either in the College Town Preview Center or by a Zoom call.

Thus far, seat holders have bought the eight Founders Suites, 28 Founders Loges and 75 percent of the 2,000-plus club seats. Those Founders Suites and Loges will fund 50 percent of the project cost with the club seats funding another 25 percent.

Ponder said they have nine other products to sell in the coming 18 months with the chairback seats and Champions Club that will generate additional capital campaign contributions.

“As we move through that process there is an increase in revenue,” Ponder said. “That increase in revenue will help us pay for the Doak Campbell Stadium project as well as any difference in the Dunlap football center project. We put (capital gifts) all into one pot to fund both projects.”

Every year Seminole Boosters also transfers (annual fund and other) money to athletics for operations, which covers all scholarships, and helps with other athletic expenses.

“The increase in revenue from the football stadium will be used to help us pay down (the bond issues on both facilities), and then help the athletic department.” Ponder said.

Previous debt on the stadium will be bundled into one combined bond.

The sales process for Doak Campbell Stadium requires each staff member to schedule one-on-one presentations with each of those 5,000 ticket account holders who are affected by the demolition and reconstruction of the west sideline. While this process is tedious it does enable each of the staff members to engage the donors to learn about their relationship with FSU, their gameday traditions and what they value about Florida State. In other words, the opportunity to develop a more intimate relationship between the staff and FSU’s donors.

While it’s important to develop relationships with donors at Booster functions or office visits, where the conversations are usually pleasant, those meetings are superficial by comparison to a meeting for a project the donor may not agree with to discuss the future of their seats.

In his three years at Florida State, Ponder and his staff have already engaged with 3,000 members about the project, met with more than 1600, and developed deeper relationships with ore members than they would have without the project. The investment in building those relationships should pay dividends between the Booster staff and those members in future endeavors.

We are witnessing perhaps the most ambitious and aggressive time in Florida State history and Ponder is exhilarated to be at the helm of the Boosters during this pivotal time.

“If we are going to do it, we are going to do it big,’” Ponder said, quoting Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. “But it is true. We want to be the best. We want to have the best facilities. We want to compete with the best and the snub at the end of the season just threw fuel to the fire. Ok, if that’s the decision you are going to make, we can’t control it, but we can control our effort and what we are going to do. And our response is we’re just going to get stronger. Let’s help our coaches and help our athletic department be the best we can to compete.”

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