Wilcox: Seminoles listening to several neutral-site game offers

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AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The Florida State Seminoles have opened three of their last four seasons with neutral-site games against high-profile, non-conference opponents, and they'll be doing it in 2019 and 2020 as well.

Don't look for the trend to end any time soon.

First-year FSU head coach Willie Taggart confirmed on Tuesday that he doesn't have any major objections to playing the games in the future, and athletics director Stan Wilcox said the school is considering several offers for future showdowns.

"There's some pretty interesting potential matchups out there for us that could be great draws," Wilcox said during a break in the ACC Spring Meetings at Amelia Island. "There are many sites that want to host us and want to have us. So we're listening.

"If the right offer comes along, the right team, and we all feel comfortable with it, then we'll do it. If it's good for the program, for the university, for our fans, we'll do it."

FSU has received anywhere from $3.5 million to $5 million for each of its first few neutral-site matchups -- money that is considered vital to the athletics program as the costs of scholarships, coaches' salaries and facilities continue to rise.

As enticing as the payouts can be, former FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher often urged the school's administrative to be selective when considering neutral-site proposals -- especially in years when the Seminoles already were playing a challenging schedule.

Wilcox said on Tuesday the school will always work to avoid "over-scheduling" -- playing a needlessly difficult slate -- in any given season.

"When you're playing Florida every year, you're already playing another major Power 5 (non-conference) team," Wilcox said.

Taggart said his only real concern is that he doesn't want to sacrifice games in Doak Campbell Stadium for the sake of playing at a neutral location.

"I prefer home games. I don't mind neutral-site games if they're [in lieu of] away games," he said. "But again, it's worked well for a lot of teams. I'm counting on it working for us too. ...

"It seems like a lot of these games are getting good ratings and people are interested in them. That's kind of the way the game is going now."

Although he has never had the opportunity to coach in a neutral-site showdown, Taggart will get the chance in the 2019 season opener against Boise State. That game will be played at Jacksonville's TIAA Bank Field.

A formal ceremony celebrating that game is scheduled for Wednesday in Jacksonville.

FSU officials are moving forward but have yet to make any formal decisions about the future home of their football facilities, Wilcox confirmed Tuesday.

"We're continuing having discussions about it," he said. "We've been talking at the highest levels about our vision there."

The Seminoles are considering building a stand-alone football facility or renovating and expanding the Moore Athletics Center to provide more space and more modern amenities.

Wilcox said school officials are currently reviewing a feasibility study produced by Populous, an architectural firm that specializes in sports facilities.

They're also continuing to monitor the developments at other schools.

"You've got to look at where we fall on that spectrum," Wilcox said. "We don't want to fall behind. So we're going to make sure we are gonna do the best thing for our program to keep our program ahead of the curve."

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