{"id":378292,"date":"2026-08-22T11:28:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T11:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378292\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T11:28:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T11:28:28","slug":"fsu-ad-mike-norvell-must-make-real-improvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378292\/","title":{"rendered":"FSU AD: Mike Norvell must make real improvement"},"content":{"rendered":"

After spending some time talking with Florida State athletic director Michael Alford<\/a> this week, one thing became abundantly clear: There are no more excuses.<\/p>\n

Not for Florida State football. Not for Mike Norvell. And, increasingly, not for an athletic department that has spent years fighting, fundraising and investing to acquire the financial firepower it says it needs to compete with college football\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

During our wide-ranging interview<\/a>, Alford talked about Norvell and the significant improvement he expects from the football program this season. He talked about Florida State\u2019s boosters, who somehow responded to two consecutive losing seasons by digging even deeper and producing a record fundraising year.<\/p>\n

He talked about the millions FSU has invested in coaches, players, facilities and its football infrastructure. He talked about how Florida State\u2019s legal battle with the ACC helped change the conference\u2019s revenue-sharing model, giving the Seminoles more money to spend. And, perhaps most intriguingly, even after that settlement, Alford seemed to indicate that Florida State will continue to evaluate its options \u2014 conference and otherwise \u2014 moving forward.<\/p>\n

But the more I listened to Alford, the more I kept coming back to one inescapable conclusion: Florida State wanted resources. Florida State fought for resources. Florida State\u2019s boosters provided resources.<\/p>\n

Now Florida State needs results.<\/p>\n

Nobody can accuse Seminole fans and boosters of failing to do their part. After watching their beloved football program stagger through two consecutive losing seasons, they didn\u2019t turn off the faucet. They opened it wider.<\/p>\n

Seminole Boosters recently announced more than $106 million in pledges during the past fiscal year \u2014 the largest amount in organization history \u2014 and a record $86.3 million in cash contributions.<\/p>\n

Think about that juxtaposition: The football team has won seven games in two years. The boosters responded with $106 million in pledges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really a commitment from our donor base in believing in the vision and stepping up to support our programs in the changing landscape of athletics,\u201d Alford said. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of our fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n

There might not be a better illustration of the relationship between Florida State and its fans than this. These people have endured losses and disappointment. They\u2019ve endured stadium construction, conference uncertainty and the chaotic transformation of college athletics.<\/p>\n

And they keep writing checks.<\/p>\n

At some point, shouldn\u2019t Florida State football write one back?<\/p>\n

Not literally, of course. Pay them back with Saturdays that matter again. Pay them back with Doak Campbell Stadium roaring in November because the Seminoles are chasing something besides bowl eligibility. Pay them back by making Florida State football feel like Florida State football again.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this season feels different for Norvell. This isn\u2019t just another season. It\u2019s a referendum.<\/p>\n

Norvell isn\u2019t being asked to win with one hand tied behind his back. Florida State has invested aggressively in its football operation, starting with hiring ACC champion Duke\u2019s highly regarded general manager John Garrett. Likewise, the Seminoles have poured money into facilities, coaches,\u00a0 personnel infrastructure and, in this new era of college sports, players.<\/p>\n

Although Alford admits FSU\u2019s player-acquisition budget isn\u2019t what the top \u201csix or eight\u201d schools (see Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, etc.) are spending; he says the Seminoles are in that next group that make up the \u201ctop tier.\u201d The university has essentially given Norvell everything it reasonably can.<\/p>\n

Now Alford wants a return on the investment.<\/p>\n

He won\u2019t say what Norvell has to do to save his job, but he did say, \u201cI\u2019ll know it when I see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to establish hypothetical benchmarks, but Mike (Norvell) and all of our coaches know our expectations and what our fans expect,\u201d Alford said. \u201c\u2026 When you have provided the resources to be successful, there\u2019s more pressure and standards that you have to go out and compete on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the quote that should resonate inside FSU\u2019s football facility because the question surrounding Florida State is no longer: What else does the program need?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this: What is the program doing with everything it has?<\/p>\n

For years, Florida State\u2019s leadership warned that the Seminoles were falling dangerously behind the financial firepower of the SEC and Big Ten. FSU didn\u2019t merely complain about it. The Seminoles went to court over it.<\/p>\n

Florida State sued the ACC, challenging the conference\u2019s grant of rights and eventually helping force a settlement that dramatically changed how television revenue is distributed. Under the new model, 60% of ACC television revenue is allocated based on viewership, rewarding the conference\u2019s biggest television brands.<\/p>\n

Guess which school is positioned to benefit handsomely?<\/p>\n

Florida State.<\/p>\n

FSU is projected to receive about $44.9 million in media distribution under the new formula \u2014 which Alford says is about $12 million more than it would receive under an equal-share model. In other words, Florida State fought for a bigger piece of the pie.<\/p>\n

Now it has one.<\/p>\n

Asked if he won the battle with the ACC, Alford replied: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call it a win, but if you\u2019re driving the media contract you should earn more of the revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Alford\u2019s work on Florida State\u2019s conference future might not be finished. Despite the ACC settlement and a revenue model that benefits FSU more than the old one did, Alford isn\u2019t ready to promise that the Seminoles will remain status quo forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe landscape has changed considerably,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s still our responsibility to continue to evaluate what is best for Florida State and what are our options. I\u2019m a decision-tree guy. I\u2019m going to lay out all the options and look at them. \u2026 At the end of the day, we will always evaluate opportunities that strengthen Florida State.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, he\u2019s not threatening to leave the ACC again; he\u2019s simply saying the future of college football is so uncertain that it would be foolish not to explore every possible path forward.<\/p>\n

For years, FSU has essentially argued that it is a national football brand trapped in a financial structure that prevented it from operating like one.<\/p>\n

Fair enough.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the uncomfortable question: If you\u2019re going to demand the resources of a national powerhouse, shouldn\u2019t you eventually have to consistently perform like one?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes this season so consequential. And, frankly, college football in this state could use Florida State becoming Florida State again.<\/p>\n

Gator fans will never admit it, but Florida-Florida State is a whole lot more fun when both teams are good. Seminole fans surely feel the same way about Florida. You don\u2019t have to root for Florida State or Florida to understand that college football is better in this state when the two oldest public universities in the state both matter.<\/p>\n

Nobody seems to understand that more than the people writing checks in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n

More than $106 million in pledges after seven football victories in two seasons. That isn\u2019t apathy. That\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n

Maybe even stubborn faith.<\/p>\n

But faith in college football isn\u2019t inexhaustible. You cannot forever ask supporters to buy tickets, fund facilities, help bankroll the rapidly escalating economics of college sports and keep believing better Saturdays are coming.<\/p>\n

Eventually, those Saturdays have to arrive.<\/p>\n

Florida State\u2019s boosters have done their part. Alford has spent years trying to give the athletic department the financial ammunition to do its part. And Florida State has given Norvell another season to prove he can still do his.<\/p>\n

The facilities are there. The money is there. The donors are certainly there.<\/p>\n

Florida State asked its people to invest in the Seminoles. They answered with $106 million worth of belief.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time for Florida State football to give them something worth believing in.<\/p>\n

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on social media @BianchiWrites and listen to my radio show \u201cGame On\u201d every weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com\/listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After spending some time talking with Florida State athletic director Michael Alford this week, one thing became abundantly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[152104,13950,3603,4976,139,141,140,6376],"class_list":["post-378292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-ad-michael-alford","tag-buyout","tag-fsu","tag-mike-norvell","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-seminoles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}