FSU AD Michael Alford Has Seminoles Planning For Future With Focus On Present

In his fourth year in the position, Florida State's Athletic Director has a tall task in front of him.

Florida State University Athletic Director Michael Alford walks with other special guests in a processional for the inauguration of FSU's 16th President Richard D. McCullough at Ruby Diamond Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Fsu President Investiture014 / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford recently spoke to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. Despite the complications of attempting to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference staring the Seminole faithful in the face, the conversation between the two seemed to be focused not only on the next few years in Tallahassee but the upcoming decades.

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"We're not looking next year," Alford said, speaking in general terms. "We're forecasting where FSU is going to be five, 10, 15 years from now and how do we make sure we're doing our due diligence now to position ourselves. Where is college athletics going to be five, 10 years from now and making sure this is a part of it."

Furthermore, Alford shared once again that he is open to the idea of private equity firms possibly providing the university with an influx of cash, but of course, that comes with a price.

"To use a baseball analysis, we want to run that groundball out," Alford told CBS Sports regarding private equity. "We're looking at what it could mean, what the financial risk is, what the long-term risk is, what's the solution of it."

He also mentioned, "I've got a budget and financial analysis going out to 2043. We hired JP Morgan to come in and look at revenue streams, forecast futures. I love going out and getting the analysts to help."

Alford has a balancing act that he has to maintain. Although it appears the school and the ACC are going through a nasty divorce, the FSU AD continues to claim that he and Commissioner Jim Phillips are still in good standing. At the same time, Alford shared that there are a lot of people “interested in the formula” of leaving their own conference in pursuit of a greater revenue share.

It will be interesting to see how Florida State University attempts to approach its athletic budget in the days, years, and decades to come.

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