FSU’s McCullough Letter: Promises Without Action
Florida State’s president issues vague promises amid ongoing athletic struggles, leaving fans frustrated.
5 min read
Florida State University President Richard McCullough issued a letter to Seminoles fans on Tuesday, addressing the state of an athletic department in the middle of another disappointing football season. Following a 3-4 start after a combined 7-17 record in 2024 and 2025, McCullough acknowledged the frustration surrounding the program and reiterated that FSU remains committed to ‘building lasting success at Florida State.’
McCullough wrote, ‘We are not asking you to lower your expectations. We are telling you that we share and embrace them. We are not asking you to ignore the results. We are committed to changing them.’ He also stated, ‘And we are not asking you to believe everything is fine. We know it isn’t.’
As a Florida State alum and Seminoles fan, I came away from the letter with one major takeaway: It was a giant nothing-burger. There were plenty of acknowledgments that things aren’t good enough. There were promises that FSU understands the problem. And there were assurances that a plan is being put together. But there were no actual answers about how Florida State plans to fix any of it.
The most concerning part of McCullough’s letter came in his update on the search for Florida State’s next athletic director. ‘We will be able to begin the search for a new Athletic Director soon.’ Florida State fired athletic director Michael Alford on Sept. 14 and announced that interim AD Bruce Warwick would lead the department ‘while a national search for a permanent successor is conducted.’
McCullough explained that the university has instead spent the past six weeks evaluating the structure of the athletic department and defining the role, responsibilities and expectations for its next athletic director. There may be legitimate reasons for doing that work, but this is also an athletic department that desperately needs direction right now.
When Alford was fired, I wrote a column explaining what Florida State’s next athletic director needed to accomplish, especially when it came to repairing the football program. At the time, the assumption was that FSU would use the following weeks to identify the person responsible for making those decisions. Instead, more than six weeks later, the school is still preparing to begin looking for that person.
That matters because the biggest decision facing Florida State athletics isn’t exactly waiting around. Mike Norvell should not be Florida State’s head coach next season. That is my opinion, but the results hardly require much explanation. Since winning the ACC championship in 2023, Norvell is 10-21. Florida State followed a 2-10 season in 2024 with a 5-7 finish in 2025 and is now 3-4 in 2026.
Florida State President Richard McCullough: “We are not asking you to ignore the results. We are committed to changing them. And we are not asking you to believe that everything is fine. We know it isn’t.” https://t.co/tqUyYIFmUM
Yet Norvell’s name did not appear once in McCullough’s letter. Earlier this month, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Florida State’s athletic leadership situation would have to be resolved as the university determined Norvell’s future. Now, the regular season is roughly a month from ending and Florida State does not have a permanent athletic director or even an active national search for one.
That leaves an obvious question: Who exactly is supposed to make one of the most important football decisions Florida State has faced in years? And the situation becomes even more complicated when you follow the money. Florida State can’t simply throw money at every problem right now.
According to reporting from the Sports Business Journal, the athletic department carries more than $430 million in debt, most of it tied to facility projects and supported by revenue bonds.
FSU remains winless on the road after a WILD DOUBLE OT loss vs. No. 3 Miami 😬
Moving on from Norvell would create another enormous expense. His individual buyout has been reported at roughly $47 million, while the total cost of firing Norvell and his staff could approach $68 million. That does not mean Florida State is literally broke.
Much of the debt is connected to major investments such as renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium and the football operations center. But it does mean the university is operating with significant financial commitments while simultaneously trying to fix a football program, hire an athletic director and compete in a college sports landscape requiring more money than ever.
Those are exactly the kinds of problems a strong athletic director should be helping navigate. After explaining that the university is still working through its plan, McCullough ended the letter by asking fans to continue showing up.
‘What we ask now is that you stand firmly behind our current student-athletes. Show them your support,’ he wrote. ‘Pack Doak Campbell for the remainder of this season and bring your energy and passion to support our team at each and every game. Our players show great commitment and effort every single day, and they deserve your continued support on and off the field.’
He is right about one thing. The players deserve support. They are not responsible for Florida State’s leadership problems. They didn’t hand out the contracts, construct the athletic department or decide when to begin searching for its next leader.
But fans also deserve more than being told to keep packing the stadium while the people running the university ask for patience. Florida State fans have watched a 13-0 ACC championship team collapse into consecutive losing seasons and a 3-4 start. They watched the athletic director get fired. They have spent the past six weeks waiting to see who will replace him. And Tuesday, they were essentially told that Florida State will start looking soon.
McCullough says FSU understands the seriousness of the moment. Because right now, Florida State doesn’t look like a program moving urgently to fix its problems. It looks like one still deciding how it wants to begin. For a university that repeatedly talks about the need for change, the lack of concrete action is deeply concerning.
Florida State is more than $430M in debt, complicating a potential $68M payout to part with football coach Mike Norvell and his staff.
As the season moves forward, the pressure on FSU to make decisive moves intensifies. Fans are left waiting for leadership to step up and provide real solutions, rather than vague assurances. The situation highlights a broader issue within collegiate athletics: the need for accountability, transparency, and decisive action from university leaders.
Source: Daily Wire
