Preparing for Success

By Charlie Barnes, Executive Director - Seminole Boosters

IT's TIME TO START TALKING about the Dynasty again. No, not the one that lasted fourteen years. Not the Dynasty of Top four finishes and ten-eleven-twelve-win seasons. That Dynasty and Doak Campbell both rose to glory together. Seminole teams logged more wins than any other university in the 1990s as the masonry walls of the most beautiful stadium in America grew to fullness and embraced them.

No, not the Dynasty that marked the Seminoles as one of the only two college football programs (Notre Dame was the other) that fans in every ESPN broadcast area in the country ranked among their top ten favorite teams of that decade. It's the next Dynasty that deserves our attention now. Some who follow these things closely share the feeling that by 2009 we will have climbed back out of this current unhappy stretch of inconsistent seasons.

Seminole Booster President and CEO Andy Miller always said his job is to take advantage of the Seminoles' success. Nothing beats winning to build the brand, to enrich funding and to invigorate the emotional sinews of alumni and fans. Every Seminole who has visited our new baseball stadium or the extraordinary softball and soccer complexes, or the new golf course and teaching facility or the new aquatic center or the new track building can see what is most obvious: the first Seminole football Dynasty made possible an astonishing array of first-class facilities for all Men's and Women's Seminole teams.

We were prepared to take advantage of Bobby Bowden's first Dynasty. And, as the Coach whose win-record Coach Bowden surpassed to become the all-time leader said, the willingness to prepare is even more important than the will to win.

OUR DYNASTY OF LEGEND BEGAN with the 1987 season. More precisely, it began on January 1st, 1988 when we defeated Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl to record our program's first "major" bowl win and cap an eleven-win season and a No, 2 national ranking. A few months later when the snows blanketed Colorado, long-time Seminole Booster and FSU alumnus Bud Jordan and his son Eason took their families west to go skiing. Eason was an executive with the fledgling CNN cable network and spent much of his time in the Persian Gulf. So the family skied while Eason spent the better part of two days on the telephone. Late one night, he and his father shared a quiet moment in the ski condo. "Dad," he said, "There's going to be a war, a big one." Eason continued, "When war comes the first thing that happens is a fuel shortage. And if we're in the war zone running a news operation with our own fuel, they'll confiscate it." Gasoline in Iraq cost two cents per gallon; everything ran on gasoline. Both warring sides would immediately embargo all fuel supplies for their own use.

Eason spent two days convincing his boss Ted Turner to build a multi-million dollar facility in the United Arab Emirates. The factory would manufacture a special fuel, a fuel worthless in tanks or planes or trucks or generators. In fact this special fuel had only one use: it would run the specially built generators and transmitters operated by CNN. "Dad, if I'm right, I'm a hero," said Eason. "If I'm wrong I'll get fired."

He wasn't wrong and he didn't get fired. The world watched the First Gulf War exclusively on CNN, the only network with working vehicles and transmitters. Eason became the President of CNN International, and on his mantle are five Emmys and six Peabody Awards.

Eason Jordan made sure CNN invested the money and was prepared. The vision and foresight to anticipate what comes next and to be ready to take advantage is the American way of success. Seminole Boosters and the Department of Athletics were prepared to take advantage of the last Dynasty. Now, we're investing money to prepare for success again.

The hiring of Jimbo Fisher and other hand-picked coaching lieutenants represents an extraordinary financial investment by Seminole Boosters. With Coach Bowden's approval, a succession plan is now in place, and Jimbo Fisher has assembled an offensive staff of proven professional-position coaches. A year ago, the old weight-training and strength program was completely replaced top to bottom; likewise the old recruiting program. The results in each arena have been immediate and dramatic.

A top priority for Coach Bowden and Coach Fisher is construction of an enclosed practice facility. Tallahassee is very nearly the lightning capital of the world; too many precious practice days are lost to the whims of weather, and our competitors are busy building protections of their own. Our Athletic Department has engaged consultants to price and site an appropriate building for the Seminoles.

When the football team moved into Burt Reynolds Hall in 1987 it was a showcase, the envy of rivals across the south. Times have changed and with it NCAA rules for athletic housing. Seminole Boosters is looking into enhanced housing for our student-athletes, always with an eye toward competitive recruiting.

NEW GAME DAY ENHANCEMENTS fire the enthusiasm of Seminole fans. The big video screen on the main scoreboard has quadrupled in size, and Doak Campbell now has a video board in the south end zone. Five hundred feet of sparkling new ribbon-boards ring the stadium's walls. And Director of Athletics Randy Spetman has hired a producer-director to orchestrate the game day experience, including video and audio cues for the fans. "We're in show business," says Spetman. "Seminole football should be like a Broadway production."

Other innovations have been added as well with Seminole fans' convenience and budget in mind. We have engaged online partner GameTime Travel to help you make all your room reservations, home and away for all Seminole sporting events and graduations. GameTime will help you locate hotels with convenient locations and identify hotels with discounted rates and favorable occupancy rules. You can easily access GameTime now via the Seminole Boosters Web site.

As a Booster you are able to access the new Digital Ticket Exchange through the Boosters Web site. You can go online, buy and sell unused game tickets with other Seminoles for market rates. It gives our fans the chance to deal direct with fellow Seminoles. There's no mailing fuss or will-call window hassle; the tickets are bar-coded so all transactions are instantaneous. All Seminole sports are online now.

This new magazine, Unconquered, is also a part of the preparation. The old Report to Boosters served Seminole fans well for a generation, but the internet changed everything. Unconquered is a high-quality magazine you'll be proud to display in your home. It chronicles a program inspired by fresh ambition.

The 2008 football season has been more of a mystery than any in recent memory. It might be a pretty good year. On the other hand...well, it might not be a pretty good year. But this overhaul that began late in 2006 is taking hold now. Give it one more season, and then expect the Seminoles to impress.

To paraphrase Eason Jordan: There's going to be a Dynasty, a big one. We're getting ready.