Bernie!

By Jim Joanos

When we think about FSU devoted fans, among them was a special one named Dr. Bernard Francis Sliger. “Bernie” was FSU’s president from 1977-91 and 1993-94.

Bernie Sliger

Unlike some colleges officials who appear at events out of duty, Bernie attended sports events because of his love of the games.

Bernie first came to Tallahassee from LSU where he was on the faculty for a number of years. He was already a nationally recognized economist. He came to FSU to be a Vice-President and its chief academic advisor. I met him at an FSU event shortly after his arrival in Tallahassee. We talked sports and I immediately knew that I would like this guy. Although a learned scholar he was down to earth and very knowledgeable about sports, a rare combination. I soon learned that during his tenure at LSU he had been close friends with Bill Peterson, FSU’s former football coach, who was an assistant coach at LSU before he came to Tallahassee.

In 1977, when Stanley Marshall retired, Bernie became FSU’s president. Not long before, Bobby Bowden had become FSU’s head football coach. Bernie, therefore, was FSU’s president during Bowden’s early days of rebuilding the football program. Bernie would be president when FSU won its first football national championship.

Soon FSU students and faculty became quite fond of Bernie. In 1980 he started having his ice cream socials where students were invited to the president’s house and enjoy the treats as well as visits with Bernie. The event became so large it had to be moved to an on-campus site. The tradition continues to this day as presidents host the event each year.

During his tenure, FSU grew, adding additional schools and departments. The magnetic lab was secured for FSU. The School of Engineering in a partnership with Florida A&M was added to the curriculum. The student body swelled. He led the university’s success in obtaining membership in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference for its athletic teams. In short, he was very successful in leading the university to great heights.

I am not aware of any college president, before or since, that was more popular among the student body. He was genuinely loved. His easy-going relaxed leadership made you feel like he was a close friend although you had just met him.

When Bernie wasn’t in a suit tending to FSU business, he almost always wore one of two shirts. One was plaid bearing a frayed collar evidence of longtime wear. The other was a light color guayabera tropical one that hung over his hips.

There are lots of fun stories about Bernie and his interest in athletics. One of them is about his going to a game at Nebraska. Seems that before the game as he was making his way through the parking area he was invited to join a group of Nebraska tailgaters. Since there were beverages and food, he gladly joined them. After awhile one of the tailgaters asked him what he did for a living. His answer was that he “worked at FSU”. The tailgater persisted and asked what he did at FSU. Ultimately Bernie admitted that he was FSU’s president. The tailgaters did not believe him until they were shown his picture in the game program.

On one occasion at an FSU program, he dressed like a law enforcement officer and along with Burt Reynolds sang a song and put on a skit as a takeoff of “Smokey and the Bandit”. It was a big hit.

Often, I got to watch baseball games with Bernie. We would sit low on the bleachers as it was before FSU had the nice stadium that it has today. On one occasion, Bernie disappeared about the second inning. I thought he had left the game because of something pressing. I was surprised when about the sixth inning he reappeared. He complained that he had to walk to two different gas stations to get some chewing tobacco. He followed that up with the statement that he enjoyed chewing tobacco when watching baseball.

Bernie had the customary “President’s Box” at the football stadium. It was large in order to accommodate the many faculty members, big doners, politicians, and other guests of the university that would be invited to the games. Bernie, however, in addition had another box to accommodate no more than a dozen folks. Its purpose was to be a place where he and a few other fans who were serious about watching the games could do so without being distracted by the goings on in the big room. I consider it an honor to have been invited to sit in the small box a few times.

Sometimes Bernie talked about his service in the army but never in detail. On occasion he would talk about running into another soldier from Trout Creek, the small village in Michigan, where he grew up. He seemed still miffed so many years later that the other soldier claimed to not know him. He thought that was impossible as Trout Creek was so small. He had known of the other soldier as an older athlete at the school they attended. Sometimes he would mention his own sports activities in high school but never would he boast about anything. Conversing with him was always enjoyable.

After leaving FSU’s presidency, while he headed up FSU’s “Sliger Center for Economics” he and wife Greta would sometimes take long vacations to their roots back in Michigan. On one occasion in 2005, when my wife and I were at the Upper Peninsula we had the treat of visiting them. They were at “Greta’s House” near the lake. Relaxed, he seemed to be enjoying life in retirement. As expected, much of our talk that day was about the status of FSU athletics. That visit was the last time I would have an in depth discussion with Bernie.

Bernie Sliger, while in his beloved Michigan, died on October 10, 2007.

About the author:

Jim Joanos

Memories of Garnet and Gold

Jim Joanos and his wife Betty Lou have deep roots at Florida State University. Avid sports fans, they have literally seen, and done, it all. Fortunately for us, Jim loves telling first-hand accounts dating back to FSU’s first football game, a 1947 clash with the Stetson Hatters on Centennial Field, where Cascades Park is today.

The Osceola will run a series of these colorful stories written by the former Tallahassee lawyer and judge, which we feel our readers will find enlightening and/or nostalgic.

Jim and Betty Lou, who was Associate Director of the FSU Alumni Association (1991-2003), have been married 65 years and are each listed as one of FSU’s 100 Distinguished Graduates. The couple were enshrined in the FSU Hall of Fame in 2015 as Moore-Stone Award Recipients. Ironically, both Deans Moore and Stone were instrumental in the Joanoses career development.

“Both Jim and Betty Lou Joanos have been exemplary fans and supporters of Florida State University, both academically and athletically,” said Andy Miller, retired President and CEO of Seminole Boosters, Inc. “You can’t go to an athletic event of any kind that you don’t see both Jim and Betty Lou Joanos together. They love their university as much as they love each other.”