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Democrat Appears to Have an FSU Hit Piece on the Way

  • Report looks at FSU coaches’ expenses

    If all you care about is the number of wins the football team gets each week, you won’t need to both­er reading the upcom­ing Sunday Exclusive. It is all about accountabil­ity within the Flor­ida State Universi­ty athletics program, without measuring wins and losses.

    For months, our award­winning sports team has examined how FSU’s coaches spend public mon­ey while traveling on uni­versity business. We used public records requests and pored through mounds of documents to exam­ine the expenses coaches incur.

    With a $2.4 million shortfall in the athlet­ic department budget for next year, forcing the uni­versity to make difficult decisions about dipping into reserves or cutting into programs, we think the reason our examina­tion is important is evident even to the most ardent sports fan.

    We are cognizant that we are messing with the ultimate sacred cow in these parts; to the best of our knowledge, no newspa­per or member of the pub­lic has looked at athletic coaches’ expenses in this level of detail. Quite frank­ly, that’s because no one much cared how coaches spent money, as long as the stands were full, the mon­ey flowed in and the teams’ records were good.

    Most of our focus in following the money, of course, has had to be on football. It is the golden goose, or at least it was until recently. Things have changed: The stands are not nearly as full, there is a new regime and way of doing business, and it has been a long time since FSU has fielded a cham­pionship team. In fact, almost everything is dif­ferent.

    In truth, the athletic department and football programs that existed dur­ing the heyday of the Bob­by Bowden era were noth­ing like the programs of today.

    The reality is all of col­lege football has changed and become all about the money. We are seeing that play out as FSU maneu­vers for the best possible deal for a conference, with no one seeming to talk about or care what’s in the best interest of the fan, the average Booster or a typi­cal mom and dad trying to take their kids to see a game. How could they, with so many zeros follow­ing the dollar signs?

    Still, there will be those who won’t care what our report says ? seeing what­ever reporting we do only as an intrusion on fantasy­land. The team is looking good and, coupled with an especially weak sched­ule, seems ready to take its place again among the nation’s elite.

    That is why we are pub­lishing our stories now, well before the football season begins, even as spring sports began to wind down. With so many millions of public money in play, we think it is essen­tial that someone be a watchdog on how that mon­ey is spent and that the people entrusted with that money be held account­able for how they use it.

    Still, once the games start, the focus should be on the players and their accom­plishments.

    We asked ourselves if FSU coaches were behav­ing differently from coaches at competing pro­grams.

    We know that some will bring that point up.

    But then we were remind­ed of that favored saying of mothers everywhere ? that if everyone else is jumping off the bridge, should we, too?

    And ? though it is yet to translate into a foot­ball championship ? we acknowledge that FSU has had success in the recruiting wars, at least according to annual rank­ings by sports writers and other so-called experts.

    And acquiring the best recruits is one of the rea­sons coaches travel. Even so, we believe our report is both fair and accurate, and raises important ques­t ions.

    In the end we decided that the public has a right to know how its money is being spent.

    We leave it to read­ers to decide what they think about our reporting and whether the time has come, given the economics of the current era not just in athletics but also in all of higher education, when we can’t continue to afford to not pay attention to how they spend the public’s mo ney.

    ? Bob Gabordi is execu­tive editor of the Tallahas­see Democrat and Tallahas­see. com. You can send your comments by emailing him at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com and Twitter @bgabordi or calling him at (850) 599-2177. You also can find links to his blogs on Face­book. By mail, our address is P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302.

    Still, there will be those who won’t care what our report says ? seeing whatever reporting we do only as an intrusion on fantasyland.

    JeffSpicNolie

  • This may be a worthwhile piece and lead to less waste within our athletic department, but The Democrat better tread lightly. If this is a hit piece and turns into a statewide or national story and FSU catches a lot of negative PR, I hope every FSU grad/fan in Tally cancels their subscription.

    Will be interesting to read that's for sure...I'm sure it will highlight how much money was spent to visit Krug who won't even start this year. Along with expensive meals, drinks, etc.

    JeffSpicNolie

  • Bye-Bye program access.

    headslap

    The poster formerly known as 31-7. Understood by few, known by many, loved by all.

    BrickTamland

  • 31-7 said...

    Bye-Bye program access.

    headslap

    Most likely. The fact that such a lengthy and detailed disclaimer is being promulgated prior to the article's release, should tell one all one needs to know about the tone and potential bias of the piece. It's always good to remember: EVERY reporter is human, and therefore EVERY reporter will bring their own slant and in some cases the corporate (in this case the newspaper's) slant to the subject matter. If this indeed turns into "Gotcha" journalism, then they will reap the ire of their readership. If it is fair and even-handed like they purport, then reasonable minds will accept their effort for what they say it is, an attempt to uncover how money is spent by the football team coaches and staff.

    Realize, some of the expenditures will be governed by necessity of speed, and the dynamic of missing one transportation method, having to incorporate another and perhaps more expensive one. There will be a lot more to the story then what the Democrat will write - you can be sure of that, so in any case take the piece with a large dose of salt.

    This post was edited by Nashnole on 6/5/2012 at 10:23 AM

    signature image

    Ain't no cell phones under water!

    Nashnole

  • Screw the Democrat.

    NirvanaNole

  • 31-7 said...

    Bye-Bye program access.

    headslap

    This has nothing to do with program access. It is about sunshine law. The budget is public information.

    Caveat: If the boosters voluntarily released anything, might be another story. Not 100% sure, but somewhat confident that they do not have to respond to public records requests.

    FSULaura

  • I am amazed at the continued backlash that FSU is getting regarding a possible move out of the ACC. Did I miss it or was nothing said at all about A&M and Missouri leaving the Big 12 for greener pastures?

    signature image signature image signature image

    mtreber1

  • This could turn in to a national sh*t show. I hope they tread lightly....Yikes.

    Mass Nole

  • mtreber1 said...

    I am amazed at the continued backlash that FSU is getting regarding a possible move out of the ACC. Did I miss it or was nothing said at all about A&M and Missouri leaving the Big 12 for greener pastures?

    Honestly, I don't think anyone really cared outside of the Big 12.

    Nole27

  • I find it interesting that we are already being set up as fans who will only see the report "as an intrusion on fantasyland." That suggests to me that fair/balanced has already given way to sensationalistic attention-mongering.

    However, I'll try to read it with an open mind. If it's a straightforward report that just covers the facts and distinguishes between, say, taxpayer money vs donations, etc. that are considered public monies after the fact, then I'll tip my hat.

    But the sports reporting history of the Democrat worries me. And the way they are promoting this report also causes me to believe it will be a hit job that's going for attention and response rather than legitimate in-depth reporting. It feels like an approach someone would take if publicly threatening to expose a sex tape of some celebrity ... even though it was shot through a keyhole.

    Again, if it's a straightforward report covering and fully explaining the facts -- without whoring and manipulating the facts and language -- I'll applaud. If not, I'll be interested to see the hit the Democrat takes with subscribers and advertisers. My guess is that it'll be substantial.

    This post was edited by GSNole on 6/5/2012 at 10:36 AM

    GSNole

  • Does anybody think the Tuscaloosa News would ever pull some crap like this?? Unbelievable

    Mass Nole

  • FSULaura said...

    This has nothing to do with program access. It is about sunshine law. The budget is public information.

    If it's public information, nbd. This article won't stop FSU from recruiting and spending like they have and do. If their competition does it, they will do it.

    I could see a national story running on athletic departments around the nation.

    fsukum

  • This is absolutely ridiculous. From the synopsis it appears that they're dedicating an entire piece on the money coaches use to travel? I mean it's got to be the football programs fault for the athletic dept shortfall right? Can't have anything to do with all of the non revenue producing sports at FSU. Has anyone heard that we're looking to cut any part of the programs? Honest question. I do know of a college right down the road that has eliminated a whole dept. Not to mention, (and I'm not sure if this is true or not) I believe I've read on TN that each school reports their earnings differently so that number may not be accurate? Someone let me know if I'm misunderstanding.

    Nole27

  • why not focus on UF? they really want to bring negative publicity to the hometown team?

    all public university football programs in Florida are subject to the laws, so why not look at each team and provide a comparison instead of focusing (slandering) FSU...?

    is this sort of piece in retaliation to Jimbo keeping everything behind closed doors and allowing minimal media access?

    jmadden18

  • Dp

    This post was edited by fsukum on 6/5/2012 at 10:59 AM

    fsukum

  • FSU just cut their travel budget, so any point they make is moot and based off of irrelevant figures.

    fsukum

  • I don't think this piece should be put out with the program working its way back up to a power program. I can see it with Bobby still at the helm after a long tenure but, we have a coach in his third (head coach) year making positive strides for the football team. I don't believe any good will come of this article.

    MiamiNole

  • The risk is not equal to the reward.

    "Sometimes when you bring the thunder, you get lost in the storm." -Kenny Powers

    PanicFSU

  • For some reason, the fact that this long synopsis was necessary worries me. I have no idea what the Democrat has to gain from this other than national publicity and scandal. As said above, why would they put this out on the hometown school? Hopefully this is making something out of nothing but it doesn't seem like they'd be promoting this to such a degree if it all is "perfect" and reflects greatly on all responsible.

    JJohnsonDPT

  • Nole27 said...

    Honestly, I don't think anyone really cared outside of the Big 12.

    Were those programs running in the red? You wouldn't see this article coming out if we weren't under a budget shortfall that has been widely publicized.

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    "...just played physical football. That's Florida State football. That's the standard from now on! It never goes back!" - Jimbo Fisher

    John4FSU

  • The Democrat F's up immediately by talking about public funds. The majority of our athletic budget is NOT public funds or taxpayer money. Idiots.

    Considering that football is the golden cow - and the Democrat admitted this - it's obviously important to invest a great deal into the program in order to sustain our other 17 sports. I can't imagine the crap the Democrat would write about FSU if we actually decreased athletic expenses and had to cut programs as a result.

    Who's writing the story? (Might have been said already but I missed it.)

    tricknole

  • John4FSU said...

    Were those programs running in the red? You wouldn't see this article coming out if we weren't under a budget shortfall that has been widely publicized.

    I'm not sure if they were or not. But we're not running an "actual" deficit yet are we? My understanding was that the shortfall was based on projected revenue, so it's a bit soon to declare we have a deficit when the season hasn't started for our most profitable team no?

    Nole27

  • Mass Nole said...

    Does anybody think the Tuscaloosa News would ever pull some crap like this?? Unbelievable

    This.

    Seminolep

  • If a gator grad or any other conflict of interest is on this they will die roasting in a fire.

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    WARNING: Text above may cause dizziness, nausea, cognitive decline, and/or a burning sensation. Read at your own risk.

    healthguyfsu

  • What I find interesting is that they mention the likelihood that other programs do it, but say they thought it nonetheless justified to clobber FSU only.

    What other programs do IS relevant. Are they suggesting that out of purity FSU should destroy its football program while leaving the rest of college football untouched?

    Actually, it is clear they are saying exactly that.

    googolplex