Duke Univ. Senior Deputy AD Stan Wilcox yesterday was named Florida State Univ. AD, and the hiring "completes a two-month search process that began" when former AD Randy Spetman was reassigned within the department, according to Powell Latimer of WARCHANT.com. FSU President Eric Barron "wanted to have a replacement named by the start of the fall semester, and accomplished that goal with a bit of time to spare." Wilcox said that his "initial contract" was for five years. Barron said that Wilcox' "extensive resume -- which includes stops at Notre Dame as a basketball player and as an administrator, the Big East, the NCAA and Duke -- was a key factor in the decision." Latimer noted Wilcox is "firmly plugged in to the power structure of the ACC." He was a "longtime understudy" of Duke AD Kevin White. Wilcox has had experience with "big-time football at Notre Dame, a trait that will come in handy at FSU." Wilcox mentioned facility improvements "as one of his main focuses, but said he didn't have any definitive suggestions right away." Rather, he "plans to take his first 90 days to assess the department, the staff and the booster organization" (WARCHANT.com, 8/7). In Raleigh, Laura Keeley notes Wilcox at Duke had been the "top administrator for football, managing the day-to-day operations of the program and serving on the three-man football scheduling committee." He also "oversaw external operations that include marketing and promotions, ticketing, digital media, sports information and video operations." Expect Duke to "divide his responsibilities up among current administrators." It remains to be seen if any Duke administrators "will follow him to Florida State, as he followed White to Duke five years ago" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 8/8).
KEPT UNDER WRAPS: In Tallahassee, Ira Schoffel notes Barron over the course of his seven-week search for a new AD "made at least four trips to interview candidates for the position," and some of those candidates "were sitting athletic directors." After "settling on a group of four finalists, Barron was determined to tap into the wisdom of other opinions." He had five members of FSU’s AD search advisory committee "to travel with him to Atlanta last Sunday for a series of interviews." When the committee members arrived, they "didn’t even know the names of the people they were about to meet." Over the "course of a full day, they interviewed each candidate for about 90 minutes." Secrecy was "paramount for Barron because he didn’t want to lose the right candidate because of compromised confidentiality." In a day and age "when social media makes it nearly impossible to keep anything a secret for long, he deserves credit for accomplishing that goal." The reaction to Wilcox' hiring was "unanimous -- that the Seminoles and Barron had hit a home run." People "raved about his personal skills and integrity and work ethic." However, if there is "one hole in Wilcox’s resume, it’s that he doesn’t appear to have a great deal of experience in business development or generating revenue" (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, 8/8).
