FSU officials discussed the move for years and saw it as a chance to clarify their relationship with boostersGETTY IMAGES
FSU is "privatizing its athletics department, shielding it from public-records requests and treating it like a corporation rather than a traditional state university department," according to Iliana Limon Romero of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. The school's BOT voted Friday to "create Florida State University Athletics Association, a direct-support organization that will run the athletics department." Seminole Boosters Inc. "signed a memorandum stating its chair will report" to FSU AD David Coburn, who will "serve on several Seminole Boosters' committees." FSU officials said that they had "discussed the move for years and saw it as a chance to make their relationship with Seminole Boosters clearer and more efficient." The switch will also give FSU athletics "all the privileges of a private corporation, including declining any public-records requests while still preserving its sovereign immunity." The immunity clause for state agencies "caps any jury judgments or settlements reached by the athletics department at $200,000" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 6/89). In Tampa, Matt Baker wrote the boosters previously had "more power at FSU than most comparable athletic departments." The switch is "designed to change that" (TAMPABAY.com, 6/7).
