UF has been operating their athletic department this way

UF has been operating their athletic department this way
by Vermin96 (2019-06-11 18:08:06)
Edited on 2019-06-11 18:08:53

In reply to: FSU is Privatizing it's Athletic Dept. posted by TWO

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since 1929. I'm not an attorney, but I am very familiar with Florida's structure as I was an employee of their athletic department corporation (known formally as the University of Florida Athletic Association) for 8.5 years. My understanding is that there is a state law in Florida that allows athletic departments to receive a special status that allows this private, not-for-profit corporation to exist separate from the university.

I believe FSU's move is mostly to bring Seminole Boosters under the purview of the athletic department as they had previously been operating as a third party wielding a large amount of power, especially in fund raising. My guess is they will follow the same or very nearly the same structure that Gator Boosters Inc operates under the UFAA, in which the Executive Director of Gator Boosters reports to the UF AD.

For those that are interested in looking at this further, the UFAA has their articles of incorporation and bylaws available on their website (floridagators.com).

I believe Georgia also has similar laws on their books as their athletic department (UGAA) is strucutured almost identically to UF's.

This is my understanding as well. While it looks bad to

those who don't understand the setup, this change is actually an effort to bring more University control to the boosters. Many would argue that boosters have control of athletic departments across the country, but no where was that more true than FSU. The boosters paid for everything at FSU and did it independent from the university. This should bring additional checks on the power of FSU boosters.

I say this as someone who actively roots against FSU in nearly* every chance I get.

*perhaps they are playing Michigan.