TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The current president and CEO of the Seminole Boosters will become Florida State University's next athletics boss and oversee its $106 million budget.
Beginning Jan. 3, Michael Alford will be vice president and director of athletics, President Richard McCullough announced Thursday.
Alford will replace David Coburn, who is retiring from the helm of the 20-sport program.
“Michael Alford’s experience and passion for Florida State University make him an outstanding choice to lead the Athletics Department,” McCullough wrote in a statement.
Before coming to FSU, Alford was associate vice president and athletics director at Central Michigan University from 2017 to 2020. Of the eight coaches he hired there, four won conference coach of the year within their first two seasons. He has been lauded for boosting university funding, including driving a 600 percent revenue increase by renegotiating an apparel contract.
Before that, Alford had a senior associate athletic director role at the University of Oklahoma and oversaw its main athletics fundraising arm, The Sooner Club. He was there when the men's basketball program advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 2016.
Prior jobs include roles with the Dallas Cowboys, Crimson Tide Sports Marketing, ESPN, the University of Southern California, the University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Bengals.
In college, Alford played baseball at Mississippi State. He transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he graduated with a communications degree before later earning a master's in athletics administration from the University of Arkansas.
He and his wife, a former college volleyball player at the University of Hawaii, have three daughters.
“Laura and I love Florida State University and the people who make this such a special place,” Alford wrote in a statement. “Everyone has been so welcoming, and we’re excited about this opportunity to lead Seminole Athletics. I’ve enjoyed building strong relationships throughout the community, including with President McCullough. I look forward to working closely with him to enhance the overall mission of the university.”
A nationwide search is being launched to replace Alford as the head of Seminole Boosters, Inc.
