Florida State fired athletic director Michael Alford on Monday, school president Richard McCullough announced.
The move comes as the Seminoles grapple with looming decisions about their football program.
Senior Associate Athletics Director Bruce Warwick has been appointed interim AD while Florida State conducts a national search for a permanent successor.
"Michael Alford has served the University and our student-athletes with dedication, and we thank him for his contributions to our athletics programs," McCullough said in a statement. "As we begin this transition, our focus remains on the success of our teams and continuing to provide every competitive advantage we can to our student-athletes, coaches, and staff."
In a phone interview with ESPN on Monday, McCullough said the goal in making the change was to "modernize our athletics department."
"We're trying to do everything we can in this era of tremendous change to do everything we can to modernize our athletics department and do things to bring in revenue and make other organizational changes, so that we can win at every level," McCullough said.
The next question, of course, is what happens with coach Mike Norvell, who is 8-18 since 2024.
After going 5-7 last year, the Florida State administration opted to keep Norvell for a seventh season, pledging to make structural changes within the program to enhance performance. Norvell hired a general manager, remade his personnel department and got a football budget that is estimated to rank in the Top 20 nationally - well above what Florida State had spent the previous year.
At the time, McCullough said in a joint statement with Alford and Board chair Peter Collins, "This decision reflects a unified commitment to competing in the rapidly evolving landscape of college football, while maintaining continuity within the program."
But Florida State lost at home to SMU 27-24 on Labor Day night, and fans chanted, "Fire Norvell" while leaving the stadium. The Seminoles travel to play Alabama on Saturday and face a looming ACC stretch including three ranked teams -- Virginia, Louisville and rival Miami.
"We love coach Norvell. We love what he does for student athletes," McCullough told ESPN. "We're rooting for him for lots and lots of reasons. Nobody wants to win more than Mike Norvell - except maybe me. He's in the business of winning and so he knows where he is. But that's not a decision we're talking about today."
Alford came to Florida State in 2020 to lead its fundraising arm, Seminole Boosters. A year later, he was hired as athletic director at a time when Florida State faced looming financial shortfalls and had a football program that had underachieved.
Since 2022, total athletics revenue has grown 31.5%, the largest increase in department history. Conference distributions have also increased 19% -- thanks to a new revenue distribution model that Alford spearheaded within the ACC. Florida State also invested in its athletics infrastructure, spending over $500 million a new standalone football facility, improvements to Doak Campbell Stadium and other projects.
But football remains problematic. An initial resistance from Alford to spend above the revenue sharing cap, enacted in 2025, only led to increased frustrations with the direction of the athletic department. McCullough acknowledged that during a press conference in Tallahassee, Fla., on Monday.
"All those changes all coming at once means that college football has changed dramatically, and I think that we probably need to move a bit faster than we have, and that's what we'll be looking for. Someone can help us to lead in that way," McCullough said.
McCullough said the goal is to hire someone with a fundraising background who can help generate revenue, acknowledging the significant gap in revenue distribution between the ACC, Big Ten and SEC. That was one reason why Florida State sued the ACC in 2023, to test the grant of rights - tying schools to the conference through 2036.
At the time of the initial lawsuit, Florida State football had gone 13-0 and won the ACC. But the Seminoles did not make the four-team College Football Playoff and got blown out in the Orange Bowl, losing 63-3 to Georgia. After Alabama interviewed Norvell to replace Nick Saban in January 2024, Florida State gave him an eight-year deal worth $10 million a year to stay.
Florida State has not had a winning season since, and calls to fire Norvell have steadily increased.
Beyond the football problems, Florida State had the highest athletic-related debt in the country for the 2025 fiscal year, totaling $437 million thanks to the infrastructure improvements. But university leaders point out they have plenty of money to make those debt service payments, and the investment in infrastructure had to happen because they were decades behind their competitors. They believe in those upgrades Alford spearheaded.
The biggest source of contention has been football spending. Those inside the university believe Alford and Norvell underestimated how much football budgets were going to increase following the 2023 season. Then when Alford was initially resistant to spend money above the new revenue share cap, discontent started to grow until it reached a breaking point. McCullough pointed out they want structural changes, too, so the athletic department is better aligned with the university and Seminole Boosters. Those structural changes, and perhaps even a new AD, will help them decide on a future course with football.
It is worth noting if Norvell is fired during the season, Florida State would owe him a $51 million buyout.
"Changes like this are never easy, but sometimes necessary," Collins said in a statement. "We have made significant investments and structural changes in our athletics program and Seminole Boosters over the past few years, but more are needed. This step begins the next phase of restructuring that the University must commit to in order to compete in this era of college sports. The President and the Board are in lockstep on the mission and what the results must be."
Alford said in a statement he is proud of what he accomplished at FSU.
"While I will leave it to others to provide thoughts on our accomplishments and challenges, I am proud of what we were able to achieve together," the statement said. "I believe there is a strong foundation in place for FSU Athletics and I am confident that the momentum will continue."
