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Spetman Named FSU's New AD

Colin Hackley / Tampa Tribune

FSU football coach Bobby Bowden, left, congratulates Randall Spetman on his new job as the Seminoles' athletic director, during a news conference in Tallahassee.

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Randy Spetman wasn't actively seeking another job, so when well-known NCAA hiring consultant Chuck Neinas called Spetman several weeks ago to gauge his interest in applying for the Florida State athletic director's job, Spetman needed time to think.

Before being named AD at Utah State in July 2004, Spetman was a finalist for the South Florida job earlier that year. After his interview at USF, he felt confident he would get an offer, but booster concerns over Spetman's military background and fundraising ability steered USF in other directions.

At his introductory news conference Monday, FSU's new AD recounted his first conversation with Neinas about possibly taking over an athletic program tainted in recent months by an academic cheating scandal involving approximately 50 student-athletes in several sports.

"It was totally out of the blue," Spetman said of the call. "I said very clearly, I'm very happy here with what we're doing, so don't put me into that if you don't think I am going to have some shot at it."

Neinas, hired for $35,000 by FSU President T.K. Wetherell to help find a replacement for Dave Hart, recommended Spetman for the job after talking to Wetherell about what the school needed to move past the cheating scandal. Neinas said Monday that he also recommended others for the job, but added that he is certain FSU made the right decision in hiring Spetman, a former football star at the Air Force Academy who later spent more than 20 years in active duty. He served as Air Force's AD for eight years.

"I had an inkling that T.K. would be interested in Randy," Neinas said from his office in Colorado. "He is a unique individual. He offers great leadership qualities. He did an admirable job at Utah State, a place that needed help."

Spetman interviewed on Friday, returned to attend a dedication ceremony at Utah State on Saturday night, and flew back to Tallahassee on Sunday once he received word he got the job over three other candidates: Georgia Tech associate AD Wayne Hogan, Detroit Lions executive Martin Mayhew, and former Florida Marlins president Don Smiley.

"We finally came to a person who has a proven track record," Wetherell said. "I don't think I've seen anybody more excited to come to Florida State University since I got elected to come to Florida State."

Spetman agreed to a five-year contract; financial terms were not available Monday. During his three-plus years at Utah State, he increased the athletic department's revenues and the graduation rate of its student-athletes. During the 2006-07 school year, Utah State's 310 student-athletes carried a cumulative 3.08 grade-point average.

""He has done a great job for us here," Utah State president Stan Albrecht said Monday. "Florida State's gain is our loss. We'll miss him."

Spetman expects to be on the job full-time by the end of next week, intent on boosting morale and regaining the confidence of the school's academic faculty in the wake of the cheating scandal.

"You know, that's one of the reasons I'm here," Spetman said. "They have done a tremendous job in the investigative process. They have taken initial steps to correct the problem immediately. That's what makes it pretty easy for me to come in and to live by what the President has set up. It was a bump in the road ... but I don't think it has jeopardized anything that this university represents.

"We just have to get going and win national championships and people will forget about it."

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (850) 294-3088 or scarter@tampatrib.com.

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