Florida State fires athletics director Michael Alford

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State fired athletics director Michael Alford on Monday morning, school president Dr. Richard McCullough announced.

Alford had been Florida State's athletics director since January 2022 after he was hired in the fall of 2020 to be the president of Seminole Boosters, Inc.

“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.”

McCullough appointed Bruce Warwick, currently senior associate athletics director, to serve as interim athletics director. There will be a national search for Alford's replacement.

“It is important that we remain dedicated to providing continuity and support to our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who remain our top priority,” Warwick said in a statement.

The decision also comes as football coach Mike Norvell is on the hot seat after two losing seasons and a lackluster 1-1 start. Florida State is a 20.5-point underdog at No. 10 Alabama on Saturday. If Norvell is replaced in the coming weeks or months, the hire will be made by a new athletics director as well as McCullough and Board of Trustees chairman Peter Collins.

In his time at Florida State, Alford made significant head coach hires — men’s basketball’s Luke Loucks, baseball’s Link Jarrett, soccer’s Brian Pensky, women’s basketball’s Brooke Wyckoff and lacrosse’s Sara Tisdale. FSU launched a lacrosse program in spring 2025.

Florida State also won a pair of soccer titles under Pensky’s leadership, including in December 2025.

Alford’s era at Florida State signaled massive facility projects for football, at a price tag of more than $400 million. Construction crews transformed the west side of Doak Campbell Stadium, and the football only facility that broke ground in December 2022 opened up in October 2025.

But Alford’s decision to take on the debt, do a football re-seat of Doak and drive ticket prices higher in sections of the stadium drew the ire of thousands of longtime Florida State fans.

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