The Florida State Athletic Department and Seminole Boosters, Inc. will be working more closely together than ever before after Friday's Board of Trustees meeting.

Seminole Boosters, Inc. will now be under the umbrella of the Florida State University Athletics Association (FSUAA), but will still maintain its Direct Support Organization status.

"This restructuring should substantially improve coordination and planning between our two entities and result in savings, particularly in back-office functions, such as finance and the budget, communications, and marketing," FSU Athletic Director David Coburn said.

The Memorandum of Agreement was approved unanimously by both the Board of Directors of Seminole Boosters, Inc. and the Florida State Board of Trustees.

The restructuring is set to go into effect this fall.

"We felt that we could probably be more successful with a closer alignment and better collaboration," Seminole Boosters, Inc. President and CEO Andy Miller said.

"It appeared to be a pretty good time to consider the question because David Coburn, the President, and I are somewhat near term to retirement. When leadership changes it was a good time to bring up the topic and start talking about it.

"Once we engaged the board, Doug Russell as chair, we felt like we could improve… We’ve had numerous discussions with the university and have come up with a really good idea."

The move puts the relationship between FSU and its boosters more in line with the way other universities, like the University of Florida, handle their athletic department and booster organizations.

The FSU Athletic Department and Seminole Boosters, Inc. had been two completely separate entities, which created some issues when FSU needed to approve budgets or build new facilities.

"I think the structure really brings us together, and I think that’s what we’ve been lacking," FSU President John Thrasher told the Tallahassee Democrat. "We’ve had two separate organizations with the same kind of missions and caring people, but sometimes not talking enough together."

The FSUAA will be headed by a five-member board. The members of the board include the FSU President as chairman, FSU's NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, and the Chair of Seminole Boosters, Inc. The FSU Athletic Director will serve as CEO of the FSUAA and will report directly to the President and the FSUAA board chair.

The organization will oversee all aspects of FSU's athletic program, approve budgets and strategic plans, develop policies regarding scheduling and financing facilities, and prioritizing projects and programs. It also will be responsible for hiring, evaluating and compensating the Director of Athletics, according to a release provided by FSU.

"I think it’s going to be very positive in terms of keeping us on the same page, discussion on how we go forward with projects on fundraising, on all the aspects of the athletic department," Thrasher said. "The more input the boosters have, I think, is a very positive thing. The more input we have on the booster operation, in terms of athletics, is a very positive thing."

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FSU athletics' relationship with Seminole Boosters, Inc. has had some issues over the past few years with both parties disagreeing on some important issues.

"I don’t think there was any real major conflict, but I think there were decisions made without the input of the other side," Thrasher said. "That’s what this accomplishes. It gives us an opportunity to bring people together, to bring ideas together and then filter out those ideas for the best interests of FSU and our student-athletes."

"This is going to get everybody on the same for the future of Florida State athletics," he added. "Fundraising is a big part of it. Working with the boosters in this way aligns us better to accomplish our goals."

The idea for the alignment began in July, 2018, but came into focus when Athletic Director David Coburn took over in August at the request of Thrasher.

His relationship with Miller helped pave the way for the conversations to begin in earnest.

"I think that while Andy (Miller) and I have a good personal relationship and we work together without any problems, we won’t always be here," Coburn said. "What we’re doing is putting in place a structure that will facilitate that relationship going forward."

The CEO of Seminole Boosters, Inc. will now be directly answerable to the Seminole Boosters, Inc. Board of Directors and the FSU Athletic Director when providing reports. The CEO will also have the title of Associate Athletic Director at FSU.

The Seminole Boosters, Inc. Board of Directors will remain intact and manage its assets and fundraising. It will also retain authority to hire and fire the CEO.

The Athletic Director will sit on numerous committees for Seminole Boosters, Inc., which the administration thinks will help streamline multiple processes.

"It will enhance our operations and create efficiencies with better collaboration," Seminole Boosters, Inc. Chairman Doug Russell said.

"A big part of this is that we get to maintain control of our assets. Our donors are very entrepreneurial. They pledge assets to go to certain facilities or sports or scholarships, and we wanted to make sure that we can carry out the donors wishes with their gifts. This alignment will give us better access to Coburn and the head coaches, which will make our job of fundraising and supporting student-athletes easier."

Reach Wayne McGahee III at wmcgahee@tallahassee.com.