TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State has hired former Duke administrator Stan Wilcox as its new athletic director, the school announced Wednesday.

Wilcox, a former basketball player at Notre Dame, has served as the senior deputy athletic director at Duke since 2008 and has also held a similar position at his alma mater and worked as a deputy commissioner of the Big East Conference. He replaces Randy Spetman, who was reassigned by the university June 5.

"I hope that I'm able to continue to build upon that solid foundation base ... and take it forward," Wilcox said, adding that he wants Florida State to "become not only the leader within the ACC but also nationally."

Wilcox managed the day-to-day oversight of the Blue Devils' athletic department and oversaw the football program, including the coordination of the schedule for coach David Cutcliffe's team.

The two-month process of finding a replacement proved faster than school president Eric Barron had predicted following Spetman's departure, but Wilcox fits the profile Barron said he was looking for in an athletic director.

Barron says he "liked him the minute I met him" and that "I strongly believe that Stan is the perfect person for Florida State University."

Wilcox has overseen the football departments at Duke and Notre Dame, been a part of marketing and television contract negotiations while with the Big East and is familiar with the ACC.

When a reporter asked Wilcox his feelings about his alma mater playing his new employer in the new-look ACC, Wilcox turned to the side and did the Seminoles' trademark tomahawk chop -- eliciting laughter.

"Over the years, I haven't really (sought) out many jobs," Wilcox said. "I was very comfortable where I was, and when it came open, my first reaction was, 'Oh my goodness, the top program in the ACC is open.' "

The biggest concern for FSU moving forward may be finding new streams of revenue for the athletics department and bolstering fundraising. Wilcox takes over a program looking to renovate its basketball arena and football stadium, among other costly capital expenditures.

"My sense is we need to be looking at every possible revenue stream and working to enhance opportunities and be able to turn that right back and invest in our programs," Barron said. "So that's the plan."

Wilcox, who has a law degree, also was president of the Black Coaches Association from 2003-05 and spent 11 years on the organization's board of directors.

Vanessa Fuchs, Florida State's senior associate athletic director, has been serving as the interim AD while Spetman will remain at the school as a senior adviser to the athletic department until her contract expires in February 2014.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.