Florida State fires athletic director Michael Alford after four-year tenure

Florida State has fired athletic director Michael Alford, according to ESPN's Andera Adelson. This comes after a four-year tenure in Tallahassee.

The university moved on from Alford after he decided to keep head football coach Mike Norvell despite a rocky 2025 season. This year has been much better. The Seminoles (1-1) suffered a 27-24 loss to SMU, despite the Mustangs committing four turnovers.

With Alford gone, the pressure on Norvell has now increased. Fans were chanting "fire Norvell" and some even made a website to help pay for his buyout.

Norvell is 39-35 overall at Florida State. The Noles are three years removed from winning the ACC title with a 13-1 record. With Alford’s firing, there will be another administrator who will handle a possible coaching search, if FSU does part ways with Norvell.

Alford has been tied to many critical decisions during his time at Florida State. The Seminoles sued the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2023, challenging the league’s grant of rights agreement. Florida State, along with Clemson, reached a settlement which reduced the penalty to leave the conference. It's still unclear if that's in the plans for FSU or not.

Florida State completed a $265 million renovation of Doak Campbell Stadium in late 2025 to modernize the venue. There was a power outage there prior to the SMU game, which wasn't fully resolved.

Alford previously served as president and CEO of Seminole Boosters. He was tapped as Florida State’s athletic director to succeed David Coburn in 2023. Before Florida State, Alford was an associate vice president and athletic director at Central Michigan and an associate athletic director at Oklahoma.

There are no clear possible replacements for the job. Bruce Warwick has been named FSU's interim athletic director. He joined the university in 2020 after working with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. Florida State President Richard McCullough announced a national search for a permanent athletic director. 

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