Florida State hires Duke's Wilcox as AD

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State has hired Duke administrator Stan Wilcox as its athletic director.
 
   The school announced Wilcox's hiring during a news conference Wednesday.
 
   School President Eric 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 came to Duke in 2008 from Notre Dame along with AD Kevin White and had been his senior deputy director of athletics.
 
   He 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.
 
   He replaces Randy Spetman, whose exit was announced in June after five years in charge of the Seminoles' athletic department.
 
   "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 played basketball for the Fighting Irish and spent 11 years as the Big East Conference's associate commissioner before serving as deputy AD at Notre Dame from 2005-08.
 
   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.' So my first thing was, `Kevin, I think this might be the one."'
 
   He also was president of the Black Coaches Association from 2003-05 and spent 11 years on the organization's board of directors. He graduated from Notre Dame in 1981 and holds a juris doctorate from the Brooklyn Law School.
 
   "Florida State is gaining a highly seasoned professional in Stan Wilcox, who has an outstanding track record, moving the needle at every turn," White said in a statement issued by Duke.
 
   Cutcliffe said in three decades in college sports, he has "never been associated with a person with more integrity or reliability."
 
   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 advisor to the athletic department until his contract expires in February 2014.
 
   He came to Florida State in 2008 when the university was on NCAA probation following an academic cheating scandal and also when pressure was mounting on longtime coach Bobby Bowden to retire.

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