LED BY “THE TWENTY,” RENAISSANCE CAMPAIGN APPROACHES $20 MILLION RAISED IN TWO MONTHS By JERRY KUTZ Florida State University has always had Guardian Angels, alumni and friends who provide leadership in the university’s hours of need. Meet “The Twenty”, FSU’s latest generation of leaders who have stepped forward to answer the herald’s call to retstore Florida State Football to its glory. In early October, darkness fell over iconic Doak Campbell Stadium after a prolonged period of performance by Seminole standards. Punctuated by a loss to bitter rival Miami, FSU President John Thrasher faced a decision no university president wants to make. With the support of the Board of Trustees and Athletic Director David Coburn, Thrasher fired his head football coach nine games into his second season. It was a bold decision and a brave one. Thrasher knew the decision would require a laborious national search for a replacement and raised serious questions about funding the budget necessary to attract a high demand coach and to provide the resources to bring FSU back to its glory. Thrasher also knew not to decide, would be to decide. FSU football fans wanted a change in the direction of the program; their vote reflected in 20,000 gleaming empty seats. Not to decide would acerbate the loss of revenue in season tickets
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and Seminole Boosters memberships, which approach $15 million per year and is critical to funding 20 men’s and women’s sports. What Thrasher – and the FSU community – needed was a Renaissance of FSU Football and they needed to find the money to fund it. In other words, FSU needed a new generation of Guardian Angels. Meet “The Twenty” who responded to FSU’s call. The herald was President Thrasher, who penned a letter to every current and recent-past Seminole Booster member and season ticket holder explaining the reason the coaching change was made and the funding necessary to hire the right coach and provide him with the resources needed. Special packages were overnighted to 44 Seminole Booster members with a very specific ask to join a historic group of Renaissance donors. Seminole fans – who are eager for a change of fortune –responded quickly. Fifteen individuals have already committed leadership gifts, which cumulatively exceed $15 million. The campaign is only two months into its ambitious goal, so the progress is historic and inspiring, thanks in large part to those 15 individuals who have already joined the ranks of “The Twenty”.
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“People give to people for causes they believe in and President Thrasher was the right messenger with the right message – returning Seminole football to its rightful place in college football – a cause we can all support,” said Seminole Boosters President and CEO Andy Miller. Thrasher, Miller and Coburn have long institutional memories, including the darkest nights in FSU Athletic history and of garnet and gold dawns, fueled by the heroic contributions of previous generations of Seminole supporters. In addition to the letters soliciting “The Twenty,” a second letter from Thrasher went to donors and season ticket holders asking them to participate in the Renaissance by increasing their annual contribution to a higher donor level or by 20 percent. More than 1500 individuals have responded to this call, either by increasing their annual fund contribution or by becoming new members, which has already generated more than $1 million in additional annual fund contributions. The materials accompanying both letters honored previous generations of Guardian Angels who answered the university’s call. Their actions years ago, enabled the program to flourish.
