Seminoles athletics director Coburn set to retire by spring 2022
Florida State athletics director David Coburn will retire at the end of the academic year.
FSU president Richard McCullough announced the move in a statement late Wednesday night.
“Earlier this year, David Coburn shared with me his intention to retire, and I appreciate his willingness to continue to serve until his successor can be named,” McCullough said.
Coburn assumed the role of interim AD in August 2018 after Stan Wilcox left the for a position at the NCAA. Former FSU President John Thrasher promoted Coburn to full-time status in May 2019.
“I have enjoyed the position as athletics director a great deal and it has been very rewarding, but this program needs an athletic director who will be here for the long-term,” said Coburn. “It is just a good time to step away and let the next generation take it from here.”
Coburn previously worked as a staff member for Thrasher and former FSU president Eric Barron. He was a candidate for the president’s job that went to McCullough.
His time with the department included the firing Willie Taggart as the football coach in November 2019, after a 4-5 start and dip in attendance. The move cost the school $20 million in buyouts. Coburn hired Mike Norvell as the Seminoles’ coach a month later.
FSU reduced its athletics department budget by 20%, including eliminating jobs, pay cuts and other cost-cutting measures due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Coburn, Norvell and basketball coaches Leonard Hamilton and Sue Semrau took pay cuts to help the efforts.
Coburn will stay on until the spring of 2022 or until the position is filled, “whichever comes sooner,” he said in the statement.