One sentence in a USA Today story concerned a sitting U.S. congressman so much that he wrote Florida State University’s president about it on official House of Representatives letterhead.
Did FSU football star Deion Sanders actually go to class?
“If the President of a major university is not interested in whether or not his students go to school,” U.S. Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli wrote in 1989, “then, pray tell, what are they supposed to be interested in?”
President Bernard F. Sliger replied to the Kentucky Democrat that he was, in fact, interested in the attendance of his school’s students, including his two children; he just wasn’t personally getting involved in the academics of the two-time All-American.
That correspondence is part of the FSU libraries’ special collections and archives. The Tampa Bay Times stumbled on it this offseason while researching FSU’s history in the ACC amidst the ongoing, dueling lawsuits between the Seminoles and their conference. It wasn’t the only interesting but unrelated document we found.
Here are some other fascinating random records, from Nelson Mandela to Derrick Brooks to Burt Reynolds to an NCAA tournament gripe.
Miami’s mascot antics
One of the weirdest moments in FSU-Miami history came in 1989. To counter Osceola and his flaming Seminoles spear, Hurricanes mascot Sebastian the Ibis wore firefighter gear and brought a fire extinguisher. The police did not appreciate the joke; officers grabbed and detained the mascot.
Two months after the incident (and FSU’s two-touchdown win), ‘Canes administrator L. Douglas Johnson told Sliger the costume’s head rendered the visibility of the man inside (John Routh) “somewhat limited.” Johnson thought police intervention was unnecessary.
“In order to prevent this type of situation from occurring in the future, John will agree to communicate whatever antics he plans which may relate to opposing teams and/or mascots,” Johnson wrote. “In this manner, security officials will be aware of on-the-field activities so that no physical force will be necessary.”
Great catch, Burt Reynolds
In January 1990, actor Burt Reynolds starred in an episode of his short-lived detective drama “B.L. Stryker.” Reynolds, a former FSU running back, appeared in an FSU helmet and jersey while the FSU fight song played.
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Explore all your optionsFour days after the episode, “Winner takes all,” aired on ABC, Sliger wrote Reynolds in Jupiter to thank him.
“Publicity like that is priceless,” Sliger wrote.
Randy Moss’ second chance
FSU president Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte received several letters — at least two from state politicians — about receiver Randy Moss.
Moss lost the chance to play at Notre Dame after pleading guilty to battery stemming from a high school fight. D’Alemberte was among those who believed his school should give him a second chance.
“Coach (Bobby) Bowden’s 20-year record demonstrates that his players can go wrong once but not twice,” D’Alemberte wrote in one response. “Everything I see about Randy Moss makes me think that the coaches were right to give him this chance …
“If he hasn’t learned his lesson, he won’t play for FSU.”
He didn’t. Moss sat out the 1995 season, then was dismissed and jailed because a failed drug test violated his probation. He landed at Marshall and became a pro and college Hall of Famer.
Derrick Brooks shout out (sort of)
Sliger’s typed talking points for a 1991 boosters meeting highlighted ACC membership, a bowl win over top-10 Penn State and $700,000 in recent bowl earnings headed to academics/libraries. Someone added in pencil that the Seminoles “appear to have had an excellent year in recruiting including the national scholar athlete of the year, Derek (sic) Brooks.”
Brooks merely became one of the best players in FSU and Bucs history, and his recruiting class played a major role in the Seminoles’ 1993 national title.
March Madness upset
FSU’s men’s basketball team was upset by 13th-seeded Middle Tennessee in 1989. A day later, Sliger wrote the chair of the NCAA basketball committee, Arizona’s Cedric Dempsey, to ask how the Blue Raiders got a first-round site less than 40 miles from their campus.
“(For) the life of me … I can’t see how Middle Tennessee State could be given a berth in Nashville,” Sliger wrote.
Florida Gators respect
Sliger congratulated Gators men’s basketball coach Norm Sloan in 1989 after he won the first SEC title in program history. A few months later, Sliger wrote Ben Hill Griffin to compliment him on his $10 million donation to UF — the gift that led the Gators to name their stadium after him.
“I wish more people would be as generous to institutions they like as you are,” Sliger wrote. “As I have told you on previous occasions, you are one of the finest persons it has been my pleasure and honor to know.”
Japan game?
In 1995 FSU Foundation board member member John P. Linstroth suggested playing in Japan, as other programs (like Nebraska and Clemson) had done. FSU could invite major Japanese corporations like Mitsubishi and open the door for future relationships.
That didn’t happen. The ‘Noles will play their first international game this season (a Week 0 matchup against Georgia Tech in Ireland).
FSU vs. Virginia trophy
The Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte collection houses the genesis of FSU’s “rivalry” trophy with Virginia. A day after Ronde Barber’s Cavaliers gave the ‘Noles their first ACC loss ever in 1995, D’Alemberte pitched an idea to Virginia’s president.
Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s grandson, Francis W. Eppes, signed the letter giving Tallahassee land to a seminary, which eventually became FSU.
“Thus my proposal: I will have crafted an appropriate work to be known as the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy …” D’Alemberte wrote. “If this idea meets with your approval, I will come up with a proposed design and send the trophy to you as soon as it is prepared, with the fond hope that it will be returned to Mr. Eppes’ university next year.”
Indeed, FSU won the game and trophy the next November with a 31-24 triumph.
Same arguments, three decades later
Many of today’s hot-button issues were being discussed three decades ago. Nebraska’s legendary coach, Tom Osborne, exchanged letters with Sliger in 1990 about:
• Cutting costs (a current worry as schools prepare to share revenue with players)
• Roster limits (coaches then and now feared cutting spots would make it harder to withstand a full season)
• Competitive balance (despite the inherent inequities between programs)
• Shrinking the recruiting calendar (which has only ramped up since)
A memo from the College Football Association touched on the impending impact of a longer NFL season on college bowl games. That concern is even greater now, because the expanded College Football Playoff will overlap more with the NFL.
Welcome, Nelson Mandela
Though our focus was on sports, nothing felt more historic than Sliger’s letter to Nelson Mandela. As the human rights activist was set to visit Atlanta a few months after being released from a South African prison, Sliger welcomed him to the Southeast.
“We applaud you, Mr. Mandela,” Sliger wrote. “You have challenged the world to be dissatisfied until every person can have food and material necessities for his body, culture and education for his mind and freedom and human dignity for his spirit. Your struggle has created an international coalition of conscious — one which has prompted slow, but evident change.”
Why FSU football matters
Sliger explained it to the team during a banquet after the 1990 season:
“The case that I make to the legislature for funding for FSU will be received better because of the great season you had and the great win in the Blockbuster Bowl. The Admissions Officers at Florida State will have more applicants and will be able to be more selective in admitting freshmen because of your performance on the field last fall. The Development officers at Florida State will find it easier to get in corporate and individual doors, and easier to raise money for the University because you skinned some gators in an almost off-hand way. Some scholar may well find that his ideas get a fair hearing from some foundation or government agency because of the reputation you have built up in the world of athletics.”
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