Spetman says so long to Utah St.
Utah State has lost the man who was the driving force behind the Athletics Center in the north end zone of the USU football stadium.
Randy Spetman, director of athletics at USU since July 2004, was introduced Monday as the new athletics director for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Florida State Seminoles.
The Seminoles’ hiring of Spetman ended a nationwide search that began in December.
“Florida State University is one of the finest college athletics programs in the nation,” Spetman said Monday. “To be asked to serve as its athletics director is a great compliment, and I was thrilled to accept. I proudly served my country for many years with honor, commitment and pride. And I now look forward to bringing my skills as an athletics director to this university and serving Florida State University with the same honor, commitment and pride.”
Spetman is expected to begin at FSU within the next three weeks. USU is expected to pick an interim director later this week and also begin the search for a permanent replacement.
Spetman was one of four final candidates for the FSU job. Included in the other three were Wayne Hogan, an associate athletic director at Georgia Tech, and Martin Mayhew, the senior vice president of the Detroit Lions.
“These were all excellent candidates who interviewed very well,” said FSU Vice President Mary Coburn, who chaired the search committee. “This was an interesting experience. It allows you to see the campus through the eyes of other people. We look forward to working with a new athletic director who will help get us to a new level.”
Aside from his help with the Athletics Center, Spetman was at USU when the Aggies joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2005. Other notables include how he crafted a business partnership for medical health coverage that improved the overall coverage of USU student-athletes and reduced medical costs. He also negotiated a new marketing agreement for USU athletics with Learfield Sports Properties.
Before USU, Spetman was the director of athletics at the United States Air Force Academy from 1996-2003. He served in the Air Force for 28 years and was a command pilot with more than 3,000 hours of flight time.
He was the chief of bomber planning in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and Chief, Command and Control Division, Operations Directorate of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.
“Randy and (his wife) Becky have done an outstanding job,” USU President Stan Albrecht said. “Although they will be greatly missed, they have put us in a position of strength. We will continue to move forward.”
-samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu