Florida State AD Stan Wilcox takes position with NCAA

Florida State will be looking for a new athletics chief executive, as the program’s leader is stepping aside after five years on the job.

Stan Wilcox, the Florida State athletics director since 2013, is joining the NCAA’s leadership team in Indianapolis, Florida State announced Monday in a news release.

Succeeding Randy Spetman as AD, Wilcox was named a university vice president in July 2016.

“I want to thank Stan for everything he has done at FSU. We’re excited for him, and we all wish him the best in his new position,” Florida State president John Thrasher said in the news release. “Our success on the playing fields under his leadership has been exceptional, with national championships in football, soccer, and softball over that time. We finished ninth in the 2017-18 Learfield Director’s Cup last year, and our student-athletes reached a cumulative 3.0 GPA this past year.”

Among Wilcox’s accomplishments at Florida State was the hiring of Willie Taggart as football head coach in December to replace Jimbo Fisher.

The university did not indicate who would lead the program following Wilcox’s departure, either on an interim or permanent basis. Vanessa Fuchs, the senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator, served as interim AD after Spetman transitioned into a special advisor’s role in 2013.

“I am honored and humbled to join Mark Emmert’s leadership team at the NCAA,” Wilcox said in the Florida State news release. “I am so grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have led me to this point. The Big East Conference, Notre Dame University, Duke University and most recently Florida State University have provided a depth and breadth of experiences on which I will rely heavily moving forward.

“I am excited to return to the NCAA, where my intercollegiate athletics career began.”