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Yesterday’s Poll Results
Today’s Poll
After the Stanford win, how do you feel about FSU men’s basketball?
🏹 Welcome to The Chief Brief! 🏹
January closed with statements — on the court, on the track, in the ledger, and on the recruiting trail. From momentum-building wins to eye-opening financial realities, this edition captures where Florida State is moving forward — and what it’s costing to keep up.
Here’s what’s inside today:
🏀 Home Court Confidence 🏀
FSU men’s basketball finishes January with its best performance of the season, controlling Stanford wire-to-wire and quietly stacking momentum heading into February.
💰 The Cost of Competing 💰
FSU athletics spending officially breaks the $200M barrier — revealing how aggressively the Seminoles are investing just to stay relevant in a rapidly accelerating college sports arms race.
🏈 Recruiting Boards Shift 🏈
A pivotal Junior Day visit puts four-star WR Jabari Watkins squarely in FSU’s corner, while the Seminoles also surge into pole position for elite 2027 DB Trezavant Boyd.
⚾ No Soft Landings ⚾
FSU baseball’s ACC slate is as unforgiving as any in the country — a schedule that will expose strengths, test depth, and shape postseason ceilings early.
🏃♀️ National (and Global) Speed 🏃♂️
Shenese Walker doesn’t just win — she rewrites record books, pushing FSU track and field onto the national and world stage with a weekend that showed real championship depth.
📊 Dangerous from Deep 📊
FSU women’s basketball heads to Clemson with the ACC’s best three-point attack — and a matchup history that says this one won’t be easy for the home team.
Big wins. Big spending. Big momentum swings.
Let’s get into it. 👇
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🏀🔥 Noles Finish January Strong with Statement Win Over Stanford 🔥🏀
A complete performance, wire to wire — and one of FSU’s best nights of the season.
Florida State men’s basketball closed January with an 88–80 home win over Stanford Cardinal men's basketball, handing the Cardinal their fourth straight ACC loss and securing the program’s first-ever win over Stanford in Tallahassee.
🔥 How It Unfolded
FSU led 41–33 at halftime and never trailed in the second half
Built a 14-point cushion midway through the half
Stanford’s star scorer Ebuka Okorie was held well below his season average early, helping FSU control tempo
⭐ Standouts
Chauncey Wiggins powered the offense, finishing with 19 points
Lajae Jones led early and set the tone with physical play
Robert McCray V orchestrated the offense as FSU stretched the lead with multiple second-half runs
📊 Team Context
Record improves to 10–12 overall, 3–6 ACC
Won 3 of the last 4 conference games
Now 9–4 at home, where confidence is clearly building under first-year head coach Luke Loucks
🧠 Why It Matters
This wasn’t just a win — it was confirmation. FSU controlled a dangerous scorer, protected home court, and showed real growth on both ends. With a full week before a road trip to Notre Dame, the Seminoles finally have momentum — and breathing room — as February begins.
👉 Read more here for full game notes, play-by-play highlights, and what this win signals heading into the next ACC stretch.
💰📈 FSU Athletics Spending Explodes Past $200M 📈💰
Keeping pace in college sports now comes with a massive price tag.
Florida State’s athletics budget has officially crossed into a new tier.
Financial documents released Friday show FSU spent $208.2 million on athletics in Fiscal Year 2025 — a $38 million jump in one year and a 38% increase over four years.
🔥 Where the Money Went
Football expenses: up from ~$61M → $85.4M
Fundraising, marketing & promotion:
Football: ~$1M → $21.6M
Total department: ~$3.3M → $34.9M
Debt service: ~$4.8M → $25.7M
(Doak renovations + football-only facility)
🏟️ Revenue Keeps Pace — Barely
Total revenue: ~$212M (about $27M more than last year)
ACC media payout: $34M
Ticket sales: $28.5M
Football alone: $23.6M (+$6M YoY)
Donor contributions: $55.6M (down from $62.3M)
Direct institutional support: $33.9M
(a major accounting shift from ~$107K last year)
📊 Big Picture Context
FSU technically reported a $3M surplus, though officials caution this isn’t a true P&L.
These numbers do NOT include the new $20M+ annual player revenue-sharing that begins this year.
Peer comparisons:
Missouri: $191M expenses
Ohio State: ~$320M expenses (35+ sports, massive institutional backing)
🧠 Why It Matters
This is the cost of staying relevant.
FSU isn’t spending recklessly — it’s spending defensively, trying to keep up in a sport where arms races don’t pause. With revenue sharing now live and facilities debt still ramping, today’s $208M may look conservative very soon.
College athletics isn’t slowing down.
It’s getting more expensive — fast.
👉 Read more here for the full financial breakdown, detailed NCAA reporting context, and national comparisons straight from the source.
🏈🧲 FSU Makes Its Move With 4⭐ WR Jabari Watkins 🧲🏈
A Junior Day visit that changed the board.
Florida State may have done more than just impress one of its top receiver targets this weekend — it may have taken the lead.
Four-star wide receiver Jabari Watkins (Thomas County Central, GA) returned to Tallahassee for FSU’s final Junior Day of January, and his post-visit reaction couldn’t have been clearer.
🔥 What He Said
“It went amazing. Felt like home.”
“Definitely better than any place I’ve been at.”
When asked if FSU is now his leader: “Yessir. Definitely.”
Just weeks ago, Watkins indicated Georgia and Auburn were setting the pace — but this visit flipped the script.
🧠 Why the Momentum Shifted
This was Watkins’ first visit to FSU — and he hasn’t yet been to Georgia or Auburn
He emphasized the family atmosphere and being able to “actually see everything”
Summer decision timeline favors programs that separate early
📊 Player Snapshot
Class: 2027
Ranking: No. 207 overall | No. 28 WR (247Sports)
Junior stats: 55 catches, 847 yards, 11 TDs
Other schools to watch: Louisville
🧠 Why It Matters
FSU needed to make noise at wide receiver heading into the dead period — and this is exactly what that looks like. Getting a top-30 WR to publicly name the Seminoles as his leader after a Junior Day visit is real traction, not fluff.
👉 Read more here for Watkins’ full quotes, recruiting context, and what could come next as his summer decision approaches.
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⚾📅 A Grind From the Jump: FSU’s ACC Baseball Gauntlet Takes Shape 📅⚾
No easing in — the margin will be tested early and often.
Florida State baseball opens the 2026 season on February 13 at Dick Howser Stadium, but the real story is what follows once ACC play begins.
According to D1Baseball, no team in the ACC faces a harder overall schedule than FSU, with the Seminoles drawing the third-toughest conference slate in the league. The 10 ACC opponents on FSU’s schedule combined for a .520 conference winning percentage last season.
🔥 Big-Picture Breakdown
55 total games on the schedule
From 2025 RPI projections:
16 Q1 games
18 Q2 games
8 Q3 games
13 Q4 games
FSU finished 17–10 in ACC play last season (2nd place)
🏟️ Key ACC Stretch to Watch
The heart of the schedule comes late, with a mix of road tests and top-tier competition:
Notre Dame (Home, Apr. 17–19)
Stanford (Away, Apr. 24–26 — West Coast trip)
Pitt (Home, May 1–3)
Clemson (Away, May 8–10 — perennial contender)
Miami (Home, May 14–16 — rivalry finale)
🧠 Why It Matters
There’s very little schedule padding here. For FSU, hosting late and surviving brutal road environments will directly shape postseason seeding, RPI leverage, and margin for error. This is a schedule built to reveal exactly who you are.
👉 Read more here for the full ACC breakdown, opponent context, and why this slate could define FSU’s postseason ceiling.
🏀🚌 Noles Travel to Clemson for ACC Matchup 🚌🏀
Florida State women’s basketball hits the road Sunday to face Clemson at 4 p.m. ET at Littlejohn Coliseum.
FSU: 7–14 (2–7 ACC)
Clemson: 15–7 (6–4 ACC)
Series: FSU leads 39–28, winning 7 of the last 8
🔥 Quick Notes
FSU leads the ACC in threes per game (8.5)
Sole Williams averages 15.0 PPG
Williams and Jasmine Shavers have 39 made threes each
📺 Watch: ACC Network
📻 Radio: 96.5 The Spear / SiriusXM
🧠 Why It Matters
FSU’s perimeter shooting keeps them dangerous — especially against a Clemson team they’ve consistently handled.
🏃♀️🔥 Walker Shatters Records as Noles Close Razorback Invitational 🔥🏃♂️
A weekend that announced FSU on the national — and global — stage.
Florida State track and field wrapped up the Razorback Invitational with a wave of all-time performances, led by Shenese Walker’s historic run in the women’s 60 meters.
🔥 Headline Moment
Shenese Walker ran 7.09 in the 60m semifinals
New FSU record
New ACC record
Fastest time in the NCAA this season
5th-fastest time in the world in 2026
📈 More Program-Best Performances
Aniol Borras: 4:00.40 mile (PB, 6th-fastest in FSU history)
Bieke Schipperen: 8:55.54 in the 3,000 (2nd-fastest in program history)
Suus Altorf: 8:58.36 (4th-fastest in FSU history, PB)
Rylee Blade: 9:03.46 (6th-fastest in school history, PB)
Isaac Hirshman Chandler: 7:55.52 in the men’s 3,000 (5th-fastest in FSU history, PB)
Braeden Ofosu-Kwarteng: 46.73 in the 400 (T-10th all-time at FSU)
Kyvon Tatham: 16.20m triple jump (PB, 6th all-time at FSU)
🧠 Why It Matters
This wasn’t just one star performance — it was depth across events, with records falling in sprints, distance, and field events. Walker’s time alone places FSU squarely in the national championship conversation, while the supporting results show a roster built to score everywhere.
👉 Read more here for the full meet breakdown, complete results, and what’s next as the Seminoles head to Clemson and Boston.
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🧲🛡️ FSU Emerging as Leader for 2027 CB Trezavant Boyd 🛡️🧲
Momentum is building on the trail.
Four-star 2027 defensive back Trezavant Boyd says Florida State has surged to the top of his recruitment as he navigates a busy offseason filled with transfers, camps, and seven-on-seven competition.
🔥 Why This Matters
Boyd is ranked No. 34 nationally at cornerback in the 2027 class
Currently competing with Raw Miami on the 7-on-7 circuit
Transferring from Mater Academy to Miami Central, a national-schedule powerhouse
🟡🔴 Where FSU Stands
Boyd says FSU and Illinois are currently his top two
Mike Norvell visited Boyd at school, reinforcing the relationship
Spring visit to Tallahassee expected in March, rather than Junior Day
💬 Boyd on FSU:
“Florida State is my top school now… they show the most love.”
🗓️ What’s Next
Potential spring visits: FSU, Miami, Illinois, Liberty, Syracuse
Commitment date set for July 15, a meaningful family date for Boyd
🧠 Big Picture
FSU’s early, personal involvement — especially from Norvell himself — is paying dividends. With a firm timeline and growing clarity, Boyd is shaping up as a recruitment worth tracking closely over the next five months.
And that’s a wrap!
January ended with clarity.
FSU protected home court, rewrote record books, shifted recruiting boards — and showed just how expensive staying competitive has become. The wins are real. The momentum is building. And the investment isn’t slowing down.
February won’t be quieter — it’ll be louder.
— The Chief 🏹
See you tomorrow.
