Tomahawk Nation has learned that Florida State will name Stan Wilcox, the current Deputy Director of Athletics at Duke, as its new athletics director on Wednesday afternoon around 5 p.m. Tomahawk Nation will learn more about Wilcox as the situation develops.
3:00 Update: I spoke with some trusted sources who have worked with Wilcox in the past.
The consensus? They like the hire. They say Wilcox is a bright guy. They noted that he was Notre Dame's football guy, as well as Duke's football guy. He understands the difference between big-time football and football that is decidedly, well, not. One source described Wilcox as a a "reserved-dynamic-personable" personality -- someone who will capture a room, but who won't be popping off and embarrassing the school.
They also like his legal background, that he has worked with NCAA compliance, and his involvement with NCAA committees.
The question? How much does he know about multi-media rights, digital rights, third-tier rights, and the economics thereof. The question was asked because one source doesn't believe people born before 1970 have a great grasp of those things. He wants to know how much Wilcox knows about those issues, and if he has someone helping him with that aspect of the job.
Here is Wilcox's bio courtesy Duke Sports Information:
Stan Wilcox joined the Duke staff in August of 2008 and serves as Senior Deputy Director of Athletics.
Before moving to Durham, Wilcox, a former basketball letterman at Notre Dame, spent three years as the deputy director of athletics at his alma mater. Prior to returning to South Bend in 2005, he served 11 years as an associate commissioner of the BIG EAST Conference.
At Duke, Wilcox's duties include managing the day-to-day operation of the department and oversight of the football program. Other areas within athletics he oversees are Human Resources and External Operations that include Marketing and Promotions, Ticketing, Digital Media, Sports Information and Video Operations. In addition, Wilcox is responsible for coordinating football scheduling.
While working at the BIG EAST Conference, Wilcox was the league's representative to the NCAA Management Council from 2000-05 and served on the Management Council subcommittees on incentives and disincentives, governance, nominations and the task force to review the NCAA's one-time transfer exception rule. Also, he spent time on the NCAA recruiting task force and the basketball issues committee. For the BIG EAST, Wilcox, who in 2001-02 received the National Association of Athletics Compliance Coordinators Outstanding Achievement Award, was responsible for the league's NCAA governance, legislative, enforcement and compliance services.
Additionally, Wilcox helped create the Minority Opportunity Athletics Association (MOAA) and is a former board member of MOAA. Wilcox is also a past president of the Black Coaches Association (BCA), having held the post from June, 2003 to June, 2005. Overall, he served 11 years on the BCA's Board of Directors.
Before his tenure at the BIG EAST Conference, Wilcox worked as a legislative assistant at the NCAA from 1989-94. Prior to that, he worked as a senior court analyst for the King County Supreme Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., from 1982-89. Following his graduation from Notre Dame in 1981 with a degree in economics, he spent one year as an account executive for Serres, Visones & Rice Insurance in New York, N.Y.
A native of North Babylon, N.Y., Wilcox played in 100 career games on the hardwood for the Fighting Irish and was a member of Notre Dame's 1978 club that faced Duke in the NCAA Final Four in St. Louis, Mo. He helped the Irish to a four-year ledger of 92-26 with four NCAA Tournament berths. Wilcox went on to earn a juris doctor degree from the Brooklyn Law School in 1988 and is a member of the New York State Bar Association.
He is married to the former Ramona Harrell. Stan has three daughters, Soraya, Yasmeen and Nadia, and Ramona has three sons, James, Brian and Charles.