FSU going to give Link Jarrett all it can to bring that elusive national title home | Weiler

You can say the Florida State baseball budget may have been a victim of poor financial circumstances over the last few years.

You can say that Dick Howser Stadium has fallen out of the list of top college baseball venues, and that it was unclear if FSU was willing to commit financially to compete at the highest levels of the sport going forward.

But the messaging Monday at new head baseball coach Link Jarrett's introductory press conference made it clear.

Both Jarrett and Alford mentioned that elusive national title multiple times. It seems both of them will do everything in their power to make that long-awaited dream a reality.

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"His passion, that stands out. You can read all about his accolades, his development of players, but when you talk to him about his vision, the energy he brings every day and the ultimate goal of winning a national championship matched mine," Alford said when asked about Jarrett.

"I said it up there. This is Florida State baseball...Florida State needs to win a national championship and we're going to support that mission."

During Alford's introduction of Jarrett, he announced the launch of LinkToFSUFuture.com. This website, an extension of Seminoles.com, has links to donate to the Dick Howser Stadium facility upgrades project, to join the FSU baseball bullpen club and to donate to Seminole Boosters' annual fund.

Alford isn't yet ready to share more details about the Howser renovation project. He said renderings are coming in the near future after he has the chance to sit down with Jarrett about it.

Because while he has his own ideas for what needs to be addressed, Alford knows that Jarrett's ideas are more important.

"We have done three different studies of Dick Howser. We have three various plans that we could use that we've done. We haven't enacted on any of them. I've got to get his vision," Alford said.

"Him and I talked about what I think we need, we need to look at some things together, we're going to put (a plan) together. There is going to be a campaign to put resources behind that program because it deserves it, because of the legacy. We're putting resources behind it for the fans, for the student-athletes and to win a national championship."

Howser Stadium facelift will be immediate in some respects

On the Dick Howser Stadium improvements tab on Link to the Future, it mentions three subsets of projects.

First, it lists team spaces (game day, performance, practice), citing needed updates and renovations. Second on the list is addressing seating in the stadium, including the addition of more premium seating. Third and finally, it mentions the need for updated coaches offices.

While some of these may take a bit of time, both to raise the money and turn a plan into reality, there are some changes coming to Howser this offseason. One of those projects, the installation of new grass and turf, is already underway.

"We want to see some new different concourses next year. We don't tell our history as the most historic program in college baseball. We don't tell our fans walking through that stadium that history, we don't showcase that history enough. That's happening this fall, we're going to do some different things there," Alford said.

"We did some things to the inside of the park last year. We have the grass and turf renovation going on right now and then I've got to get with him on some (batting) cages and some stuff that we both know needs to get done, but I want his input on."

From his first time inside Howser as FSU head coach, Jarrett admitted he has already started looking at what improvements need to be made.

"My mind goes immediately to the quest. How do I get this to run the way I want it to run?" Jarrett said.

"How do I tidy things up? How do I get that (batting) cage right? How do I get that bullpen...How do I get it up to date, up to speed?"

There's no publicly listed goal on the website for how much FSU is looking to raise for its Howser renovation project. It is clear, though, that this is signaling a new era in FSU's commitment to baseball.

Likewise, the letter of understanding Jarrett signed last Thursday, which details his FSU contract, speaks to FSU's financial commitment.

Jarrett will make a base salary of $875,000 in his first season and gradually scale up to $1 million in the seventh and final year of his contract in 2028-29. Over the seven-year deal, he'll make $6.5 million, a notable increase from the four-year, $1.6 million contract Mike Martin Jr. signed in 2019.

While there are a number of ACC and SEC coaches who will still be making more than Jarrett, his new salary puts FSU far closer to where it belongs in this conversation.

Some of that speaks to how much FSU's financial situation improved under former AD David Coburn, who retired in January.

But on a larger scale, it points out that Alford and FSU administration understand how things work. If FSU is going to say it is one of the biggest, most successful college baseball programs, it needs to back that up financially.

Bringing Jarrett home was the easy part for FSU. He was the top target throughout the coaching search and serious discussions never extended beyond him.

Winning a national title will be the hard part. FSU is definitely in the group of schools that can accomplish it at any time, but it takes commitment to make that dream a reality.

The level of commitment FSU is now showing makes it a much more realistic path for Jarrett to be the guy to get the monkey off FSU baseball's back.

Reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com or follow him on Twitter @CurtMWeiler.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball title hopes boosted by Link Jarrett, Howser renovations