At a meeting to discuss the handling of the school’s football head coach search, the Florida A&M National Alumni Association rendered a no-confidence vote in athletic director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes over the proposed hire of Fort Valley State coach Shawn Gibbs.
Sykes’ reported recommendation of Gibbs by the website Rattler Nation as a replacement for Willie Simmons elicited strong opposition from FAMU stakeholders who wanted the athletic director to suspend the current search.The no-confidence vote related to Gibbs’ hiring passed 19-1 during an emergency meeting on Wednesday.
The Florida A&M National Alumni Association took also issue with Sykes decisions over the football team pulling out of the Orange Blossom Classic, increasing ticket prices that were “made without consultation of NAA.”
A no-confidence vote on Sykes leadership by the association passed with an 18-3 vote.
The factors that led to the vote will be included in a letter to be sent to President Larry Robinson and the school’s Board of Trustees.
Several board members and participants voiced their concerns over how Dawn Sykes’ alleged lack of communication during a search for a football coach was described as “the most disrespectful process I have ever seen,” according to a letter attributed to FAMU Rattlers Boosters, Inc. addressed to Robinson.
In the letter obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, the Florida A&M stakeholders suggested there “has been no presentation of other highly qualified candidates being considered,” the letter states. “Therefore, the Boosters are requesting that you suspend any further head coach search activity until the Athletic Director addresses the university community on this subject.”
Board members and other meeting participants expressed reservations on the Gibbs selection, with one board member questioning why the athletic administration would consider someone for the job “outside of the winning model and not from within.
Others commented on a perceived lack of vision and direction from the athletic administration and questioned what criteria were used to make this recommendation.
Several former Florida A&M football players expressed that the wrong selection could set back the progress the program has made in recent years.
A poll conducted during the meeting found there was a 91% dissatisfaction rate with the current leadership of the Florida A&M athletic department.
