Randall William Spetman (born December 30, 1952) is an American college

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

who was most recently athletic director at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

from 2008 to 2013. Spetman has also been the director of athletics at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

and the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

. He was a vice president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics during the 2009–10 academic year.

Early life, education, and military career

Spetman was born in

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

. He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1971 and the

in 1976. While at the Academy, he played at

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the Air Force Falcons football team from 1973 to 1975. Spetman has

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

and from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

. After graduation from the Academy, Spetman spent 28 years in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

as a pilot. In addition to being an assistant coach for Air Force football, Spetman served in the Air Force in various capacities, including Chief of Bomber Planning in Operations Desert Shield and

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and Chief of the Command and Control Division, Operations Directorate of the

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territori ...

in Stuttgart, Germany. Spetman retired as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in April 2004.

Athletics administration career

Beginning in August 1995, Spetman was associate athletic director at Air Force before being promoted to athletic director effective March 1, 1996. In 2000, Spetman hired Joe Scott to be Air Force Falcons men's basketball coach and in 2002 signed Scott through 2008. On October 15, 2003, Spetman announced his retirement effective in December. In March 2004, three months after Spetman's retirement, Scott led Air Force to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in over 40 years.

president Kermit Hall hired Spetman on June 18, 2004 to be athletic director effective July 1. By 2007, Utah State had won four WAC championships and had a conference-best 78 percent graduation rate. Spetman became athletic director of

on February 4, 2008, hired by president T. K. Wetherell. In July 2008, Florida State hired Lonni Alameda as head softball coach, following the retirement of longtime head coach Joanne Graf. Alameda would go on to win five consecutive ACC Coach of the Year honors from 2013 to 2017 and the 2018 Women's College World Series title. After the resignation of longtime head coach Bobby Bowden, Spetman promoted offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher as the new

Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Florida State Seminoles, Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FB ...

head coach in December 2009. The '' Tallahassee Democrat'' reported that Bowden made the decision to retire following a meeting with Wetherell and Spetman. Fisher would take Florida State to three straight bowl victories and two ACC Atlantic Division titles, with top-ten year-end rankings after the 2012 season. On June 5, 2013, new Florida State president Eric Barron reassigned Spetman to a special advisor role for the remainder of his contract that would expire in February 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spetman, Randy 1952 births Living people American football defensive ends Air Force Falcons athletic directors Air Force Falcons football players Florida State Seminoles athletic directors Utah State Aggies athletic directors Central Michigan University alumni Naval War College alumni United States Air Force colonels Sportspeople from Council Bluffs, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa Military personnel from Iowa