What happens when you bring Florida State leadership, influential alumni business owners, and strategic partners together in one room? In Tampa, the answer was more than networking – it was a glimpse at what the Seminole Business Network can become.
On August 20, NOCAP Sports and Seminole Boosters hosted an intimate cocktail reception at The Stovall House in Tampa, bringing together some of the area’s most influential Florida State alumni and business leaders.
The conversation centered on one question: What if the everyday business decisions FSU alumni are already making could create a new, sustainable revenue stream for Florida State Athletics?
That’s the idea behind the Seminole Business Network, and Tampa provided a case study for what can happen when that model moves from an email or introduction into a room full of the right people.
The concept behind the event was straightforward: identify cities with a high concentration of Florida State alumni, donors, and business owners, then create intimate opportunities to connect those leaders directly with FSU and the Seminole Business Network.
Tampa was a natural place to start.
Rather than inviting hundreds of people to a traditional alumni event, NOCAP Sports and Seminole Boosters focused on bringing together a select group of business leaders with significant influence, relationships, and purchasing power.
For Ricky McEwen, Director of Development at Seminole Boosters, the enthusiasm in the room reinforced the opportunity.
“It was exciting to see our Seminole business leaders invest their time and passion into growing the Seminole Business Network. It’s clear that our alumni are energized about the future of FSU Athletics and believe strongly in our vision and the direction we’re headed.”
Ricky McEwen, Director of Development, Seminole Boosters
The smaller setting also changed the nature of the conversation. Attendees weren't simply being presented with another way to financially support FSU. They were being invited to help build something alongside the university.
At the center of the conversation was a simple idea: supporting Florida State Athletics doesn't always require spending more money.
Businesses already pay for payment processing, insurance, payroll, logistics, financing, energy, and other essential services. Through the Seminole Business Network, FSU-connected businesses can access vetted service providers for those needs, with a portion of resulting revenue flowing back to support Florida State Athletics and Seminole student-athletes.
For alumni business owners, it creates an opportunity to make their existing business spend work harder.
And for some of the business leaders in the room, the Seminole Business Network wasn't just an idea – it was something they had already experienced firsthand.
Paul Lokey, President and Owner of the Lokey Automotive Group, shared with attendees how participating in the Seminole Business Network has impacted his business and created an opportunity to deepen his company's connection to Florida State.
Hearing directly from a fellow business owner gave attendees a real-world example of what participation can look like. Rather than talking about the Seminole Business Network only in terms of its future potential, Lokey could speak to the experience from the perspective that mattered most to the room: an FSU-connected business actually putting the model into practice.
For Florida State, those individual business decisions have the potential to compound into a significant recurring revenue stream.
Dan Ockree, Director of University Growth at NOCAP Sports, saw that potential firsthand in Tampa.
“This event was a perfect example of what's possible when you bring together university leadership and some of the alumni titans of business – full alignment on how they can personally help build a multi-seven figure revenue stream that's sustainable in nature for FSU Athletics, without having to do anything they aren't already doing. This room alone can help change the trajectory of FSU Athletics."
Dan Ockree, Director of University Growth, NOCAP Sports
One of the most significant moments of the evening came from having Florida State leadership in the room alongside alumni and business owners. That presence matters.
It demonstrates that the Seminole Business Network isn't simply another vendor program. It is part of a larger conversation about how Florida State can identify new revenue opportunities and compete in a rapidly changing college athletics landscape.
“Having so many business leaders in the room together was a great reflection of the opportunity behind Seminole Business Network. These conversations allow us to share our vision, hear directly from the business community and, most importantly, begin building relationships that can create value for everyone involved.
Through our partnership with NOCAP Sports, we are creating a new platform to connect the strength of the Seminole brand with businesses across the country while generating meaningful, sustainable revenue that will directly impact the future of FSU Athletics.
Stephen Ponder, President and CEO, Seminole Boosters
The impact wasn't limited to enthusiasm in the room.
Run Payments, which sponsored the evening and participates in NOCAP Sports' network of vetted business service providers, was able to have direct conversations with business owners about their payment processing needs.
Several existing opportunities moved further along as a result of those face-to-face conversations, demonstrating something that's easy to overlook in an increasingly digital sales environment: the power of in-person connection is real.
Instead of a cold introduction between a service provider and a business, the Seminole Business Network creates a shared point of trust.
Everyone in the room is connected by Florida State.
The business receives access to a vetted provider. The provider gains an opportunity to build a valuable customer relationship. And when business is generated through the network, Florida State Athletics benefits.
That's what makes the model different from a traditional sponsorship.
The opportunity extends well beyond one night in Tampa.
Bring the right people together. Introduce them to the Seminole Business Network. Identify the services their companies already purchase. Connect them with vetted partners where there's a fit.
Each relationship has the potential to create another. And unlike a one-time donation or sponsorship, successful business relationships can generate value year after year.
For NOCAP Sports, the Stovall House event reinforced a broader thesis: some of the biggest untapped opportunities in college athletics exist within the networks universities have spent decades building.
Alumni aren't only donors and fans. They're founders, executives, decision-makers, and business owners collectively responsible for enormous amounts of commercial spending.
The opportunity is to connect that economic activity back to the universities they already care about.
“What Tampa proved is that the demand is already there. Put a room full of alumni founders and executives together under a university banner and the conversations turn to business almost immediately, because these are people who already want to work with each other and already care about the program. Our job is to give that energy a structure. Universities have spent decades building some of the most loyal networks in the country, and we believe the next chapter of college athletics is about activating those networks as real commercial ecosystems where alumni businesses, enterprise partners, and the institution all win together.”
Nick Lord, CEO, NOCAP Sports
Tampa showed what that can look like.
One intimate room. University leadership. Influential alumni business owners. Strategic partners. And a shared understanding that supporting Florida State can go beyond writing another check.
The evening wasn't just a successful event for the Seminole Business Network. It was a blueprint for what comes next.
