Florida State president Richard McCullough put it bluntly when he explained why he made the decision to fire Mike Norvell in the middle of another losing season.

"This is a big business decision," he said. "It's the future, the fate of Florida State football."

That might sound trite, like something any administrator would say during a moment of change, but McCullough was not just speaking in canned phrases. It's always a schoolwide problem when a major football program takes a turn for the worse. But right now, the failures of Florida State's football team are bad for business on a much larger scale.

Universities outside the Big Ten and SEC are constantly jockeying for position to make sure they have the proper landing spot the next time there is a shift in the collegiate landscape, and Florida State has been among the most vocal. But now, there is no guarantee that another conference, even with room, would want the Seminoles.…