Scott Carr stood in front of a room of about 50 people and was candid when speaking about where his athletics department currently sits with facilities.
The Florida International University athletics director, who was recently in Orlando for the inaugural Paws Up Tour, made it clear the Panthers were far behind where they need to be compared with the rest of the Sunshine State.
Carr, who worked at UCF from 2016-21 in a number of roles including deputy athletics director for brand activation, knows there is a lot of work to be done at FIU.
“But that’s what excites me,” he told the Sentinel. “I live for building — not just facilities but building a program.”
In the 18 months since Carr became the athletics director at the Miami university, he’s figured out a lot about the job and even more about himself.
“I’ve learned that the moment’s not too big,” he said. “There’s a lot of tough decisions that have to be made, but so many mentors, so many experiences in my past prepared me to make those decisions.”
Although Carr was more than ready to become an athletics director, the job of rebuilding FIU athletics is no easy task.
The Panthers, who haven’t been bowl eligible in football since 2019, missed out on the latest round of conference realignment and will remain in the Conference USA for the foreseeable future. They’ll soon be joined by Jacksonville State, Liberty, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State this summer while Kennesaw State will become a member in 2024.
Meanwhile, FIU’s nearby rival, Florida Atlantic, is heading to the American Athletic Conference to fill the gap left by Big 12-bound UCF. The Owls were recently in the national spotlight when Dusty May’s men’s basketball program reached the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite this, Carr said the sky is the limit at FIU while pointing out the university’s 275,000 living alumni and 56,000 students.
“We truly believe that,” he said. “We have power in numbers. We’re in a great city. We just know that there is no ceiling for FIU and we can be anything we put our mind to. That’s what we’re striving to be.”
To reach that potential, Carr has brought some of the same envelope-pushing techniques he was a part of at UCF.
Last football season, FIU introduced a “Vice Night” football field design, which included the flashy colors of Miami Vice.
Similar to UCF’s annual “Space Game,” FIU’s themed football game worked and the Panthers went viral.
“We’re going to be bold and aggressive,” he said. “Those are two good words to use when we talk about UCF and that’s who we are and what we’re going to be at FIU.”
Of course, there is more to success than just paint on the field or special uniforms. It takes winning and Carr knows that.
Last season under first-year coach Mike MacIntyre, the Panthers won four games which represented a three-game improvement. Entering this season, Carr aims for FIU reach a bowl game.
“If you look at our team spring of last year, just physically, and you look at them this spring, it’s a very different looking team — in a good way,” Carr said. “The strength and conditioning program and nutrition program over the past year has really got us looking the part.
“We really feel like can make some strides. We’re really excited about this upcoming year and taking that next step.”
Between conference realignment, upgrading facilities, returning to wining ways on the football field and much more in-between, Carr is juggling quite a bit these days at FIU but he has a vision.
On Tuesday he shared the athletics department’s strategic plan which includes FIU’s top goals for the next 3-5 years. Carr admitted it’s tough to stay focused as college athletics constantly changes and the Panthers work to keep up.
“You have to figure out what’s most important,” he said. “We’re trying to balance the budget, sell tickets, build a brand and you’ve got NIL, the transfer portal, and coaches.
“It’s really difficult but it’s keeping the main thing, the main thing. We need to be competitive and we need to graduate our student-athletes.”
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
