Florida State University Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communication
- Email:
- douglas.walker@fsu.edu
- Phone:
- 850-644-7926
Douglas Walker is entering his third year at Florida State, serving as Deputy Athletics Director for Strategic Communication. Nationally respected throughout collegiate athletics for his deep experience in strategic communications and narrative management, Walker has served with distinction at several of the nation's most visible collegiate athletics programs.
Since joining Seminole Athletics in 2023, Walker's responsibilities have involved implementing the department's internal and external communications strategy; advising leadership on public relations and media relations strategy; managerial oversight of FSU’s Unconquered Media division (creative services, digital media, social media and marketing); serving as Athletics' liaison with FSU's multimedia rightsholder (FSU Global Partnerships/Legends); and assisting with administrative oversight for the football, men’s basketball and track and field programs.
Walker’s impactful leadership has created a more unified approach by FSU’s external departments with streamlined workflows. That approach has enhanced efficiency and internal communication leading to a more effective, consistent, and strategic approach to content creation efforts. In December 2023, he spearheaded the creation and launch of the Seminoles Unconquered streaming network to expand FSU’s ability to distribute content globally, providing unprecedented reach for Seminole Athletics’ storytelling capabilities.
In 2024, Walker provided stewardship of FSU Athletics' multimedia rights partnership transition from a partnership with Learfield to an agreement with Legends. That transition included growth in the size and scale of FSU's Seminole Sports Network with additional football radio network affiliates and unprecedented distribution of the FSU coaches show, "Inside Seminole Football" throughout the Southeast.
In 2025, Walker assumed administrative oversight of Seminole Productions as FSU Athletics’ linear broadcasting partner returned to Athletics Department management. That change enables Seminole Athletics and the College of Communication and Information to enhance a long successful relationship with enhanced opportunities for students to learn and develop skills in all facets of broadcasting, creative content, broadcast engineering and a variety of other disciplines.
One of the nation’s most respected strategic administrators, Walker served 11 years at The University of Alabama, two years at The University of Notre Dame, four years at The University of Miami, two years at Texas Christian University (TCU), and six years at Texas A&M University.
From 2017-23 at Texas A&M, Walker served as Sr. Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs from 2017-19, then as Executive Director of Broadcast Services for the University's Division of Marketing and Communications from 2019-23. Walker began at Alabama in 2006 as associate athletics director for communications and was promoted to senior associate athletics director in 2015. Prior to his time at Alabama, Walker served from 2004-06 as the primary media strategist and contact for the Notre Dame football team following a four-year stint at the University of Miami (Fla.) (2000-04), first as the football information director then as the Hurricanes' sports information director from 2002-04. From 1998-2000, Walker served on the athletics media relations staff at TCU.
Walker's career path began as a graduate assistant in the sports news office at Texas A&M before serving an internship on the University of Florida sports information staff. In addition to working in the Southwest Conference media relations office for three years, Walker has international athletics experience through stints with USA Track & Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Texas A&M, Walker holds a master's degree in Human Environmental Sciences from Alabama.
