There's a mess brewing within the athletics program at Florida State, and a campus trustee is right in the middle of it.

Florida State used to be one of the kings of college football but of late has fallen on hard times, relatively speaking. FSU is no longer a perennial national title contender and many believe longtime Coach Bobby Bowden is to blame.

Bowden, who has headed the program for 34 years, came under attack recently from an unlikely foe: Jim Smith, chairman of the university's board of trustees.

Smith opened fire on Bowden in two local newspaper articles following the Seminoles' recent loss to Boston College. In the second interview, with the St. Pete Times, he actually compared Bowden to a loyal old dog that  you have to put down.

"You know it's the right thing to do but you sure feel bad about it," he said.

Yikes.

Smith holds a position of great power at Florida State, but as Inside Higher Ed reported this week, he appears to have overstepped his bounds a bit. Trustees, you see, are not supposed to meddle in athletics affairs. Or, at least not publicly.

Here's the story.

A sign of the dire budget times at Florida State: The English department has cut telephones from its budget.

Yes, English professors there are actually having their office phones removed, according to this story in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Do you have a similar tale of penny-pinching at a Triangle university? Drop me a line at eric.ferreri@newsobserver.com.

If you're a graduate of Ohio State University, fan of its athletic teams or resident of Ohio, you no doubt know that the institution likes to refer to itself as The Ohio State University. Emphasis on The. Just in case you're confused and think of it as just one of several Ohio State universities, or whatever.

Down in Tallahassee, some folks have article envy. Florida State University, a public university known largely for the success of its football program during the 1990s, is now thinking about throwing The in front of its name. Again, emphasis on The.

Here's the story. 

It may all sound silly and superfluous, but university officials down at still-just-plain Florida State say tweaking the official name will add pride and help differentiate it from other state universities in Florida. 

And you'll be shocked to learn that there may be a financial benefit as well. As one advertising professor in Florida points out in the story linked above, adding an austere twist to the name may be appealing to alumni.

And alums, as you know, donate money.