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Stricklin taking underdog attitude to Florida

Scott Stricklin, who helped Mississippi State make gains as AD, starts at Florida on Nov. 1.
Photo by: FLORIDA COMMUNICATIONS
One of Scott Stricklin’s favorite books is Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.” For the past six-plus years, Stricklin, the athletic director at Mississippi State, has firmly been entrenched as the underdog against other SEC schools with more money and more tradition.

Where the Bulldogs came up short in resources, they compensated with innovation and creativity, especially in the areas of fan experience and maximizing premium spaces.

Stricklin’s role as the underdog, however, is about to change. When the 46-year-old reports to work Nov. 1 as Florida’s AD, he’ll sit in charge of one of the nation’s blueblood programs with resources to match nearly any rival in the land. Florida’s annual revenue of nearly $150 million doubles Mississippi State’s. He’ll become the hunted instead of the hunter, Goliath instead of David.

“Usually, resources and expectations go hand in hand,” Stricklin said last week from his MSU office. “Florida has a different level of both resources and expectations than a lot of people, not just Mississippi State. We made a lot of strides at Mississippi State, but we were starting from a different place. At Florida, you’re expected to compete for championships.”

Stricklin admits that moving to Florida, where he’ll replace a legend in Jeremy Foley, takes him out of the comfort zone he’s enjoyed at his alma mater. This past season, the Bulldogs won the SEC baseball championship, which marked the school’s first conference crown since 2004. Florida won six SEC championships last season alone, and for nine straight seasons has led the SEC’s all-sports standings.

But Stricklin made it clear that he’s not going to Florida to maintain the status quo. If the Gators wanted to do that, the search committee would have hired one of the three deputy ADs already on staff. Instead, he’s going to see if there’s room for a little of that underdog mentality in the land of Goliaths.

Stricklin shared more thoughts on what lies ahead in this conversation with SportsBusiness Journal:

Did you know when the Florida job came open that you would take it, if offered?

STRICKLIN: I thought it was one of the few jobs I’d have an interest in. I don’t think I was willing to jump off the diving board from the very beginning, but I thought it was a place worth pursuing. The last few years, I’ve gotten some calls from some power five schools, but they weren’t places I saw myself going and it never went beyond the initial call. But through that process I came up with two or three schools that might interest me if they ever came open. Florida was one of those.

Stricklin, with Florida softball catcher Aubree Munro: “I want to meet as many people as I can and learn about what’s happening.”
Photo by: FLORIDA COMMUNICATIONS
What most influenced you to take the job?

STRICKLIN: Probably where I am in my career. Having been in this position 6 1/2 years, being 46 years old, there aren’t a lot of athletic directors who stay in the same job for 20 years anymore. It was still in the SEC, which was important to me. However, it wasn’t in the SEC West, which, if I was going to leave MSU, I never saw myself going to another school in the SEC West. So Florida fit a pretty narrowly defined set of parameters. Like I do about everything, I prayed about it a lot and the doors just kept opening.

You know, in this job I meet with a lot of young people who are looking for career advice and I always tell them don’t be afraid to get uncomfortable. Be willing to step out if there’s a growth opportunity. I’m comfortable at Mississippi State, but at the age of 46, I don’t know if comfortable is where I need to be.

What conversation most influenced you during the process?

STRICKLIN: Probably one I had with [Kentucky AD] Mitch Barnhart, who was a confidant during the process because of how much respect I have for him. He said that there aren’t that many people in our line of work who get this kind of opportunity. Mitch was doing what was best for me, but he also was doing what he thought was best for our league, to have somebody with SEC ties at a place like Florida. He said, “You’ve got to pursue this.”

Hearing that from a competitor, a guy I respect a lot, was really impactful. Emotionally I was torn. Professionally, it seems like the right thing to do — the decision to go to Florida is the easy decision. The decision to leave Mississippi State was very difficult. But Mitch said, “You’ve done a lot of great things at Mississippi State, but if you’ve got a chance to go to Florida, you’ve got to do that.”

At MSU, you weren’t afraid to try new things, from new premium spaces to branding the end zone with #hailstate. Does that same culture of innovation work at Florida?

STRICKLIN: At Mississippi State we were trying to create a profile. Florida already has a profile. My sense is that innovation is always a good thing. Things are always changing and if you sit still, you’re going to get passed pretty quick. You’ve got to evolve. Being a leader in innovation is something we tried to do at MSU. I hope we will do that at Florida. They have a list of principles listed on their wall in Florida’s athletic department and innovation is one of them, so hopefully that’s part of the culture in place.

One of the things that’s very obvious being at Florida is they’re very proud of their success and they’re proud of the way they’ve gone about it, by running a clean program and doing things the right way.

The answer is, yes, I still want to have a blue-collar mentality and be innovative and not be afraid to try things, but unlike Mississippi State, at Florida it’s hard to sneak up on anyone. It might be a different mentality, but I think the foundational principles are going to be the same.

“My sense is that innovation is always a good thing. Things are always changing and if you sit still, you’re going to get passed pretty quick.”

SCOTT STRICKLIN
Incoming Athletic Director, University of Florida

What does it say that Florida went outside the program and chose a guy with a history of not being satisfied with the status quo?

STRICKLIN: Jeremy told the search committee that he can hardly turn on a computer, but that I’m more of a 21st century AD, so I do think there’s an understanding that I might bring a different perspective, and that it might be useful.

At Florida, championships are expected every year. How does that change the dynamics of the job?

STRICKLIN: That’s part of the challenge in this new role: How do you take a place that’s already good and make it better. There’s not as much margin at the top to eat into, but that’s why you get up and go to work every morning, to figure that out. And the focus can’t just be on winning championships. It’s also got to be on creating that great experience for your constituents, starting with the student athletes. I expect Florida to keep winning, but maybe there are some things in that experience piece that’ll strengthen the ability to win.

You drove a lot of conversations in the SEC with regard to improving the fan experience. Is that one place you can make your mark at UF?

STRICKLIN: In this day and age, you better have a two-way engagement with your fans. That’s what social media is based on and it’s part of our culture now. People come to games and they engage because they want to have a sense of belonging, they want to be part of a big event. It’s not enough anymore to announce the start time and open the gates. You’ve got to go above and beyond, and you’ve got to understand the tools that allow you to do that. It’s something we all have to pay attention to.

Do you have a plan for the first 100 days?

STRICKLIN: I don’t have any grand plan. I want to meet as many people as I can and learn about what’s happening there. I told President [Kent] Fuchs in the interview that I don’t have a five-step plan to fix the Gators. Obviously, there are a lot of good things going on there, but I want to see it from the inside and hear where they think there’s room for improvement. I’m sure I’ll have my own observations as well.

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