Scott Stricklin has moved multiple projects forward.Aaron Daye
When Scott Stricklin left Mississippi State to become Florida’s athletic director in 2016, it wasn’t quite a no-brainer move. Stricklin graduated from Mississippi State and was native to the state, so leaving his alma mater wasn’t an easy decision.
What he found at Florida was an established power, a blue-chip brand with the resources to compete for national championships in every sport. For Stricklin, who was accustomed to doing more with less in Starkville, life as the Gators’ AD represented a very different type of challenge.
In four years, though, Stricklin has taken the baton from legendary former AD Jeremy Foley and charged forward with a multitude of new projects and fundraising campaigns that are overhauling the Gators’ facilities to create a new look on their athletics campus.
Those long-term facility upgrades coupled with Florida’s continued competitive success — six SEC championships and a third-place finish in the 2019 Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup — are the hallmarks helping him win the 2020 Athletic Director of the Year award, presented during Sports Business Journal’s annual Sports Business Awards last week.
Stricklin won the award against a strong field that included four other finalists: Boise State’s Curt Apsey, Texas Tech’s Kirby Hocutt, Oregon’s Rob Mullens and Baylor’s Mack Rhoades.
“I just feel blessed that we’re in a place that’s welcomed us like they have at Florida,” Stricklin said the morning after winning the award and contemplating the decision to move to Gainesville from Starkville. “I was very fortunate to be the AD at my alma mater, and we loved it there. I’m probably a little surprised at how welcoming everyone has been. I really feel lucky.”
Stricklin worked his way up in college athletics through a series of jobs in communications, from Auburn to Tulane to Baylor to Kentucky. He went to Mississippi State as an associate AD overseeing external affairs, which set him up to be MSU’s AD in 2010 when Greg Byrne left for Arizona.
That’s where Stricklin sharpened his focus on how to make the Bulldogs stand out in a conference full of powerhouse brands. He looked for opportunities, like establishing his voice and identity on social media and putting #HailState in the end zone, which is thought to be the first on-field social messaging. Stricklin, a member of the CFP selection committee, boasts a Twitter following in excess of 75,000.
At Florida, he has continued building his social media presence — he was introduced at the Sports Business Awards as a social media savant. Beyond that, Stricklin has provided a jolt of positive energy to the Gators’ football, basketball, baseball, softball and academic facilities, expanding a master plan that Foley initiated.
The completion of the $65 million Florida Ballpark earlier this year stands out as a beacon among the new projects because of the way it will transform the fan experience for one of the country’s elite college baseball programs.
“I can’t imagine a more deserving recipient of this award,” Florida President Kent Fuchs said. “He is an exceptional athletic director who has guided UF’s student athletes to new heights athletically and academically, significantly strengthened our athletic program and is proving remarkably adept at leading the Gators in overcoming all the difficult challenges of COVID.”
