http://floridagators.com/news/2016/9/27/florida-hires-scott-stricklin-as-athletic-director.aspx

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As I have posted before, Scott is a personal friend of mine and a fraternity brother.   I met him when he was still in High School and would come up to Starkville for games.  Seems like he always wanted a career in sports administration, but back in the 80s I didn't think you could have a successful career in that field unless you also played collegiate sports.  Obviously, the industry has changed, and Scott has done an amazing job of moving up.

He worked in the media relations department at State when he was an undergrad.   He then moved to the SID at Auburn and was there for Terry Bowden's undefeated season.   When Tommy Bowden went to Tulane, he went with him as media relations director for the football team, and enjoyed another undefeated football season.  When Tommy went to Clemson, Scott decided to branch out and got the job as media relations director for Baylor basketball....just in time for the murder/coverup scandal over there.  (The Baylor President said they would have been lost that Summer but for Scott's ability to meet the needs of the media storm).   He left Baylor and became media relations director at Kentucky, which is where he formed a relationship with Greg Byrne.   Byrne came to MSU in 2006, and when he was promoted to AD in 2008 one of his first hires was Scott as associate AD.

Scott was at Byrne's side when they made the decision to fire Croom, and during the subsequent coaching search which landed Mullen.  Byrne left for Arizona in 2010 and Scott was promoted on his 40th birthday.  We were all shocked and excited for him.  He got to take over right as the Cam Newton saga was unfolding, and I thought he handled MSU's end of all that expertly.  

One of Scott's first major acts  -- and probably his lasting legacy at State -- came in the Summer of 2010 when he convinced the other SEC AD's to allow cowbells to return to Scott Field.   We often discussed the cowbell ban, and how it made little sense once the NCAA did away with the excessive noise rule.   The question often asked was why were bands allowed to play instruments, but not the fans.   The answer came back that the bands were controlled by the school, and therefore the school was responsible if the bands played at the wrong time.  So Scott asked, "What if the school was responsible for the fans use of cowbells?"   He asked the league to let fans bring bells as long as we were held to the standard of "ringing responsibly".   He believed he could educate the fans on when to ring their bells and when not to, with the threat being that failure to follow the rules would result in a permanent ban.   The other ADs were skeptical, but agreed to give us a chance, and Scott actually pulled it off.  MSU was fined a couple of times, but not since 2012.

As an AD, Stricklin has been an innovative and successful marketer, which is something he might not need to focus on at UF.  Stricklin is immersed in social media, constantly tweeting and checking facebook.  I have emailed him a few times about MSU stuff, and he usually responds to me within minutes.   He created the "Hail State" movement, which is not something we used to say when I was in school there.   MSU was the first school to put a hashtag in the endzone, which was later forbidden by the NCAA.   

He has been totally focused on the fan experience, improving tailgating and game atmosphere at every opportunity, and genuinely listening to fan comments/complaints.   

He has had some misfires in both his coaching hires and marketing efforts, but overall he has been very successful.   MSU has improved the academic standing of its athletes, and I can personally vouch for Stricklin's commitment to NCAA rules compliance.   Yes, the football team got placed on probation over a single booster/coach incident, but the school was lauded for "exemplary cooperation" with the NCAA in resolving the issue.  The facility upgrades he has completed and planned for the future are impressive.  

And, this past year MSU finished the highest it ever has in the director's cup (or whatever that all sports trophy is called).  No small feat, since MSU participates in the fewest sports it can while still retaining SEC requirements.

I will miss having Scott as the AD.  I never hit him up for tickets or special treatment, but it was fun being on a first name basis with the MSU AD.   It is less fun knowing the UF AD.   I wish him well;   the UF job is very different from the MSU job, but I'm sure he knows that better than me.   Hopefully he laid the groundwork for the next MSU AD to continue