Scott Stricklin will be named the 14th Athletic Director at the University of Florida, according to a report from Dan Wolken of USA Today. Source have told Gator Country that Stricklin will be formally introduced on Tuesday, September 27 and that Stricklin met with Jim McElwain on Monday.
Jeremy Foley has been the Florida Gators Athletic Director since the Clinton Administration but after 40 years with the University, including 25 as the AD, announced in June his plans to step down from that role in October.
Stricklin, 45 years old, was the Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs at Mississippi State, where he oversaw fundraising, before then AD Greg Byrne left to take the same post at Arizona. Stricklin became the 16th Athletic Director at Mississippi State University following Byrne’s departure.
Since 2010 Stricklin has overseen an investment of more than $130 million dollars in facilities,including $75 million dollars in renovations and expansions to the football stadium. Stricklin was named the 2016 Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year. Additionally, Mississippi State achieved its highest-ever Learfield Director’s Cup finish (44th) during the 2015-16 athletics calendar.
Stricklin is a graduate of Mississippi State and has spent more than 25 years in collegiate athletics with stints at his alma mater, Kentucky, Auburn, Tulane and Baylor.
Like Foley, Stricklin has put an emphasis on all sports at Mississippi State. Eight teams finished their 2014-15 seasons ranked inside the Top-25. 2015 also saw Dan Mullen (football) and Vic Schaefer (basketball) be named SEC Coach of the Year in their respective sports.
Stricklin has quite the legacy to follow. Foley began working for the University of Florida more than 40 years ago, working as an intern in the ticket office. Florida had won nine National Championships in five sports prior to Foley taking over as AD in 1992 but have won 27 titles in 10 sports since. Foley is the only Athletic Director in history to lead a program that has won multiple championships in football (1996, 2006, 2008) and basketball (2006,2007) and the only Athletic Director to oversee a program that has won basketball and football titles in the same year (2006).
In a press conference in June Foley stated that the overall health of the program was a determining factor in his decision to step down.
“Right now, we obviously have a great group of coaches, we have had a good year and we’ve got things moving in the right direction,” he said. “I just think that makes it a good time to transition.”