When Jeremy Foley announced that he would retire as the Florida Gators Athletic Director last summer he did so with a clear conscience. For 25 years Foley strived for excellence in all sports and he’s achieved just that.
Tuesday former Mississippi State Athletic Director Scott Stricklin was formally announced as Foley’s successor, acknowledging the shoes he is tasked to fill.
“Jeremy, arguably — and it may not be much of an argument — is the best athletic director in the history of the SEC. And I firmly believe that,” Stricklin said.
The task seems daunting. Foley is the only AD to lead a program to National Championships in football and basketball in the same calendar years (2006). The Gators have won 27 National Championships in 10 sports during his more than two-decade tenure but Stricklin never wavered or second-guess the decision to leave his alma mater and replace Foley.
“I’ve said it often: One of the biggest traits is you’ve got to find somebody who wants your job,” Foley said of Stricklin. “That’s Scott Stricklin, all right. And I think that says a lot about him as well.”
The search began in the summer with a search committee led by Manny Fernandez. President Kent Fuchs was also an integral component in the search for a new Athletic Director. The committee complied a list of all of the current Power Five Athletic Directors, roughly 25 candidates. The list was then pared down by half.
“We wanted someone that was going to be here for quite a while,” Fuchs said. “Not someone that was going to come here and have this a stepping stone to another university or be a commissioner somewhere.”
Stricklin was first contacted in June, but conversations between he and Florida were off an on for more than a month. Things started to pick up in August as the search committee continued narrowing its focus and Stricklin kept checking boxes off of their list of criteria. Once the list was down to just two candidates the decision became real.
Stricklin was a graduate of Mississippi State. He’s been all over the country to Baylor, Kentucky, Tulane and Auburn but found a home back in Starkville.
“There may be two or three jobs in the country I might be interested in leaving Mississippi State for, and those jobs may never call and that’s okay, because I’ve got a good deal,” Stricklin said. “And then this job came up.”
President Fuchs insists, despite some reports to the contrary, that Stricklin was the only candidate that was offered the job. Even when the job was offered, Stricklin couldn’t make the decision on his own. His wife Anne, who he called his “steel magnolia” was part of that decision. The two have been married 23 years and she’s been with him since they moved to Auburn, Alabama in 1993, then Tulane, Baylor and Kentucky. There were also his two children, Abby (10th grade) and Sophie (7th grade) were also brought in to the decision process as well.
“One of my daughters was born in Waco, Texas. Another was born in Lexington, Kentucky,” said Stricklin. “They’ve worn blue and white, they’ve worn green and gold, they’re worn maroon and white, it’s kind of part of the deal. They seem to assimilate pretty well.”
On Tuesday Abby wore a blue dress, Sophie an orange one, proving dad’s point.
With his family on board, there wasn’t much of a decision left to make.
“I think it’s the best job in college athletics,” Stricklin said. “So it is very special. I have an unbelievable family that supports my dreams. And you know, our faith is strong, and we did a lot of praying over this. And at the end of the day this is where I feel like we were led to be, and I think the doors opened to put us here.”
Stricklin won’t officially start until November. He’ll spend the next month back in Mississippi, assisting the Bulldogs as they try to find a new AD to replace him. He’ll also surely be fielding calls from Gainesville, staying abreast of everything going on at his new home.
“Every day you wake up in this profession, there’s a challenge,” Stricklin said. “The good thing about Florida is we have a lot of really talented people and a lot of great resources, and we’re starting from a pretty good spot.”