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Evaluating Scott Stricklin’s Tenure as Athletic Director

By Jared Aldridge

Mar 26, 2016; Bridgeport, CT, USA; The Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot on thew court during a break in the action against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half in the semifinals of the Bridgeport regional of the women
Mar 26, 2016; Bridgeport, CT, USA; The Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot on thew court during a break in the action against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half in the semifinals of the Bridgeport regional of the women /
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This month marks the six anniversary of Scott Stricklin being named Athletic Director at Mississippi State.

One look at Scott Stricklin’s resume and it’s easy to see why he was a prime candidate for Mississippi State’s open Athletic Director position in May 2010. Stricklin is a native of Jackson,MS and a MSU alum. He had worked in the athletic department at four other Division 1 schools, Auburn, Tulane, Baylor, and Kentucky, and was currently employed at Mississippi State. So when Greg Byrne departed for Arizona, the university called on Stricklin. We are now six years into the Scott Stricklin era, so let’s take a look at how he’s done.

First, let’s break down on field performance. The first full sports season after Scott took over was the 2011 football season. In the five seasons since then, the football team is 43-24 playing in a bowl game each year. In 2014, the program had the best season in history spending five weeks ranked number one in the nation and finished 10-3. Women’s Basketball has also had unprecedented success. The Lady Bulldogs went 22-14 and 27-7 in 2014 and 2015 reaching the NIT and NCAA tournaments in respective years. In 2016, they also had a historic year going 28-8 and reaching the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament before being eliminated by eventual champion and juggernaut UCONN.

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The baseball team is another program enjoying some success during Scott’s tenure. This season will be the fifth time in Stricklin’s six years that the baseball team has reached at least a regional. In 2013, the Diamond Dawgs reached the College Baseball World Series Finals, losing to UCLA. Four of the top ten games in attendance have come in the past six years as well.

Men’s Tennis has been nationally ranked in all five season’s since Stricklin took over. The women’s golf team has been wildly successful, reaching a number one ranking in 2014.

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Track and Field also made history when Brandon McBride won a national championship in the 800 meter in 2014. Rhianwedd Price followed that up with a national championship in the 1500 meter in 2015 for cross-country.

The only major sport that hasn’t been wildly successful the past six years in men’s basketball. They have made two NIT appearances but have struggled since the departure of head coach Rick Stansbury. It could be said that Mississippi State has had the most successful six year run in school history.

Now let’s look at off the field achievements. The University has completed several construction projects to athletic facilities during Stricklin’s six years. The most notable is the 75 million dollar expansion to Davis Wade Stadium, which included a closed in end zone and a new jumbotron. Football has also added a 25 million Leo Seal Complex.

The 11.7 million dollar Mize Pavilion has been added to Humphreys Coliseum. Both the tennis and softball facilities have received 6 million dollar renovations and the golf team added a 2.2 million dollar facility at Old Waverly. Lastly, a 40 million dollar over haul of Dudy Noble Field is in the developmental stages. If nothing else, this shows that Stricklin can keep the boosters and big spenders happy enough to spend their money.

Scott hasn’t hired many head coaches in his tenure as he inherited Dan Mullen and John Cohen. He hired Vic Schaefer as women’s basketball coach in 2012 and success was immediate. He also hired a new softball coach in 2011 in Vann Stuedeman who became the winningest first year coach in school history. His one stumble in hiring came in men’s basketball when he hired Rick Ray in 2012. Ray’s squad went 37-60 in three seasons and he was fired in 2015. It does appear that Scott has done well with Ray’s replacement, Ben Howland. (Although Adidas may have helped out in that search).

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On top of all of these accomplishments the university hasn’t had any major public relations issues that would cause you to question the character of Stricklin or anyone in his department. It has undoubtedly been a prosperous 6 years for Mississippi State athletics under Scott Stricklin’s direction. Mississippi State fans should be excited about the future of Bulldog athletics.

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