As I wrote here last week, Scott Stricklin had a difficult decision to make. And he has made it. He is the new Florida athletic direcor.

Scott Stricklin, he’s a Gator now. Credit: Russ Houston/MSU

A search begins immediately for his successor at Mississippi State. And we will get to that in the days to come.

The University of Florida, floridagators.com specifically, asked me to write my observations of  Stricklin, whom I have known since he was a freshman student worker in the Mississippi State sports information department. You can read that piece here.

Stricklin did a splendid job at Mississippi State, his alma mater. He leaves the place far better than he found it for all the reasons listed in the column linked above.


We want to hear from you!

Central to our mission at Mississippi Today is inspiring civic engagement. We think critically about how we can foster healthy dialogue between people who think differently about government and politics. We believe that conversation — raw, earnest talking and listening to better understand each other — is vital to the future of Mississippi. We encourage you to engage with us and each other on our social media accounts, email our reporters directly or leave a comment for our editor by clicking the button below.


Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Today’s sports columnist since 2016. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s in journalism, Rick has worked for the Monroe (La.) News Star World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers.
Rick has been recognized 13 times as Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year, and is recipient of multiple awards and honors for his reporting and writing.