STARKVILLE — In his almost five years as Mississippi State Athletics Director, Scott Stricklin has spoken to the Starkville Rotary Club just three times.
Even so, it was clear throughout Monday’s Rotary meeting that Stricklin was at home with his audience of roughly 100. At the end of his address, he took questions from the Rotarians, calling on those who raised their hands by first names and nodding as they spoke, as if he already knew the question each would be asking.
An MSU graduate, Stricklin, 44, is married to the daughter of one of MSU’s most beloved athletes — basketball legend Bailey Howell. His roots here are deep. That familiarity, along with the momentum built by Bulldogs’ sports programs, most notably football, combined to put Stricklin in relaxed, jovial mood Monday.
“I was looking at my calendar and the last time I was here was in July. I was thinking, ‘What in the world am I going to talk about?’ Not much has happened,” Stricklin said, pausing for the laughter he knew was sure would follow.
The MSU AD spent his 40 minutes recounting the high points over the past year, noting successes in women’s basketball (MSU won 27 games and finished third in the SEC, both school records), women’s golf (ranked in the top five throughout the year and as high as No. 1), tennis (third in the SEC) and women’s softball (headed to its fourth straight NCAA regional appearance).
Away from the field, Stricklin noted the hiring of Ben Howland as men’s basketball coach (discreetly avoiding the firing of Rick Ray, his first major hire as AD three years ago). He also made note of the continuing efforts to upgrade and renovate facilities, including the university’s softball and tennis facilities, as well as the new golf course in West Point. MSU will host the SEC Outdoor track championships and the SEC tennis tournament next year. Plans for a $40-million upgrade and expansion of Dudy Noble Field are moving forward, although he said the plans for the baseball stadium are still in the preliminary stages.
“We live in a really nice upper middle class home, but we also know that we are living in a neighborhood of millionaires,” Stricklin said in describing MSU’s position in the powerful SEC. “We may not have the money other programs have, but there are other things we can do to be successful. We have shown that.”
Bulldog football: ‘I know you won’t mind hearing about again’
Stricklin spent the most time re-living the exploits of MSU’s 2014 football team, something he said “I know you won’t mind hearing about again.”
He ticked off the superlatives – first 10-win regular season in school history, first team in the history of the AP poll to go from unranked to No. 1 in the nation in five weeks, first team in 30 years to beat Top 10 opponents in three consecutive weeks (LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn), along with the enormous marketing exposures those successes created, including a visit from ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show and glowing accounts of the atmosphere at Davis Wade Stadium, where the Bulldogs recorded a 7-0 record, and two straight appearances on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
“We had to share it (with Ole Miss) the first time, so we went out and beat No. 2 Auburn so we could have the cover to ourselves,” he quipped.
Stricklin said the success has translated into success in other areas, too.
“It’s been wonderful exposure for our university,” he said. “Applications are up 20 percent, which means we’ll have a record freshman enrollment next year. Our licensing royalties are up by 62 percent. That’s the money we earn on every item that carries the Mississippi State logo. Attendance over the past 10 years is up 40 percent, the biggest increase of any school in a Power Five conference. Membership in the Bulldog Club has more than doubled since 2008, from 5,700 to more than 12,000.”
The key now, Stricklin said, was to avoid complacency. The Bulldogs must maintain momentum.
“We’ve been to five straight bowl games, something else that hasn’t happened here before,” he said. “But we have to keep going to bowl games every year. Look, I love those 10-wins seasons and want more of them. But the main thing is, even if it means winning six games and squeaking in and living to fight another day, we have to keep going to bowl games. The reason for that is that teams that when championships are teams that have been successful. Who won the basketball championship this year? Duke. Everybody says, ‘Well, that’s no surprise. Duke is always good.’ Who won the national championship in football? Ohio State. Again, no surprise. They’re always good. That’s the way it is.
“So when, not if, we win national championships, it won’t be a surprise because we’ve been consistently good,” he said. “That’s where we want to go. We have to keep this going.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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