Florida AD Scott Stricklin gets raise, semi-retirement role

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin will make more than $2 million a year after signing a three-year extension that keeps him under contract through October 2030.

Stricklin’s new deal also includes a provision that would make him “special assistant to the athletic director” for five years beginning in 2030. It’s a role similar to the one former Florida AD Jeremy Foley assumed following his retirement in 2016.

Stricklin, 55, signed the extension in June, two months after the Gators won their third national championship in men’s basketball. Florida released details Wednesday in response to a public records request by The Associated Press and other media outlets.

Stricklin’s previous deal paid him $1.8 million annually and ran through 2027. He got a $250,000 raise and could make as much as $2.175 million a year with bonuses.

But the most interesting part of the new agreement was his semi-retirement role, which outgoing interim school president Kent Fuchs signed off on this summer. New Florida interim president Dr. Donald Landry was confirmed last month, and a search committee is expected to begin searching for a permanent leader early next year.

Stricklin’s duties as special assistant would be determined by the university president and shall not “interfere with or undermine” the new AD’s functions or authority.

Stricklin would get $100,000 annually for those five years plus basic benefits, as well as use of the athletic association’s aircraft for a value of up to $55,000, an office, administrative support and complimentary club seat tickets to football games, men’s basketball games and baseball games.

Hired to replace Foley in 2016, Stricklin has enjoyed 13 national titles and 44 conference crowns while leading one of the most recognizable brands in college sports. He has been instrumental in helping the Gators navigate the ever-changing landscape of college sports, including revenue sharing and name, image and likeness payouts, as well as catching up in the facilities chase.

Under Stricklin, Florida opened an $85 million football facility and a $65 million baseball stadium. The athletic program also has preliminary plans to embark on a $1 billion renovation to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, better known as “The Swamp.”

He hired current Florida football coach Billy Napier, who enjoyed a late-season surge to close out 2024 and is ranked 13th in the latest AP college football poll. He also hired men’s basketball coach Todd Golden, who won it all in his third season in Gainesville.