New to the board so this may have been discussed already, but.... Is it just me or is our AD quietly sitting in the top 10 best in the country? If you want to get all salty remember before you post that an AD does much much more than just hire coaches (successful or not.)
Scott Stricklin
- Thread starter I_Love_My_Mommy
- Start date
Yeah I pulled that part out of my ***, but really just wanted to state that he is the catalyst in all the cool crap happening. I believe what he is doing has to be one of the best "job well dones" in America right now. Even if Cohen can't right the ship he has taken our entire Athletic Department and done big things in all facets across the board. he definitely has my trust and that rarely happens to me as a bulldog.
He has done a very fine job but he doesn't have anywhere near the success that he has had without his predecessor Greg "the ninja" Bryne laying the groundwork before him. Bryne helped rid a lot of our fans of the inferiority complex that had plagued our program since well before the SEC exploded in the 90's.
My problem with Stricklin is he hangs his hat on marketing and does it like Zales.
Mississippi State marketing is bad. It's tacky, which is fine if it's dynamic, but it's beat to death too.
I think he's been fantastic at keeping the yacht headed to our wayward position, and I couldn't begin to justify firing him. But when he told whoever last year that we are generic, I lost it. We've generally sucked in football, but I don't think we're generic. We should have capitalized on being maroon and white when aTm joined the SEC instead of commemorating the Indy Bowl by wearing all white and accepting the same uni's in football and basketball. Bulldogs are the most used mascot in college athletics but we're one of 2 in the P5 and one of 3 in D1. Not generic. Hail State is great, but it's become frustrating for its overuse for all of us who've stuck with MSU for the longhaul.
I don't dislike Scott. He's 1000000x better than LT. But we could do better. We could absolutely do worse. There are currently dozens of ADs who are better that wouldn't consider MSU. He's perfect for who we are. But not top 10. Not top 20. Unfortunately, and like Cohen, good or bad, he's going to get a bump for holding a State degree. I'd be interesting to see how all this #####HailStAtE stuff would fly with a UNLV graduate.
Stricklin is a good AD. But I don't think he finish in the top 1/2 of the SEC. And I don't think the SEC holds all top 10 of the best athletic departments. MSU's department is better than Florida's, Tennessee's, Vanderbilt's, Ole Miss's (not biased, but anyone who gives extensions to mediocre basketball coach like that AND doubles a football salary because of agent rumblings more than once warrants bottom tier), Georgia's, and from there it's wide open.
Mississippi State marketing is bad. It's tacky, which is fine if it's dynamic, but it's beat to death too.
I think he's been fantastic at keeping the yacht headed to our wayward position, and I couldn't begin to justify firing him. But when he told whoever last year that we are generic, I lost it. We've generally sucked in football, but I don't think we're generic. We should have capitalized on being maroon and white when aTm joined the SEC instead of commemorating the Indy Bowl by wearing all white and accepting the same uni's in football and basketball. Bulldogs are the most used mascot in college athletics but we're one of 2 in the P5 and one of 3 in D1. Not generic. Hail State is great, but it's become frustrating for its overuse for all of us who've stuck with MSU for the longhaul.
I don't dislike Scott. He's 1000000x better than LT. But we could do better. We could absolutely do worse. There are currently dozens of ADs who are better that wouldn't consider MSU. He's perfect for who we are. But not top 10. Not top 20. Unfortunately, and like Cohen, good or bad, he's going to get a bump for holding a State degree. I'd be interesting to see how all this #####HailStAtE stuff would fly with a UNLV graduate.
Stricklin is a good AD. But I don't think he finish in the top 1/2 of the SEC. And I don't think the SEC holds all top 10 of the best athletic departments. MSU's department is better than Florida's, Tennessee's, Vanderbilt's, Ole Miss's (not biased, but anyone who gives extensions to mediocre basketball coach like that AND doubles a football salary because of agent rumblings more than once warrants bottom tier), Georgia's, and from there it's wide open.
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Our marketing is better than its ever been. Zale's esque or not. And its way better than a lot of other schools.
You say we weren't generic? Maybe generic isn't the right word, but we had nothing, zero, nada to separate us from other schools. We do now. We are probably more recognizable now than any other point in our history. Some of that has to do with being ranked #1 in the country, but we were trending up before then.
People give him a hard time b/c they say he is a goofball, quirky, loafers, etc. The FACT is Greg Byrne (not Bryne) did an amazing job, and Scott Stricklin has hit the floor running since day one of taking over.
You say we weren't generic? Maybe generic isn't the right word, but we had nothing, zero, nada to separate us from other schools. We do now. We are probably more recognizable now than any other point in our history. Some of that has to do with being ranked #1 in the country, but we were trending up before then.
People give him a hard time b/c they say he is a goofball, quirky, loafers, etc. The FACT is Greg Byrne (not Bryne) did an amazing job, and Scott Stricklin has hit the floor running since day one of taking over.
"Better than it's ever been" is not a compliment. His marketing is hit or miss. I like his vision for facilities but he sucks hard on uniforms. Plus, he still hasn't mastered the in-game experience. He is listening to people's complaints but not replacing it with anything enthusiastic. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but the highlight of "dead-time" in football is Don't Stop Believing. It took a 100th anniversary uniform before he could get ADIDAS to give us a uni worth a 17. Then they couldn't get an Away version in time for Bama. The ESPN contract forced them to take seriously the multimedia marketing.
I can't even recommend him for the Top Half much less Top 10. He is going to have a hard time moving out of Greg Byrne's shadow.
I can't even recommend him for the Top Half much less Top 10. He is going to have a hard time moving out of Greg Byrne's shadow.
It seems to me (based on this board) Stricklin gets judged most harshly on some things that really aren't his job but are job of his hires' hires. Things that seem kinda small potatoes in the big picture. He's not a DJ or a uniform designer. Obviously he controls who controls those things. But jeez I hope we aren't grading our AD's performance based helmet colors and halftime songs.
The facility upgrades have been nothing short of A++. The only major coaching hires are a huge flop and what appears to be a grand slam. But he has kept Mullen happy with consistent contact upgrades. The marketing thing is whatever. Opinion I guess. I would say Stricklin has done an incredible job especially with the facility upgrades and Howland hire, but he has had one thing no MSU AD before him has had. Huge buckets of SEC network cash. The job has to be a lot easier when your pockets are as deep as ours have gotten lately compared to the past.
The facility upgrades have been nothing short of A++. The only major coaching hires are a huge flop and what appears to be a grand slam. But he has kept Mullen happy with consistent contact upgrades. The marketing thing is whatever. Opinion I guess. I would say Stricklin has done an incredible job especially with the facility upgrades and Howland hire, but he has had one thing no MSU AD before him has had. Huge buckets of SEC network cash. The job has to be a lot easier when your pockets are as deep as ours have gotten lately compared to the past.
Kind of like POTUS is Commander-in-Chief but isn't really responsible for the military. AMIRITE?
Son, what do you think marketing is, if not helmet colors and hashtags? If we judge an AD on hires, fires, and building projects, we should hire an engineer - not a salesman.
Please. Byrne was a very good AD, but he wasn't THAT good. He was only AD for a couple of years and he's been gone for 5 years now. It's not like he changed everything so completely that it all runs on auto-pilot and just needs someone not to 17 it up. Like I said, Byrne was a very good AD for us. Stricklin is a very good AD for us too. No matter how little credit some of you guys want to give him.
Disagree
Seizing on Hail State is the best thing our AD did in a long time in terms of marketing. It's pretty widely recognizable, and I think it was hugely important in distinguishing us from the other 'STATES'/Bulldogs out there in a way that Go State and Go Dawgs simply cannot and did not. As one of those for the 'long haul' people you describe, I love Hail State and how much it's been used.
Hell, it's better than Vroom Maroon.
Seizing on Hail State is the best thing our AD did in a long time in terms of marketing. It's pretty widely recognizable, and I think it was hugely important in distinguishing us from the other 'STATES'/Bulldogs out there in a way that Go State and Go Dawgs simply cannot and did not. As one of those for the 'long haul' people you describe, I love Hail State and how much it's been used.
Hell, it's better than Vroom Maroon.
Miss State athletics 2005-2008. But let's not give Byrne tooooooo much credit. It would have turned itself around and ran on auto-pilot like all MSU athletic programs do - eventually.
Don't forget that Byrne never took State to #1 in football and #2 in baseball. Basketball hadn't hit rock bottom yet and Byrne wouldn't have had the foresight to hire RR in order to get there and then hire Howland to take the program to new heights. Byne would have done something crazy like hire a coach with a resumé.
Don't forget that Byrne never took State to #1 in football and #2 in baseball. Basketball hadn't hit rock bottom yet and Byrne wouldn't have had the foresight to hire RR in order to get there and then hire Howland to take the program to new heights. Byne would have done something crazy like hire a coach with a resumé.
Ummm, no. He's managed to not screw up a plan put in place during the Byrne era. Mullen Cohen, football facilities, Hail State, and lots more were all Byrne era actions and strategies.
Strick gets credit for Ray. He also gets credit for trying to keep him around while alumni, Addidas, and if rumors are true, other friends of the program made Howland happen.
He has done an outstanding job with the non-big 3 sports. Nothing but credit to give there.
He has a chance to claim the baseball facilities, but that hasn't happened yet.
Is he doing a decent job, yes. Are we in pretty good shape, yes. Is there any reason to believe that he is outstanding at his job based on the record so far, I don't think so.
Strick gets credit for Ray. He also gets credit for trying to keep him around while alumni, Addidas, and if rumors are true, other friends of the program made Howland happen.
He has done an outstanding job with the non-big 3 sports. Nothing but credit to give there.
He has a chance to claim the baseball facilities, but that hasn't happened yet.
Is he doing a decent job, yes. Are we in pretty good shape, yes. Is there any reason to believe that he is outstanding at his job based on the record so far, I don't think so.
Like I said earlier about our marketing, its better than it has ever been. Its also better than a lot of other schools.
Also, ITS CURRENTLY WORKING whether you think so or not.
Just curious, is there anything about our university you do support? Can you name 2 things you are completely happy about right now?
Also, ITS CURRENTLY WORKING whether you think so or not.
Just curious, is there anything about our university you do support? Can you name 2 things you are completely happy about right now?
And its funny you bring up hashtags. Are you one of those people who thought #hailstate in the endzone was a terrible idea? Well news flash son, it hit national news and got other people doing it (so much so that it was banned). Thats marketing by definition and whether you agree with it or not people took notice.
I can't believe how many people want to anoint Greg Byrne as the messiah. Yes, he definitely elevated our "brand" and started many of the changes that we've seen over the past few years. I'm not trying to discount the contributions he made...but he was AD for TWO years, FIVE years ago, and he jumped ship for a bigger paycheck at his first opportunity, we were merely a stepping stone for him. It's been Stricklin who's overseen the exponential rise in athletic giving (his number one job, by far), BDC memberships and the majority of the new athletic facilities.
You know you have a ninja for an AD when he gets credit for a stadium expansion that was completed 5 years after he left. When he actually left for another job several months before the first architects were actually retained for the Davis Wade project.
yeah but the fact is byrne was here 2 years. Stricklin has been doing the job for 5 years, but somehow byrne is getting the majority of the credit.
2/7 = 28.6%
5/7 = 71.4%
Something doesn't add up.
2/7 = 28.6%
5/7 = 71.4%
Something doesn't add up.
I dont live in Mississippi but I do travel all over the country and it's cool when I run into State fans and they say HailState. I think it's cool and it gives us a thing.
If I say go Dogs people think of Georgia. If I say Mississippi folks think it's Ole Miss. HailState is unique and even people outside of MS get it.
I hated it at first but now I think it was brilliant.
If I say go Dogs people think of Georgia. If I say Mississippi folks think it's Ole Miss. HailState is unique and even people outside of MS get it.
I hated it at first but now I think it was brilliant.
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It is better than it's ever been. So? What does that have to do with anything? Anything is better than nothing.
How can you say it's working? What is working? What result can you attribute to good marketing? I can't refute it, but as someone who works in marketing I don't think bad marketing has bad results all the times. But our fan base has vocally expressed our discontent with our marketing strategy for a while. We play into Ole Miss's "little brother" hand constantly. "First down, Hail State!" <--- that was great!!!!!!
I love everything about MSU. I think I was even very complimentary of Stricklin of this same post in which you're pissed about.
I just don't like blatant homerism, and the OP went way beyond crossing that line. I'm happy with Stricklin. I said so. But he's very GENERIC in his marketing to be considered "the greatest."
And no, just because we're not known for winning a lot doesn't mean we're generic. If he feels that way, his strategy should have been to own "bulldog" and "maroon and white." Instead it was to create a bunch of inorganic stuff and own those.
It's a matter of opinion. We can disagree there. That's fine.
I think you may have traded in your maroon tinted glasses for your, obviously experienced, marketing tinted ones. I'm not being a smart ***.
I don't know what some of y'all want out of the man, but HailState IS brilliant! Like someone else mentioned, a lot of Bulldogs & a **** ton of States. HailState disambiguizes that. Even the banner/ribbon does so. I agree that it's terribly too incorporated into our uniforms, though.
I also agree with the posters in this thread that Byrne gets waaay too much credit. As if the man is actually a turtle on the half shell with a blue bandana wielding dual kitanas.
The good news is that we're bitching about a man who's done a good job. Is he doing the best job out of the hundreds of AD's in the nation? I don't know. How does one even compare these jobs? Steve Jobs did his thing with Apple. What comparable benchmarks are there to the CEO of Johnson & Johnson, or the Twitter founder, or Peavey?
I don't know what some of y'all want out of the man, but HailState IS brilliant! Like someone else mentioned, a lot of Bulldogs & a **** ton of States. HailState disambiguizes that. Even the banner/ribbon does so. I agree that it's terribly too incorporated into our uniforms, though.
I also agree with the posters in this thread that Byrne gets waaay too much credit. As if the man is actually a turtle on the half shell with a blue bandana wielding dual kitanas.
The good news is that we're bitching about a man who's done a good job. Is he doing the best job out of the hundreds of AD's in the nation? I don't know. How does one even compare these jobs? Steve Jobs did his thing with Apple. What comparable benchmarks are there to the CEO of Johnson & Johnson, or the Twitter founder, or Peavey?
I like Hail State. It's not brilliant, but it's something that State fans can call their own. I also liked the hashtag in the end zone. So, if you like making national news, then give SS credit for F*CK TSUN.
I like Edam cheese and Chi Ho's.
As they say, bad publicity is good publicity.
If he gets credit for F*CK TSUN (something in which he likely had no clue of or zero control over), then he damn sure should get credit for the football stadium being built, hiring ben howland (and rick ray), etc.
Thats the problem. Some people want to give him credit for all the bad but none of the good.
If he gets credit for F*CK TSUN (something in which he likely had no clue of or zero control over), then he damn sure should get credit for the football stadium being built, hiring ben howland (and rick ray), etc.
Thats the problem. Some people want to give him credit for all the bad but none of the good.
One of the best ways to get old in a hurry is to hate everything new that comes out. Failure to embrace and enjoy change will turn us all into a bunch of grumpy old men bitching about the good old days.
The kids are not gonna do stuff the way we did it. Guaranteed. That's a good thing because it keeps life fresh.
HailState is cool, the music is cool, the uniforms are cool, I like it all.
The kids are not gonna do stuff the way we did it. Guaranteed. That's a good thing because it keeps life fresh.
HailState is cool, the music is cool, the uniforms are cool, I like it all.
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