Latest news with #Stricklin
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Gators AD Scott Stricklin: 'A lot of stability' with Billy Napier and Florida football
Gators AD Scott Stricklin: 'A lot of stability' with Billy Napier and Florida football Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin offered strong public support for head football coach Billy Napier during a Wednesday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, praising his leadership qualities and expressing optimism about the Gators' trajectory heading into the 2025 season. "It was a challenging football season, and it was incredibly rewarding the way they finished," Stricklin said. "I give Billy Napier a lot of credit. You know, Billy, he's as solid an individual as you will find in this profession." Stricklin commended Napier's integrity and toughness, noting how the third-year head coach leaned on his values to guide Florida through a turbulent 2024 campaign. "His faith is very important to him," Stricklin said. "He called on every single one of those traits and qualities going through the first half of that football season last year, and I think the way the team played toward the end is a reflection of his stability, his determination, his toughness, his just overall leadership." The Gators showed improvement down the stretch last season and head into 2025 with renewed expectations. Napier is set to begin his fourth season at the helm, aiming to return Florida to SEC contention. "When we kick off the season August 30th, it's going to be another firestorm, and we're all going to have to weather it," Stricklin said. "And I do feel like he's (Napier) constructed a roster with a lot of talent. We've got a talented young quarterback (DJ Lagway)... we've got some playmakers around him." Stricklin also emphasized the program's long-needed sense of direction under Napier's leadership. "There's a lot of stability in that program that we've not had in a long, long time," he said. "A lot of talent in that program. And there is that momentum, I think, will help." The Florida Gators open their 2025 season at home against Long Island University on Aug. 30. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Florida's Todd Golden stakes his claim as a coaching star, after a season of turmoil and controversy
SAN ANTONIO — Todd Golden made it about his team, so much so that he was gone from the court, into an Alamodome tunnel, huge smile on his face with a scissored net around his neck, 15 minutes before Florida players and officials joined him. 'I'm just a piece of the puzzle,' he would say later of the national championship run that he assembled like a puzzle master. Advertisement But the discussion around Golden this season has been muted, strained and careful all the way to the end, Monday's dramatic 65-63 comeback win against Houston to seize the title. He has been accused of serious things. It's a situation not quite like anything we've seen with a coach on a run to the last evening of this tournament. Otherwise, there would be a lot more celebrating of Golden. The coaches are the stars of this sport — always have been — and he looks like one. That was not the topic his boss, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, was addressing amid the celebration on the court, with Golden in the locker room. Stricklin was asked about Golden's success despite the Title IX investigation the university conducted into allegations of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and stalking by Golden involving multiple women, ultimately clearing him. 'Todd's always been honest, and I trust him,' Stricklin said. 'Really, he deserves a lot of credit just for the way he was able to focus, block out distractions, don't worry about things you can't control, don't worry about the things people are saying, or whether they're true or not, and just control the things that are within your control. He deserves a ton of credit for the way he managed that, and obviously having an experienced team and a great staff around him allowed him to do that.' Asked what he learned from the process, Stricklin said, 'Again, control what you can control. When you're in a high-profile position, people are going to say unfair things about you — whether it's the media, whether it's people on social media, it doesn't matter where. But you can't be consumed by that. You've got to focus on the job at hand, and our job is to make the University of Florida and the Gators and Gainesville proud.' A national championship can do that. This run was much about the Gators' ability to come back over and over again in this tournament when things got dire. Months earlier, they stuck together and became one of the best teams in the sport despite the news surrounding Golden. Advertisement 'This team went through a lot, I'll say that,' said Florida center Alex Condon, standing a few feet from Stricklin. 'That just shows how much resiliency we have. It's a special team, that's all I can say.' At 39, Golden is the youngest coach to win this tournament since 37-year-old Jim Valvano did it 42 years ago, also at the expense of the (still championship-less) Cougars. He's the third-youngest of the modern era, after Valvano and Bob Knight at age 35 with unbeaten Indiana in 1976. Five others were younger if you go way back, including Indiana's Branch McCracken (31 in 1940) and Ohio State's Fred Taylor (35 in 1960). Think of those names. Consider who Golden just beat for this championship: Kelvin Sampson, who would have been the oldest title-winning coach at age 69, who is one of his profession's greats of the past quarter-century and who belongs in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Don't miss the clever moves that got Golden here, including the late play out of a timeout that got struggling star Walter Clayton Jr., open for a 3-pointer off a double screen, buried to tie it. Look at this career to date, the rise from Saint Mary's guard to apprenticeships under Kyle Smith and Bruce Pearl to winning at San Francisco and rapidly giving the Gators their teeth back: 16-17 in his first season, 24-12 in his second, 36-4 and the school's third national championship in his third. He has now won something legends such as Sampson, Pearl — the other coach he beat in San Antonio — Rick Barnes, Bob Huggins and the late Rick Majerus and Lefty Driesell never did. As tough as it is to project anything long-term, given the chaotic state of the sport right now, Golden has a chance to put himself in rare company in the years ahead. 'That guy is special,' Florida guard Alijah Martin said. 'I'm so excited to see what he'll do going forward.' Advertisement The list of multiple-championship coaches is short and distinguished, an exclusive club of 17, headed by names such as John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith and Billy Donovan, the guy who got Florida its first two titles. This is where the discussion shifts when you win it all. But questions about the past will be part of the Golden discussion, too. The school's investigation became public in November through a story published by the school's student newspaper, The Alligator. It reported that Golden was accused of misconduct by multiple women and that its reporters spoke to two unnamed former Florida students. One accused Golden of sending unsolicited lewd photos of himself. The other said Golden stalked her on Instagram. Golden kept coaching. Then, in mid-January, ESPN reported that a university employee filed a sexual assault complaint to the school's Title IX office against his assistant coach Taurean Green, who played point guard for Donovan's championship teams. An athletic department employee accused him of kissing her and trying to put his hands down her pants in March 2024. The Golden investigation closed Jan. 27 after dozens of interviews, according to the school, which determined there was 'no evidence to indicate that sexual harassment, as defined by Title IX, occurred within a university program or activity.' The Title IX review was concluded without the issuance of a formal report, per an open records request to the university. The Green case remains open. Golden the coach has received less publicity than a coach succeeding at this level would normally receive. Golden the husband, the person? The stories that get told this time of year when a coach keeps winning? They are conspicuous in their scarcity. Meanwhile, online fan discourse has been predictably coarse. Advertisement This was a glorious championship run for the Florida Gators and their fans. This was a brilliant coaching job by Golden, one of the young stars of his profession. This is in the books. But there was an uneasiness about the whole thing, and that may never go away, either. — The Athletic's Brendan Marks, Lindsay Schnell, Matt Baker and Brian Hamilton contributed reporting. (Top photo of Golden: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Telegraph
03-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘We're not arms dealers, we look after children. But Santander debanked us'
Have you been debanked? Email money@ For 30 years, Mark Stricklin has looked after thousands of children in his business acting as a guardian for overseas students at British boarding schools. The family-run firm, Crown Guardians, which is based in Bath, charges students' parents, who live abroad, £1,000 a year for the service. But in October last year, his business accounts and credit card were suddenly frozen without warning. His bank, Santander, enclosed a cheque for more than £81,000 – the contents of his account – and demanded that the £458.67 owed on the credit card was settled within 60 days. Mr Striklin believes he is a victim of 'debanking'. The 57-year-old told The Telegraph: 'They froze everything. We couldn't receive payments, we couldn't make payments. All of our working capital was in our business account. 'Our 30-year-old family business was shut down at the flick of a switch.' Mr Striklin is among an estimated half a million customers who were debanked last year. Worrying figures exposed by The Telegraph found that in 2024, 408,000 bank accounts were closed for 'financial crime' reasons, up from 45,091 in 2016-2017. Financial institutions are allowed to close accounts for commercial reasons, and if they suspect criminal activity. There is no legal right to a bank account in the UK, unlike in countries such as France and Belgium. The problem with debanking came to national prominence after Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, had his account with private bank Coutts stripped from him for what he claimed were 'ideological' reasons. Dame Alison Rose, former chief executive of NatWest, which owns Coutts, was forced to step down after admitting briefing a BBC journalist with incorrect information. Last week, Mr Farage said that he had settled with NatWest for an undisclosed sum. Before the settlement, he told The Telegraph: 'The last government promised me there would be changes, but nothing happened.' Mr Stricklin had opened the accounts in 2016. But his accounts were suspended for a month before the bank told him their final decision. A letter from Santander said: 'We regularly review our customers' accounts and need to let you know that unfortunately we can't offer you banking facilities any more.' It continued: 'Unfortunately, we are not able to give you further information about how we have made our decision.' The suspension of his account meant that he couldn't receive or send payments, effectively closing his business for weeks. He said: 'I had brand new clients sending us payments, and they were being bounced back. 'We couldn't pay our drivers, and we couldn't pay our host families. We couldn't give kids pocket money, we couldn't top-up their mobile phones. It was the worst nightmare of anything I've ever been through. 'Nothing has made me feel as physically sick as that did.' Initially, Mr Stricklin was told that his accounts had been suspended pending investigation, but Santander then decided to close them permanently. The bank wouldn't tell the business why – despite him spending more than 20 hours on the phone. He said: 'We're not manufacturing arms or anything, we look after children. That's all we ever do. If we did something wrong, I'd like to know how to not do something wrong in the future.' The business has now opened four new bank accounts, to mitigate the risk of something similar happening again. Mr Stricklin said: 'I have no idea why it happened. I have no idea. I have absolutely no confidence that it couldn't happen again tomorrow.' The business owner claimed that he had struggled to make a formal complaint, something he must do before he can refer his case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). After The Telegraph contacted the bank on his behalf, a senior complaints manager contacted Mr Stricklin to discuss his complaint.
New York Times
20-02-2025
- Business
- New York Times
SEC football moving closer to 9-game conference schedule, but the saga continues
NEW ORLEANS — Once again, the SEC football is moving closer to a nine-game conference schedule. And once again, even with momentum building, it's not a done deal. The conference has seemed close to this move for years, only for enough opposition within the league to stop it, either for financial or competitive reasons. This time, another factor may finally push it over the finish line: an alliance with the Big Ten. Advertisement The two conference commissioners and their athletic directors wrapped up a second round of meetings here on Wednesday. A possible scheduling agreement was not discussed, several people said. But the conferences did discuss the possibility of four guaranteed spots for each conference in an expanded College Football Playoff, and if that happens, there's a good chance the SEC finally will go to nine games. But no decisions were made at these meetings, and a decision could take several months, according to Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. 'It's all connected,' Stricklin said, citing the need to know what the CFP format will be. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said on Wednesday 'there's a lot of interest' in going to nine games and indicated that some reluctant to make the move have changed their mind. 'I think people change. Positions change,' Sankey said. 'There's been a lot of phone calls in advance of the meeting: 'What are you thinking? What do we need to look at? Are there different ways to form this?'' SEC presidents have said for several years that they need more money from ESPN to add a ninth conference game. When Oklahoma and Texas joined the league, the contract called for a pro-rata increase in what ESPN paid the SEC, so it went to about $811 million per year. ESPN has resisted pleas to increase that amount, citing cost-cutting at Disney, among other factors. There are a few reasons ESPN may now be ready to play ball. The situation with the ACC appears to be stabilizing, so there's some certainty there. Then there's the CFP contract, which ESPN agreed to in March 2024, going through the 2031 season. Perhaps more importantly, there are the ratings from the 2024 season, the first under the SEC's non-division format. The SEC had six of the 10 highest-rated non-Playoff games, and 15 of the 21 highest-rated games involved at least one SEC team, per SportsMediaWatch. Advertisement If the SEC goes to a nine-game schedule, certain rivalries will continue to be played every year: Alabama-Tennessee (sixth-highest rated non-Playoff game), Texas-Texas A&M (10th highest-watched non-Playoff game) and Georgia-Auburn. If the SEC stays with eight games, its format would result in those rivalry games only being twice every four years. The SEC made sure to include those games, and a few other marquee matchups, in the 2024-25 temporary format, almost as a way of showing ESPN what it would be missing. GO DEEPER SEC, Big Ten discussing changes to championship weekend But the new format caused some newfound reluctance to go to nine games: Texas was the only team to go 7-1 in conference play, two others suffered two losses, and five had three losses. Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina just missed the Playoff. That's why four guaranteed bids for the CFP could be the final push toward nine games, alleviating concerns about hurting teams' bids. Sankey never has publicly confirmed that he favors going to nine games, instead presenting himself as guiding the conversation. That conversation has taken years and was the main story at SEC spring meetings several years, each time the conference holding off on the decision, not going to nine games but only doing temporary eight-game formats. The saga may finally be nearing an end. Then again, that has been assumed before. GO DEEPER Big Ten, SEC to push for CFP to be seeded entirely by final rankings 'We've not made a decision, and we're coming up on four years,' Sankey said. 'And the reality, and I've said this to you that that conversation began in 2018 it was tied to the move from divisions. Can you rotate people through? So it was a pre-expansion conversation, but the three or four years really is a post-expansion dialog. And we made decisions for '24 and '25, (while) '26 and beyond remains an agenda item for us.' Asked when they need to make a decision, Sankey smiled. 'Right before we send out the press release,' he said.
