Yahoo Sports Florida AD Scott Stricklin reveals he’s recovered after testing positive for coronavirus
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin announced on Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 last month.
Stricklin, 50, suffered mild symptoms and wasn’t ever too worried about it, he said. He quarantined for about 10 days, and has since recovered.
“I had about 48 hours where I felt really crummy, and probably had another three or four days that I didn’t feel like going out and running a marathon,” Stricklin said. “Then after that, I kind of felt like I was back to normal.”
Stricklin is just the latest prominent figure in the college football world to contract the coronavirus, most recently following Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott — who announced his positive test late last week.
“I thought I was being careful, but obviously this a highly transmittable disease, as ... others on campus keep reminding me,” Stricklin said. “So I do think it speaks to the importance of all of us doing our part and wearing the masks and physical distancing and all that stuff. I do think it’s really important. Hopefully we can help keep others safe during this process by doing our part.”
He was among the 14 athletic directors, along with other SEC conference staff, who met at the conference’s headquarters on Monday to discuss the fate of fall sports on Monday amid the global pandemic.
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Though both the Pac-12 and Big Ten have announced they will play conference-only schedules this fall, and other leagues have canceled completely, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t going to make a decision until late July.
“It is clear that current circumstances related to COVID-19 must improve, and we will continue to closely monitor developments around the virus on a daily basis,” Sankey said.
There were more than 3.4 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, according to The New York Times, and more than 136,000 deaths attributed to it. The country set a new single-day record on Friday, recording more than 68,000 new cases alone, and has averaged more than 60,000 new cases a day over the past week.
Florida had more than 291,000 confirmed cases, the third-most in the country behind only New York and California, and set a stunning new state record on Sunday with more than 15,000 new cases alone.
Though the numbers in Florida and around the SEC are startling, Stricklin said it’s still too early to make decisions about sports this fall.
"None of us know if and/or when the clouds are going to part and the sun's going to shine and we're going to be able to provide that opportunity for our athletes," Stricklin said. "But whenever that occurs, we want to be positioned to do so. Doing that in the safest manner is our No. 1 priority.
“If that's September, great. If that's a different month in the calendar that allows us to do it in this school year, I don't think any of us are in a position to be choosy right now."
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