Baylor SID Handles Adversity

By Adam Thompson, Denver Post Sports Writer Sunday, August 03, 2003 Here is a statement that would make any college sports information director shiver: "I got a phone call from another SID. I said, 'I can't talk to you right now. I'm setting my head coach up for "America's Most Wanted." I'll call you when I get through."' That sums up the July of Baylor SID Scott Stricklin. He is an achingly nice man bound to end up as a footnote in one of the strangest crime stories in Texas history. He's the guy offering the "no comments" you read every day as the Patrick Dennehy murder case takes another depressing turn. Since Stricklin arrived in Waco, all he has asked for is a little publicity for an athletic program often dwarfed by its in-state competitors. It has been tough to get for a football program at the bottom of the Big 12. He finally has gotten his wish, for all the wrong reasons. He'll be the first to say that, compared to the mourning families, he has no right to complain. He has kept his easy smile, though he says sometimes he has to force himself. He even has found a small positive in this mess. Each day, out-of-touch names from his past read the papers, guess he's the same guy they used to know and get back in touch. Even his old high school English teacher from Jackson, Miss., e-mailed him from Georgia telling him to keep his head up. But as a perfect storm of murder, drug and corruption allegations have descended upon his athletic department, Stricklin's life has become an ongoing punishment. "There have been days I've been tired the moment I woke up," he said. He planned to spend this summer taking care of his toddler and going to church three times a week. Instead, he gamely returns each message as his phone rings into the evening, in the (probably vain) hope that reporters will remember his goodwill, and Baylor, when they have something good to write. He does not begrudge them. They're just doing their jobs. Has the idea of quitting crossed his mind? He gives no answer. Instead, he says: "You can't do what you want to do because it's easy. You've got to pick up the phone and return that call to The New York Times, even though you don't like what they're going to say." It will seem absurd to anyone who has seen a recent Baylor game, but here's hoping Stricklin finds himself with a surprise Heisman campaign to run by mid-October. Followed by a month-long vacation someplace with no cell reception.