Gator Fans:Having spent nearly 30 years in the Southeastern Conference, I've been to many athletic events where the Orange and Blue faithful have chanted "It's Great to be a Florida Gator." Today, I join with you in sharing that sentiment, and am excited and honored to begin serving as Athletic Director at the University of Florida.Two important parts of college athletics are educating young people and winning games. But another critical aspect involves impacting lives. The FloridaGators.com website lists our strategic purpose as "providing a championship experience with integrity on and off the field for student-athletes and the Gator Nation." That pretty much sums up what has happened at the University of Florida for the past 25 years under the outstanding leadership ofI'm proud to call Jeremy a friend, and prouder still to be a part of building on his legacy by having the opportunity to support the many talented and dedicated Gator student-athletes, coaches and staff.The goal of any athletic department should be to create great experiences centered around our campuses and getting people engaged in our universities. For our student-athletes, that experience means getting a great education, competing at the highest level and developing relationships that will last the rest of their lives. For our staff and our coaches, it is a fulfilling and rewarding work experience, one that they feel good about because they are impacting the experience of our student-athletes.When we are successful at creating a great experience for our student athletes and staff, then everyone who loves this great university – the students, the alumni, the fans and all of you who make up the Gator Nation - has a great experience and engages back with the University of Florida.We will strive to ensure that Florida maintains its position as one of the premier athletic programs in the nation. To do that, we have to be innovative, creative and continue to push the envelope in all of the right ways.Everything we will do will be centered around supporting our student athletes, coaches and staff and creating a great experience for everyone who loves the Gators.We need your support for the Gators to be successful. I look forward to all of us working together to create great experiences for the Gator Nation, and welcome your feedback and input along the way.Feel free to send me an e-mail ( ScottS@gators.ufl.edu ), call my office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6000, or come say hello at one of our many athletic and community events. Also, you can follow me on Twitter ( @ScottStricklin ) or Instagram ( @ScottStricklin ).It is indeed great to be a Florida Gator!Go Gators!