The Florida Gators hired San Francisco’s Todd Golden as their new men’s basketball coach Friday, ending a quick search by adding a 36-year-old rising star with SEC experience.
“I’m energized by the opportunity to lead an elite program at Florida, and I’m ready to get started,” Golden said in a statement. “Florida has a championship-level athletic department, university and men’s basketball program, and I embrace the standard of excellence at Florida and the passion of Gator Nation. We couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds in Gainesville.”
The Gators have reasons to be excited, too. Golden was 57-36 as the Dons’ coach since taking over after the 2019 season. He most recently led San Francisco to a 24-10 record and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998. Golden’s 10th-seeded Dons lost to Murray State in overtime Thursday, setting up the quick hire by UF.
“We’re incredibly excited about bringing in Todd, who is an innovative, relationship-oriented coach, to lead our men’s basketball program,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “Todd brings a smart and analytics-driven approach to the game and a relational approach to leadership that puts student-athletes first. He has a wide range of experience, particularly for a coach his age, and brings an outstanding track record and high level of integrity to the job.”
Golden was a point guard at St. Mary’s and played in the NCAA Tournament twice. As a senior, he ranked second with a 3.68 assist-to-turnover ratio.
He was an assistant at Columbia and spent two seasons at Auburn under Bruce Pearl. He was the Tigers’ director of basketball operations for one year before being promoted to assistant coach. He was heavily involved in Auburn’s analytics.
After the Tigers’ win over Jacksonville state at the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, S.C., Pearl declined to talk about the move until it was official but said he wanted to “because I love Todd, love him like a son.”
Golden was San Francisco’s associate head coach for three years before taking over that program. At the time, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman called him “one of the rising stars in our profession” who’s intelligent, competitive and understands winning at the highest level.”
Golden replaces Mike White, who left for rival Georgia after a second-round exit in last week’s SEC tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
