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Florida Gators donor Gary Condron wants to see ‘guardrails’ for NIL

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•07/10/25•

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Florida-Gators-Gary-Condron
Florida Gators donor Gary Condron. (Photo by Cyndi Chambers/The Gainesville Sun)

USA TODAY Sports spoke with more than 10 boosters at high profile power conference schools about NIL, and only two talked on the record. One of them was University of Florida booster Gary Condron, the largest single financial donor in the history of Gator Boosters, Inc.

USA TODAY Sports also interviewed and profiled Texas Tech billionaire booster Cody Campbell, who is working to reform the NIL space and “save college sports”, writes Matt Hayes. Hayes spoke to Condron about the current state of name, image and likeness.

“NIL space for boosters is like throwing money into a deep, dark hole with little to no return on the investment,” Condron said. “Nobody likes this. Not athletic directors, not coaches, not boosters. The only ones who like it are the players, and the attorneys and agents.”

Condron, 67, was a walk-on baseball player at Florida in the mid-1970s and graduated from UF in 1977 with a degree in building construction. He’s the CEO and founder of The Conlan Company, one of the leading builders for Amazon’s distribution centers around the country. 

In addition to his support for Gator Boosters, Inc., Condron has helped fund the rosters for football, men’s basketball, baseball and other UF sports. He recently donated $1 million to Todd Golden’s program after his team won the 2025 national championship and the SEC Tournament.

“Gary’s been incredibly impactful on our success. I’m pretty sure, for football, baseball. He’s done a lot for all these different programs. Gary deserves a ton of credit for the success, because players are incredibly important,” Golden said of Condron after the title celebration at halftime of the spring football game.

“Gary gave us a great gift – and the reality of it is we need a lot more. We need a lot more to retain our players.”

Golden, who also thanked several other donors for their contributions, was able to retain his top frontcourt players and also signed one of the nation’s best transfer classes with three top-100 signees, adding a total of five players to the backcourt with a pair of top-50 recruits.

Condron’s efforts also helped Florida football coach Billy Napier close strong in the 2025 recruiting cycle and UF baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan reload with his 2025 class, which currently consists of nine transfers and 12 recruits, including Jaden Bastian, Aaron Watson and Jordan Yost.

During his interview with USA TODAY Sports, Condron recalled working multiple jobs to pay his way through college. That process, Condron told Hayes, gets lost in today’s landscape with players getting paid and walk-on spots being eliminated. He would like to see some NIL reform happen.    

“I came from a family that didn’t have two nickels to rub together,” Condron said. “If I had an opportunity to eat at the training table (at Florida) it was a blessing for me. If you saw what kids get today, the hair on your neck would stand up. I don’t know how much longer I can (fund NIL) unless we get some guardrails.”

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