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WATCH: James Bates presents Todd Golden with portrait at Spurrier's

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi07/26/25ZachAbolverdi
Florida-Gators-Todd-Golden-James-Bates
Former Florida LB and artist James Bates presents Todd Golden with his Champions Portrait at Spurrier's Gridiron Grille. (Photo by Zach Abolverdi/On3)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Championship Room at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille is now up to 20 members. Florida Gators men’s basketball coach Todd Golden became the latest to join the exclusive club of UF national championship coaches with a portrait in the private dining room upstairs.

Golden was presented on Thursday with the painting by James “Batesy” Bates, the former UF linebacker and revered local artist who commissioned all 20 portraits in Spurrier’s Championship Room with his signature style. Golden appreciated the work from Bates, even though he got him good in a couple spots.

“Batesy, I’ve seen it, I’ll take it. It’s not bad,” Golden said with a smile before the portrait was unveiled by Bates. “There’s a few things I need to highlight. He got me on the eyebrows for sure. Then he got me with the gap. I can live with that. I got a gap in my front teeth, so I’ll take it. But thank you very much, man, I appreciate it.”

Golden joins 19 other coaches that have won a national title at UF, including former men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan. Golden remembers seeing the Championship Room at Spurrier’s during his first year in Gainesville and it’s surreal to him to now have his portrait hanging on the wall as well.

“I remember our first spring after getting the job and hosting recruits in there and not really understanding what was going on until I saw ‘national champions.’ And at that point, I didn’t necessarily. think that would really be a real option. Now, three years later, found a way to do it. But it’s incredible honor. Most if not all of those coaches are Hall of Fame coaches. So, to be alongside them in that room is an incredible honor.”

The event was sponsored by Florida Victorious and Golden thanked the donors and fans who contributed to the Gators’ championship season. His coaching staff and the entire team attended the ceremony to support Golden.

It was the latest celebration of their 2025 title, with the hanging of the banners in the O’Connell Center still to come.

“It’s been great,” Golden said of enjoying the championship this offseason. “You just don’t get as much time to enjoy it as you probably wish because of the new era of college athletics and roster building. But I think we as a staff have done a good job of balancing making sure we enjoyed it. We got to go to the White House. We got to go to the New York Athletic Club. We spent some good time just appreciating what we were able to accomplish together. But at the same time, making sure we didn’t let our program slip. I think we were recruiting well. We retained incredibly well. And we seem to be different, but we’ll be competitive.”

Todd Golden portrait unveiling

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