Todd Golden tabbed as new Florida Gators men's basketball coach
Todd Golden has been hired as the 20th men’s basketball coach at the University of Florida, the school announced Friday.
Golden, 36, led San Francisco to the school’s first NCAA tournament bid since 1998. He replaces former Florida coach Mike White, who left Sunday for the Georgia job after seven seasons.
Golden led the Dons to a 24-10 record this year, including a No. 10 seed in the Big Dance. San Francisco fell to No. 7 Murray State 92-87 in overtime in Indianapolis on Thursday.
Golden compiled a 57-36 record in three seasons at San Francisco, including 20-win seasons in 2019-20 and 2021-22. He now heads to Gainesville for the next chapter of his coaching career.
“I’m energized by the opportunity to lead an elite program at Florida, and I’m ready to get started,” Golden said. “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.
“I also want to express my thanks to the University of San Francisco, Joan McDermott and Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald for the incredible support they’ve given me over the past six years at USF and the opportunity to lead a special group of young men.”
Before being promoted at San Francisco, Golden was an assistant coach with the program from 2017-19. Prior to that, he served an assistant at Auburn for three years (2014-16) under Bruce Pearl.
Todd Golden the latest hire at UF
Golden is the third head coaching hire in the last four months by UF athletics director Scott Stricklin, who also hired football coach Billy Napier and women’s hoops coach Kelly Rae Finley.
“We’re incredibly excited about bringing in Todd, who is an innovative, relationship-oriented coach, to lead our men’s basketball program,” 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.”
Florida has signed Golden to a six-year deal worth $3 million annually. He inherits a Gators program that missed the NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 2016.
Golden started his coaching career as an assistant at Columbia from 2012-14. He played collegiately at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., where he helped the Gaels to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
As a senior point guard, he ranked second in the nation with a 3.68 assists-to-turnovers ratio and led the West Coast Conference with a .574 3-point field goal percentage.
