Florida basketball officially announces Todd Golden hire

Florida basketball officially announced the hire of new head coach Todd Golden on Friday afternoon. The former Auburn assistant and San Francisco head coach will replace Mike White after his departure to Georgia last week.

Golden brings multiple years of SEC experience from 2014 through 2016 under Bruce Pearl. He worked at Columbia as an assistant before then from 2012-2014, then became an assistant at San Francisco from 2017-2019 under current Washington State coach Kyle Smith. Golden was promoted to head coach in 2019 after that move.

He led San Francisco to the NCAA Tournament this season with an at-large bid and 10-seed, where his team lost in the opening round to Murray State. Reports suggest he opened negotiations with Florida early in the week and things moved quickly after his team’s elimination.

Prior to the Florida move, Todd Golden accumulated a 57-35 record as a head coach and led San Francisco to its most wins since 1982 this season.

Florida hires Todd Golden

After Todd Golden was officially announced as the new basketball coach at Florida, he released a statement. CBS Sports’ Jake Winderman released the statement on social media.

“I’m energized by the opportunity to lead an elite program at Florida, and I’m ready to get started,” said Golden. “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.”

He also sent a message to all who supported him during his tenure at San Francisco.

“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,” said Golden.

In addition, athletic director Scott Stricklin. provided a statement on the quick hiring process which took place after Mike White’s departure.

“We’re incredibly excited about bringing in Todd, who is an innovative, relationship-oriented coach, to lead our men’s basketball program,” said Stricklin. “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.”