Florida hires San Francisco’s Todd Golden as head coach

One day after coaching the San Francisco Dons in the NCAA Tournament, Todd Golden is headed to SEC country to be the head coach at Florida. Golden went 57-36 over three seasons at USF, culminating with an at-large NCAA bid this year.

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

The 36-year-old Golden has been with the Dons since 2016, spending three years as associate head coach under Kyle Smith before being elevated to head coach in 2019. Before that, he spent time working under Smith at Columbia (2012-14) and Bruce Pearl at Auburn (2014-16). Originally from Phoenix, Golden played for Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s for four years.

“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.”

credit to Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports for the photo