GAINESVILLE — Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden has agreed to a two-year contract extension with a $1 million raise after quickly reviving the Gators and re-energizing the fan base.
Golden’s new deal, confirmed by the Orlando Sentinel, comes prior to his team’s SEC Tournament opener against Georgia and former UF coach Mike White late Thursday.
Golden’s salary ranked 12th among 14 SEC coaches after he signed a six-year, $18 million contract in 2022 upon replacing White. Once signed, the new deal aims to keep the 38-year-old in Gainesville until 2030.
Golden, who is 37-27 in two seasons, has positioned the Gators for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021 a season after they finished 16-17 and lost in the second round of the NIT to UCF.
Following the humbling 67-49 loss last year to the Knights, Golden made over Florida’s roster, adding nine new players.
Three of them, point guard Zyon Pullin, shooting guard Walter Clayton Jr. and power forward Tyrese Samuel earned All-SEC, the first time a trio of Gators have done so since the 2014 Final Four team (Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather, Patric Young).
The new-look Gators ranked seventh nationally in scoring, with a school-record average of 84.9 points.
Florida’s physicality improved dramatically behind Samuel, 7-foot-1 sophomore Micah Handlogten and promising first-year forward Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. The Gators lead the nation in rebounding and are 18th in rebounding margin after ranking 328th last season.
Fans responded to the much-improved play with six sellouts this season after just five combined during the previous two. UF averaged 9,926 in SEC games in 2023-24, up from 8,967 a year earlier.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.
