Gators commemorate title with 60K fans at the Swamp
Apr 12, 2025, 05:12 PM ET GAINESVILLE, Fla.– Florida coach Todd Golden already has a spot chose for the Last Four web he reduced in San Antonio.On Saturday
, however, it felt right in the house around his neck.Golden and the Gators were revered in another championship game celebration, this one in front of almost 60,000 fans at Florida Field during a prolonged halftime of the yearly football spring game. The hoops group has one more get-together on tap: at the White House, probably this summer season. Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden is all smiles as he celebrates his team’s national championship with Gators fans throughout the football group’s yearly spring game at the Swamp. James Gilbert/Getty Images for ONIT
“It’s just absurd,” Golden said. “Today was awesome. … Our guys, especially our older guys, are going to be carrying on to go train for the draft. You don’t understand if they’re going to be around.
“To be able to put something like this together on type of brief notification and do a terrific job honoring our players in front of our fans, which to me is the most important thing. Individuals that have been supporting us really all year got to see these guys together once again one last time. It was unique.”
Golden used the remnants of among the webs from the Alamodome; center Micah Handlogten used the other. Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard carried prizes into the Swamp.a various kinda Gator Walk pic.twitter.com/QC8AOSe8j2!.?.!— Florida Gators Guys’s Basketball(@GatorsMBK)April 12, 2025 where just gators go out alive
pic.twitter.com/RTUdOACbhu!.?.!— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) April 12, 2025
sharing these minutes with Gator Nation >> > pic.twitter.com/w7MuysI5UQ!.?.!— Florida Gators Guys’s Basketball(@GatorsMBK) April 12, 2025 Emphasizes from Florida’s six NCAA competition success flashed on the arena replay boards as players and coaches were presented one by one. Clayton, called The majority of Impressive Gamer of the Last Four, and Golden– hardly remarkably– got the loudest ovations.Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward provided Golden with an essential to the city”so you’ll always understand where home is.”Golden might not be going anywhere anytime soon. The coach said he and athletic director Scott Stricklin are close to a contract extension. Four of the past 5 national championship-winning coaches at Florida– J.C. Deacon (men’s golf), Mike Holloway(track and field), Kevin O’Sullivan (baseball
)and Tim Walton (softball)– signed 10-year handle the wake of their titles. Could Golden be next?” My household and I like being here,” stated Golden, who made$3.6 million this season and ranks 12th in the Southeastern Conference in yearly salary.”In 3 brief years, we have actually had the ability to meet a great deal of excellent people and get comfortable. Florida’s a place that we can win national championships, as we just proved. Yeah,
we love being here.” Scott and I have been talking a lot. I feel like we’re very near to putting something together that will keep the Goldens in Gainesville for quite a while. I believe in the next week or 2, we’ll get to the finish line on that.” Golden revealed a working poster of the program’s 3rd championship banner, which will
be awaited the O’Connell Center to open next season. He also took some time to thank fans and several crucial boosters, one of whom contributed$1 million to the program today. The Gators likewise have an $8 million remodelling to their practice facility on tap this summer season.” At this point in college sports, it’s the lifeline, “he stated.”And the reality of it is we require a lot more. We require a lot more to keep our players. We have a good problem right now. We have a lot of great players in our program that we need to support and retain, and we require to get a couple guys.
“Clayton, Martin and Richard have actually exhausted their eligibility and will be moving on, and Golden said big guy Alex Condon will go through the NBA’s predraft testing procedure to see whether he turns professional or go back to school. “If we’re lucky enough to get Alex back, I believe we’ll have among the greatest front lines in America,” Golden stated.”
We’re deep there. We’re athletic now. We’re really accomplished. Guys have actually played a lot of minutes on an actually excellent group.”The Gators completed 36-4 and won their final 12 games. They won 4 of 6 in the tournament by rallying late:”Beat the odds to say the least,” Golden quipped.The 39-year-old Golden ended up being the youngest coach given that North Carolina State’s Jim Valvano in 1983 to win all of it. Golden flung what was left of the net around his neck Monday night and still had it on when the group returned home Tuesday afternoon.He insisted Saturday he hasn’t oversleeped it or even believed much about it considering that.”However I wanted to bust it out for today,”he said.” This will be, in addition to some other crucial mementos over the last month, in my office in the house. … This is a little bit more important and a bit more impactful on the prize shelf now.”