Is UF investing enough in Florida basketball? Here's what numbers say
Kevin BrockwayFlorida basketball is off to a 1-3 start in the SEC in year two under head coach Todd Golden.
There’s still time for the Florida Gators, 11-6 overall, to catch up in the league race or make a run for an NCAA Tournament berth. But bigger questions loom regarding the direction of UF’s basketball program involving dollars and cents.
Is Florida devoting enough resources to ensure a successful men’s college basketball program? According to a USA Today Sports Network study last March, Florida ranked 12th out of 13th SEC public schools in men’s basketball operating expenses at $8,815,741 and ninth out of 13 SEC public schools in recruiting spending $329,395.
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The figures were based on the 2021-22 fiscal year, which was Mike White’s final season as UF’s coach. Vanderbilt, which is a private school, is not required to disclose its athletic spending and was not included in the survey.
Some of those numbers reflect the UF athletic department’s spending efficiency. For example, Florida owns two private planes, which cuts down its recruiting costs compared to other schools who don't own as many planes and fly commercially.
However, blue blood program Kentucky spent nearly three-times much as Florida on men’s basketball, a whopping $22,116,208 to lead the conference. Tennessee, which beat UF 85-66 on Tuesday, spent nearly twice as much at $14,659,954.
Florida was one of only three public colleges that spent less than $10 million on basketball in 2021-22, a list that includes LSU ($9,849,325) and Mississippi State ($8,384,574). In addition, UF and Alabama were the only two schools in the SEC that spent less for men’s basketball in 2018-19 than in 2021-22, with UF’s decrease from $9.7 million to $8.8 million
Facilities upgrades for UF basketball upcoming
Florida does have plans to renovate its men’s and women’s basketball practice facility, with proceeds coming from a record $12.6 donation from booster Hugh Hathcock. The $10 million facility, built in 2001, is showing signs of age. The renovation is scheduled to begin at the end of 2023-24 basketball season.
“It would be total redo of all the team/player areas, locker rooms, adjustments from offices, total refresh, the courts, the whole thing,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “A lot of work in the training room in those areas that touch the players every day.”
Golden said the changes will help UF with both recruiting and development.
“Facilities are obviously really important,” Golden said, “I’m looking forward to the additions that we’re doing kind of renovating and kind of cleaning up our practice facility.
Can Florida basketball stay competitive in recruiting, NIL?
Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful program. Former UF basketball coach Billy Donovan took recruiting to new heights during his 19-year tenure, resulting in four Final Four appearances and two national titles (2006 and 2007) from 1996 to 2015.
Golden and his staff have been given the latitude to recruit internationally, which costs money and is part of his strategy to build UF into a consistent winning program. In two seasons, Golden has signed three international players, sophomore center Alex Szymczyk (Frankfurt, Germany), freshman forward Alex Condon (Perth, Australia) and freshman point guard Kajus Kublickas (Kaunas, Lithuania).
Florida Victorious. UF’s official Name, Image and Likeness collective, has stabilized NIL opportunities for athletics. NIL deals from Florida Victorious helped UF not only retain junior guard Will Richard and sophomore guard Riley Kugel but land a transfer class that ranked in the top 15 nationally.
“From my perspective NIL is a little more important at this point,” Golden said. “It’s something that’s a little more tangible for the student-athletes and something in the past 12 to 18 months has become really prevalent in our sport, our profession.”
UF basketball coaching and support staff increases
Florida basketball expanded its coaching staff before the start of the 2023-24 season, adding John Andrzejek and promoting former Gator great Taurean Green to an assistant coach/player development role.
“We’ll continue to look for ways that we can support them,” Stricklin said. “Todd’s decision to bring a guy like Taurean Green in is I think a great example of looking for people who have experience and understand the place and can bring value.”