Updated March 11, 2026, 6:55 p.m. ET
It has been 16 months since he was thrown into the guilty-until-proven-innocent social media wash cycle, buried by the anonymously depraved and willfully reckless sewer of discontent.
Now right here we’re, a world faraway from all of it for Florida coach Todd Golden, and the one query is what’s extra unthinkable: How rapidly we’ve forgotten what he endured off the courtroom from a four-month Title XI investigation that cleared him of any wrongdoing?
Or how he has since constructed essentially the most dominant program in college basketball.
“We’re playing really good basketball right now,” Golden stated.
That’s the secondary now to the first buildout of 16 months, one which has no friends within the eat-what-you-kill-world of the tenuous NIL period.
The Gators are 61-10 over the previous two seasons, together with a 33-6 report towards the very best convention in college basketball. They gained the nationwide title final season with a revamped roster and elite participant improvement — and did it by beating two No.1 seeds within the Final Four.
Then began over once more this season.
They misplaced the very best backcourt at school historical past, three guards crucial to the championship run now enjoying within the NBA. Lost another guard to Kentucky’s deep NIL wallet. Lost two assistant coaches to head teaching jobs.
They’ve had to change offensive kinds midseason, transferring to inside-out bully ball whereas by no means wavering from Golden’s defense-first mantra. They’ve gained 11 straight whereas beating the brakes off SEC competitors, and head into subsequent week’s NCAA Tournament as a possible No.1 seed — and the most well liked crew nobody needs to play.
The transformation has been as outstanding as revealing. From defending himself from what he known as — and an impartial legislation agency employed by Florida later agreed — baseless allegations, to his program chasing immortality.
Only UCLA beneath legendary coach John Wooden has had a number of back-to-back nationwide championships seasons. Not Duke or North Carolina, not Kansas or Kentucky or UConn.
Florida — the football school — is one postseason from becoming a member of UCLA as the one two-time, back-to-back nationwide champions within the sport’s historical past. Which, of course, brings us to Golden’s greatest transfer of all.
Surpassing the nice Billy Donovan in all of 4 seasons.
The coach along with his name on the court on the O’Connell Center. The coach who, over 19 seasons in Gainesville, modified the way in which they thought of basketball and have become the very best coach in any sport at school historical past. Better than Spurrier, higher than Urb.
Golden, 40, reached 100 wins at Florida in 139 video games; Donovan hit the quantity in 154. Golden is on the verge of getting his second No.1 seed within the NCAA Tournament, Donovan had two in his profession.
Donovan labored in an period of organically-developed rosters, the place longstanding recruiting relationships and longterm participant improvement bore the fruit of championship groups.
Golden works within the ever-changing, transitional now of college sports activities, the place’s he’s continually recruiting his personal roster whereas including impression items by means of the switch portal — and mining excessive colleges for philosophical suits who gained’t depart after one season.
Every sport is bought out within the 11,000-seat enviornment, and college students camp out days upfront for tickets. Golden connects with followers and big-money booster like few do, selling and defending this monster of a program he has constructed each likelihood he will get.
He stomps across the courtroom, and Gator chomps after wins. He bowed up to teaching legend John Calipari final month — Golden appears to be like like a highschool cross-country runner — after a 34-point emasculation of Arkansas, and jawed with a fan at Rupp Arena after yet one more assertion sport of who runs the very best convention in college basketball.
He’s all ball, no nonsense — which is why he doesn’t even communicate to the allegations of 16 months in the past. No sense in giving one thing that isn’t true extra oxygen.
He’s not making an attempt to please social media scavengers and headline chasers. He’s teaching ball — and doing it higher than anybody proper now.
“Didn’t lose in February,” Golden stated. “Got to try not to lose in March.”
Golden misplaced 29 video games in his first two seasons at Florida, an uneasy starting that pointed to a prove-it season in Year 3. Now he’s six NCAA Tournament wins from teaching immortality, and coping with the identical issues Donovan did over 20 years.
The blue-bloods will come calling, perhaps at the same time as quickly as this offseason. The Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina jobs might be accessible, so will many NBA jobs.
Who is aware of if he would go away? For that matter, who cares?
Nothing he may do from right here out will top this outstanding 16-month run. Not even a second nationwide title.
But since they’re gazing it, why not embrace it? Take these three SEC event video games this week, and the six NCAA Tournament video games it takes to win all of it — and depart little doubt.
“An unrealistic level of self-confidence?” Golden stated. “I hope so.”
There’s your social media story, scavengers. Run with that.
Matt Hayes is the senior nationwide college soccer author for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
