Todd Golden leaves San Francisco to become Florida head coach hours after NCAA tournament loss

Staff writer

Fri, 18 Mar 2022, 7:54 pm·1-min read

Hours after losing in the NCAA tournament, San Francisco head coach Todd Golden has a new job.

Florida announced on Friday that it's hired Golden as its men's basketball coach. He was an assistant in San Francisco for three seasons prior to taking the lead job. He'll replace Mike White, who departed last week to coach rival Georgia after seven seasons in Gainesville.

Golden, 36, spent three seasons as San Francisco's head coach. The Dons bounced back from an 11-14 campaign last season to 24-10 this season and earned the program's first NCAA tournament bid since 1998. The Dons were a No. 10 seed as an at-large team out of the WCC. They went 57-36 during his tenure as head coach.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 17: Head coach Todd Golden of the San Francisco Dons looks on during the second half against the Murray State Racers in the first round game of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 17, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) — Todd Golden has a new job and a big pay raise. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Golden's deal is worth $3 million per year over six years, a significant raise over his salary at USF, where he reportedly earned roughly $400,000 last season.

San Francisco lost in overtime to No. 7 seed Murray State late Thursday night in the first round of tournament play. By Friday afternoon, Golden was officially hired in Florida.

"I'm energized by the opportunity to lead an elite program at Florida, and I'm ready to get started," Golden said per a Florida statement. "We couldn't be more excited about what the future holds in Gainesville."

Golden is familiar with the SEC, having spent three seasons at Auburn from 2014-16 as an assistant under Bruce Pearl. He played point guard for St. Mary's from 2004-08, where he started 82 of the 109 games he played in.