GAINESVILLE — Former Florida coach Billy Donovan returned to Gainesville on Monday for his final press conference at the university that hired him 19 seasons ago.
The 49-year-old coach, who on Thursday accepted the head coaching job with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, told the gathered media, friends and family that he couldn’t leave Florida without a proper farewell.
UF athletics director Jeremy Foley, who hired Donovan in 1996 when he was the head coach at Marshall, said that the bond he shared with Donovan was stronger than he ever anticipated it being when he first introduced the then-30-year-old Rockville Centre, New York, native that would turn Florida’s basketball program into a perennial contender for nearly two decades.
Ex-basketball coach Billy Donovan says ‘proper’ farewell to University of Florida
