Florida gets another championship celebration, this one in the Swamp in front of nearly 60K

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Todd Golden already has a spot picked out for the Final Four net he cut down in San Antonio.

On Saturday, though, it felt right at home around his neck.

Golden and the Gators were revered in another national championship celebration, this one in front of nearly 60,000 fans at Florida Field during an extended halftime of the annual football spring game. The hoops team has one more get-together on tap: at the White House, presumably this summer.

“It’s just absurd,” Golden said. “Today was awesome. … Our guys, especially our older guys, are going to be moving on to go train for the draft. You don’t know if they’re going to be around.

“To be able to put something like this together on kind of short notice and do a great job honoring our players in front of our fans, which to me is the most important thing. People that have been supporting us really all year got to see these guys together again one last time. It was special.”

Golden wore the remnants of one of the nets from the Alamodome; center Micah Handlogten wore the other. Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard carried trophies into the Swamp.

Highlights from Florida’s six NCAA Tournament victories flashed on the stadium replay boards as players and coaches were introduced one by one. Clayton, named most outstanding player of the Final Four, and Golden — hardly surprisingly — received the loudest ovations.

Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward presented Golden with a key to the city “so you’ll always know 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 five national championship-winning coaches at Florida — J.C. Deacon (men’s…

Source link : https://www.nbcsports.com/mens-college-basketball/news/florida-gets-another-championship-celebration-this-one-in-the-swamp-in-front-of-nearly-60k

Author :

Publish date : 2025-04-13 13:53:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.