So much for a jump to the NBA.
With his contract set to expire in the spring of 2016, Billy Donovan has inked a deal that ups his pay to 3.7 million and will keep him in Gainesville through 2019. The deal paid him a $250,000 longevity bonus before March 1 and increased his base salary nearly $100,000 a season.
The signing comes only days after Donovan admitted that he was interested in trying his hand in the NBA. After the second of two straight national championships in 2007, Donovan accepted the job as the head coach of the Orlando Magic, which he saw through for all of a few days. He then bolted back to Gainesville, rode through a couple of rough years before getting the Gator program back on track. Since the 2010 reboot, Florida is the only school to make three straight Elite 8’s and four straight 16’s- and they can increase the former number with a win over UCLA Thursday night.
It would have been nothing short of a complete shock to see Donovan leave, but it’s nice to see some real proof that it’s definitely not going to happen.