From The Director's Desk: Our Q&A with Gators Athletics Director Jeremy Foley
Monday, January 26, 2015 | General
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida's athletic calendar for the 2014-15 season is nearing the start of baseball and softball season in February.
Meanwhile, the men's and women's basketball teams are past the midway point and several other sports are in full swing on UF's campus.
Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley is approaching the 23rd anniversary of the day he was introduced as AD in March 1992. Foley is the longest-tenured athletics director in the Southeastern Conference and sat down with GatorZone.com for a Q&A last week after returning from the annual NCAA Convention.
Here is our Q&A:
Q: How does the autonomy legislation for the Power Five conferences that passed at the NCAA Convention immediately impact the University of Florida?
A: The cost of attendance that passed is obviously an opportunity for us to do something that we've all talked about for our student-athletes for a number of years now. In essence, it increases the value of their scholarship. There's going to be a financial impact for us, a little over a million dollars. But it's money well spent and certainly I think the new autonomy structure has allowed that to happen. It excites us that we had the flexibility to do something like that, and I'm sure there will be more changes in the future.
Q: Now that the dust has settled on the hiring of head football coach Jim McElwain and you have spent time around him, what has you optimistic about the future of the program under his direction?
A: I'm very impressed with the staff that he has put together. I'm very impressed by how he did it, very thoughtful, very deliberate. He found pieces that fit, not only good coaches but good people and really good recruiters. I see the chemistry in the football office and have already watched it grow. It's something special. I've been impressed with the way the kids have bought in, the way they have been around the coaches and how hard they are working in the weight room. I think Mac's got a plan and he is going to enact that plan thoughtfully and deliberately. I like the way he treats people. I said that when we hired him. Inside the building is important to us and he's done nothing but enhance the environment inside the building during a time that, candidly, is difficult when you are saying goodbye to one staff and hello to a new staff, saying goodbye to friends and trying to meet new friends. He's made the transition that much easier by the way he has handled everything.
Q: The SEC Network is midway into its first season. How has that partnership gone so far in your view?
A: It's been outstanding. First of all, the number of homes coming out of the box -- I think it's over 60 million -- the number of events that have been telecast, the job they have done for all our sports. The job they did during football season was spectacular, especially with SEC Nation coming to different campuses and Tim Tebow being involved and people like that. I think it's been a daily advertisement for the quality of this league. For the Commissioner and his staff, and ESPN, their vision to me has been even better than anyone could have anticipated. And I just see it getting better and better.
Q: The plans to build an indoor practice facility made headlines. How important do you see that facility in this day and age?
A: I know the indoor practice facility has been the subject of a lot of conversation through the years by our fans and all of our previous coaches. We've had a lot of success around here doing what we've been doing, and that's going into the O'Connell Center, going into Florida Gym. We don't lose that many practices. It's worked out well. We've won a number of national championships, a number of conference championships. But the fact of the matter is that with the renovation of the O'Connell Center, what was our backup no longer existed. So you have no backup, in essence you're telling your football program that you've got no place to go. Obviously you could not do that. I think when you look at some of the weather changes, especially the heat early in the year, this facility is just going to enhance our program and give our coaches more options. We're excited about doing it. I think there is an opinion that we were dragging our feet on it, and I can understand that and accept that, but you know everything done here is done for a reason, done with a purpose, done with some thought behind it, and at the end of the day, we built the facility not only because we thought it would enhance our football program, maybe enhance recruiting, but our backup was gone. You certainly can't have a program of this magnitude and not have a backup for inclement weather.
Q: The men's basketball team is struggling compared to recent years and some fans appear restless because they are so accustomed to success under Billy Donovan. What's your message to them?
A: When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me that her father would go to the horse races and he always bet on the jockey, not the horse. I'll bet on our jockey every single day. He'll get this thing exactly the way he wants it, the way the university wants it, to what our fans expect. I don't worry one second about that. He's the best in the business and obviously we're fortunate to have him.
