The comprehensive makeover, set to begin after the 2026 season, will address every nook, cranny and luxury suite at the iconic venue while nearly doubling Florida’s game-day revenue to roughly $140 million, Stricklin said. Game days generate approximately $75 million annually through ticket sales, donor contributions, concessions and parking, a figure UF’s University Athletics Association projects will increase by roughly $65 million.

Additional dollars are sure to be available with sponsorships as schools push for revenue streams to help further offset the project’s cost and finance a competitive football team amid an era of escalating athlete compensation. Florida’s investment in football and men’s basketball exceeds more than $50 million and continues to rise.

“I think we can be really aggressive,” Stricklin said. “This will generate a lot of excitement, not only among fans, but also among businesses that want to figure out how to be a part of it. We can leverage that to not only help pay for the stadium, but for NIL opportunities.”

Stricklin understands the stakes and expects criticism of an eye-popping price tag unprecedented in college athletics.

“It’s a big number,” he said.

Fans’ concern over seating and game-day atmosphere is sure to be just as vocal.

Changes were inevitable, however, to the lower bowl, where roughly 90% of fans currently sit. To comply with American Disability Act standards, widened aisles and handrails will reduce capacity. Bleacher seats also will be slightly wider.

Yet, UF expects to maintain the currently capacity of 88,548.

“The lower bowl is gonna lose some seats — the law requires it,” Stricklin said. “I don’t think holistically it will change at all.”

Texas A&M spent $450 million to overhaul Kyle Field in 2013-14, a project Stricklin called “the most comprehensive until now.”

“This is a 360-degree, every inch of this stadium is going to be effected,” he said.

New video boards above each end zone, expanded concourses, approximately 145 luxury suites — up from 82 — and a matching exterior facade are among the highlights.

Construction plans also include premium party deck areas in the north end zone corners where fans can socialize while maintaining views of Steve Spurrier-Florida Field.

Some seating will shift from the lower bowl to newly expanded areas higher in the stadium structure, the so-called “halo.”

“The higher you go up to build, the more expensive it is,” Stricklin said. “It’s probably the most expensive form of construction, but it was the only way to do it and protect the bowl.”

Stricklin said UF took “great pains” to maintain the lower bowl’s integrity and the Swamp’s historic character, including orange wing walls and the close fan-to-field proximity at a stadium ranked 10th in attendance over the past five years.

Massive makeovers at Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Lambeau Field served as both an inspiration and template when discussions about Swamp upgrades began in 2018, when early estimates were conservatively set at $400 million.

“Since 2018 we’ve seen cost escalations, and the scope and scale has changed dramatically,” Stricklin said.

Tickets prices have risen during that time, but Stricklin said the average fan should not expect dramatic increases.

“There’s going to be a price point for everybody who wants to come to these games,” he said. “People who are having high-value seats will probably see an increase. Those with less-valuable seats probably will hardly see any difference, other than what a regular inflationary uptick might be.”

New premium areas, currently enclosed behind glass, will be open-air to create a more immersive experience.

“Our tagline for this is going to be, ‘Bigger, Better, Louder,’” Stricklin said. “More structure is going to hold in more sound. This is going to be a louder environment.”

UF released details of a project years in the making on Thursday after the school’s Board of Trustees approved planning and construction management firms. A website featuring FAQs and stadium renderings was launched Thursday and will be updated as the project unfolds.

“It’s the next step in the process of what we think will get to the point where we’re full speed ahead,” Stricklin said of the board’s approval.

Funding is expected to come through a combination of private giving, capital reserves and long-term debt, with final approval of the Florida Board of Governors anticipated in September, when coach Jon Sumrall’s first season with the Gators is underway.

Around $500 million will go to address deferred maintenance, infrastructure and ADA compliance.

Florida will continue to play its typical home schedule amid the four-year project at the Swamp — the nickname Steve Spurrier bestowed on one of the best game-day atmospheres in college football.

Stricklin said the experience will be even better once the renovation is completed.

“When people walk in it for the first time, they’re going to be blown away, and the money’s going to seem very well spent,” he said.

One thing, he said, will not change: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will remain Florida football’s most high-profile and valuable asset.

Only a handful of college football stadiums are known nationally by their nicknames: LSU and Clemson’s both have a Death Valley, Michigan’s got its Big House, and Ohio State has its Horseshoe.

“Everyone knows the Swamp,” Stricklin said.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

UF announced Thursday the comprehensive, multi-phase project is set to begin after the 2026 season and be completed by the 2030 season.

The overhaul is vast and ambitious, but aims to maintain the current capacity of 88,548 while preserving the spirit of the Swamp — the nickname Steve Spurrier bestowed on one of the best game-day atmospheres in college football.

In a letter to alumni, Board of Trustees chair Mori Hosseini wrote the project “will breathe new life into one of the nation’s most iconic college football venues and elevate it into the premier collegiate athletic destination that sets the standard for everyone else.”

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin addressed the board Thursday morning to discuss the most expensive renovation in the history of college athletics.

The project aims to maintain the Swamp’s historic character, including orange Wing Walls and the close fan-to-field experience at a stadium ranked 10th in attendance over the past five years.

“Every decision throughout the design process has been evaluated through the lens of preserving and amplifying the energy that makes Ben Hill Griffin Stadium unique,” Stricklin said. “The design will maintain the intimacy of the seating bowl, preserve the proximity of fans to the field, and continue to create the intimidating environment that has defined Florida Football for generations. We are not diminishing what makes The Swamp special — we are strengthening it.”

UF’s committee on facilities and capital investment approved Legends Global to help guide strategic planning and execution of the massive project. Manhattan Construction Group and Hunt Construction Group will partner as the construction management team.

A day after it appointed former University of Alabama president Stuart Bell to serve as UF’s next president, the board was scheduled to vote whether to approve the project at Thursday’s annual meeting.

Funding is expected to come through a combination of private donations, capital reserves and long-term debt, with final approval of the Florida Board of Governors anticipated in the fall, when coach Jon Sumrall’s first season with the Gators is underway.

The expected improvements will include more accessible concessions, improved restroom access, better traffic flow throughout the stadium, upgraded technology and additional gathering spaces. To comply with American Disability Act standards, widened aisles and handrails will add to the stadium’s lower bowl, thereby forcing seats to be moved higher in the stadium structure.

Completed in October 1930, Florida Field originally had a capacity of 21,769. Over the years, the stadium expanded several times, with the last major project a $50 million renovation of the west side of the stadium in 2005.

Approaching his 10-year anniversary as AD in November, Stricklin is determined to ensure the centerpiece of UF’s campus remains among the sport’s premier venues and top money makers well into the future.

“The Swamp is one of the most iconic stadiums in American sports,” he said. “It serves as the front porch of our athletics program, a symbol of the University of Florida, and the setting for some of the most memorable moments in our institution’s history. This renovation represents an investment in the future of one of the nation’s premier football programs, an investment in the experience of our fans and students, and an investment in a facility that will continue to serve the University of Florida for decades to come.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

The SEC Network’s “Inside the 2026 Football Schedule” on Wednesday night unveiled television windows for conference teams playing a nine-game slate for the first time.

Florida’s annual matchup with Georgia Oct. 31 is set for its accustomed 3:30 p.m. slot, but will be played in Atlanta as the home stadium of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars is undergoing renovations.

Times and television networks have not been fully determined for other SEC matchups.

First-year coach Jon Sumrall’s team will play in the early television window at either noon or 1 p.m. against South Carolina Oct. 10 in the Swamp, Oct. 17 at Texas in Austin and versus Vanderbilt Nov. 21 in Gainesville. Florida’s Nov. 14 trip to Kentucky will be contested between 6 and 8 p.m.

A Sept. 26 home matchup with Ole Miss, an Oct. 3 visit to Missouri and Nov. 7 date with Oklahoma in the Swamp will be flexed, meaning the games would be played between 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

The Gators will open the season at 7:45 p.m. Sept. 5 against FAU in Gainesville on SEC Network, followed by a vist from Campbell on Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. Florida will open SEC play on the road against Auburn at 7 p.m. on Sept. 10.

Florida will close the regular season on Friday, Nov. 27 at Florida State, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

This time, Florida’s iconic track and field coach finally delivered perfection.

The moment the bowling ball left his hand, Holloway knew.

“Halfway down the lane, I thought it was a strike — and it was,” he told the Orlando Sentinel.

Three consecutive strikes to close the game completed a long-awaited 300, bowling’s gold standard. Holloway even has a ring emblazoned with “300” to commemorate one of his favorite athletic accomplishments away from the track.

At Florida, though, perfection has looked different.

For more than two decades, the man best known as “Mouse” has built one of the most successful programs in college sports, piling up championships with a consistency few coaches in any sport can match.

The latest SEC title was the 20th of Holloway’s career. His program entered this week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with 14 national titles in the trophy case and realistic chances at adding Nos. 15 and 16.

Holloway especially likes the outlook for a women’s team that has spent years operating in the shadows of the powerhouse men’s program, winners of seven national outdoor titles — including in 2022 when the women also won.

Last month, Gators rolled to the SEC title by 20 ½ points over Alabama to sweep the conference cross country, indoor and outdoor championships. It marked the women’s first triple crown since the 1996-97 season under the late Tom Jones.

“The women have been doing this for a while,” Holloway said. “It’s just been because of the ultra success of the men’s program. People say, ‘What’s wrong with your women’s team?’ I’m like, ‘There’s nothing wrong with the women; they just happen to be on the same campus with the best team in the last two decades, that’s all.’

“It’s just that the shine is on them now.”

The spotlight rarely stays away from Holloway for long.

Everything at James G. Pressly Stadium/Percy Beard Track tends to orbit around the program’s 67-year-old coach, whose ability to identify talent, build culture and manage personalities has been the foundation of Florida’s success.

“He understands people,” record-setting discus throw Alidda van Daalen told the Sentinel. “Before he recruits with them, he just can see if it’s a fit for the team or not, or if he likes their personality. You can be the greatest athlete to be stepping foot in Florida, but if he doesn’t like your attitude, you’re not coming here.

“I respect that from him, because that keeps a very good balance in our team.”

Holloway’s impact resonates throughout the athletic department.

“He’s just really driven, has an incredible work ethic and he never makes excuses,” athletic director Scottt Stricklin told the Sentinel. “Whatever he has to work with, he’s like, it’s our job to figure it out now. He’s got a kind of a can-do attitude, and that leads to a lot of success.”

Holloway’s ability to strike the right balance invariably shows during championship season.

Florida has produced Olympic champions Grant Holloway, Kerron Clement, Christian Taylor and Tony McQuay under his watch. More recently, distance runner Parker Valby recently rewrote the collegiate record books, while van Daalen continues to push the boundaries in the discus.

Her throw of 218 feet, 10 inches set an SEC Championship meet record, and her toss of 227-5 at the East Preliminary on May 30 is the longest throw ever recorded at an NCAA-sanctioned event.

“That’s kind of what we do,” Mike Holloway said. “This is kind of the Florida way.”

Yet some of his best coaching has come without transcendent stars.

The 2024 men’s team edged Auburn 41-40 for the national championship by winning on the margins. Ten different athletes carved out points, ranging from a runner-up finish to an eighth-place showing worth a single point — ultimately the difference between first and second.

The victory was another chapter in a remarkable run of success.

Florida as a whole has won at least one national team championship since the men’s indoor track and field title in 2010, a streak that now stretches through the men’s basketball title in 2025.

Ten different men’s and women’s programs have claimed national championships during that span. Track and field stood alone as the university’s sole title winner during six separate years: 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2024.

As the NCAA Championships begin, Stricklin and Gator Nation know exactly where to place their faith.

“In Mouse we trust,” Stricklin said.

The confidence comes from years of results.

It’s the same self-assurancedness Holloway eventually developed as a bowler after taking up the sport in 2012 when fellow coaches invited him to Ally Gatorz Bowling Center.

“We joined the league, and I wasn’t very good,” he recalled.

True to form, Holloway, a former hurdler and recreational basketball player, went to work. He raised his average from 150 to more than 200. A decade earler, Holloway was on pace for a perfect game when he reached the 11th frame, finishing with a 289.

“I missed my mark by about that much” he said, holding his thumb and forefinger centimeters apart. “I left the wall pin as the head pin, which is really hard to do.”

This time was different.

After burying the pocket twice to open the 10th frame, he arrived at the 12th free of mind.

“I go, ‘Hey, I can throw it in the gutter now. That’s a new PB, it’s 291,’ ” Holloway said. “That helped me relax.”

Florida fans can feel much the same this week.

The Gators’ championship streak is on the line, but it remains in the hands of a coach who has spent a career delivering when the pressure is greatest.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

The Gators’ All-American star forward knew things would be far different as a professional, once he left behind his college life at UF.

Jenn Haugh made sure her son knew what he’d be getting into, even as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 draft. She reached out to Cheryl Foster, the mother of former Florida All-American Walter Clayton Jr.

Clayton, the No 18 pick in the 2025 draft, was on his second team during his first season, having been traded in February after 45 games with the Jazz to the Memphis Grizzlies. After a legendary NCAA Tournament performance during the Gators’ 2005 title run, he averaged seven points as a rookie.

“The NBA life is, is no joke,” Haugh said Tuesday. “I think my mom didn’t really realize that until she talked to Walt’s mom a little bit. You get traded any day of the week; you’re not out there going and getting dinners with your guys every night — or like going on fun trips and stuff like that. It’s a job.

“I think that kind of, I knew that personally, but my mom, I think it kind of put into perspective, like it’s a job. Yeah, she was on my back, ‘Hey, we might want to think about going back.’ ”

Haugh is back to spearhead one final run at a title, with close friend and roommate Alex Condon and brutish big man Rueben Chinyelu also deciding to defer his own NBA dreams.

Expecations will be sky high, but so will the Gators’ goals.

“It’s national championship or bust,” said Haugh.

The preseason No. 1 ranking is likely for Todd Golden’s team. A target will be squarely on the back of a squad returning six of its top scorers from the reigning SEC regular-season champions, while luring shooting guard Denzel Aberdeen back from Kentucky, adding two promising international players (6-foot-10 Arturas Butajevas and 6-foot-9 Domen Petrovic) and bringing back promising sophomores Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram.

When the team opened summer practices Monday, competition was fierce and the Gators’ potential obvious.

“It is insane. The pickup games. It’s crazy,” Haugh said. “I don’t know if any team ever had this much depth.”

Few teams have as much to prove.

Haugh initially struggled to process the Gators’ 73-72 stunning loss as a No. 1 seed to Iowa during the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Last year our team deserved to go farther,” Haugh said. “We had the squad to do it, the coaching staff to do it. It’s basketball. That’s why it’s called March Madness.

“We were on the positive side the year before that of it and we get the negative side of it then.”

The disappointment, coupled with a considerable NIL investment from the school’s collective Florida Victorious, ultimately reunited Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu on a single-minded mission.

The Gators are believed to have a roster tipping the balance sheet at $25 million.

“In today’s age, that’s college basketball,” Haugh said. “Here at the University of Florida, with Florida Victorious and everybody are able to make our team what we are today and return me, Condo, Rue, and try to get Denzel, and return Boogie (Fland), Urb (Klavzar), you can just see the NIL landscape’s impact.

“You don’t really see that nowadays with guys staying loyal to their school because they can go get a paycheck somewhere else. But with that investment that Florida Victorious made in our team this year, you get retention like you see this year with us.”

Haugh calls his NIL riches “a blessing,” but also knows it isn’t the product of divine intervention.

“I can attribute that to the hard work I’ve put in the last couple of years,” he said. “My parents, the way they raised me — I just want to represent the University of Florida the best I can. They’re investing that much in me and I want to invest the same amount of time and practice and hard work back to the university.”

Haugh has been on a steady progress since he arrived as a lightly recruited 3-star recruit that Golden felt was just tapping his potential.

In 2023-24, he appeared in all 36 games as a freshman reserve, including two starts, while averaging 3.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 14.7 minutes. Haugh then developed into one of the nation’s top sixth men as a sophomore, averaging 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. He finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds during the Gators’ epic comeback from 10 points down in the final six minutes to slip by Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.

Last season, Haugh emerged as one of the nation’s top players while moving away from the basket to the wing, to the “three” position. The 6-foot-9 Pennsylvania native expects to take another big step in his evolution during his second season at the three spot.

During the offseason he and Condon trained in Los Angeles, with Aberdeen also visiting and looking to elevate his game. Patrick Williams, a former first-round pick from Florida State, also worked out on the West Coast.

The right-handed Haugh said he and Williams worked tirelessly to improve their ballhandling and shooting with their left hand. Three-point shooting was another primary focus for Haugh, who shot 32.6% from long range and was 3-of-18 during his final four games, including the loss to Iowa (2-of-8) and against Vanderbilt (1-of-4) in the SEC Tournament title game.

“It’s just being able to be more comfortable in the three (position),” he said. “Having that under my belt, I should be more experienced out there on the perimeter, be able to hit people, make some more assists out there in the corner, and also knock down more shots.

“Towards the end of the year, I started shooting a little bit worse. So I need to just stay consistent through the entire year.”

Despite all the reasons his return made sense, Haugh struggled to decide whether to begin his NBA career.

Unexpected advice came courtesy of Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, now teammate of former Gator Will Richard, who facilitated a 45-minute phone call.

“He said he would have come back, too,” Haugh said of Green.

Teammates, coaches, friends and family remained anxious for a decision as Haugh and his girlfriend vacationed this past April in Hawaii, where the couple ignored their phones.

“I’m out there just chilling in Hawaii,” Haugh said. “I kind of felt bad. So right when I got back, I was like, ‘I need to make a decision.’ My dad was kind of getting on me.”

Haugh said he reached out to Golden, who flew to L.A. with his staff to meet Haugh at All Time, a dining hot spot in the city. Before lunch was served, Haugh delivered the news.

“I didn’t make them wait, I told them at the beginning,” he said.

The group exchanged hugs, broke bread and set a championship course for the Gators.

Golden traveled 3,000 miles to find out Haugh would return to the Gators, and join his coach among the highest-paid members of the school’s athletics department. When it was time to pony up for lunch, the 6-foot-9 Haugh developed alligator arms.

“Todd got the check,” he said, with a laugh.

Haugh plans to pay it forward this season while pushing to become the rare UF athletes with two national championships. The list includes basketball stars Al Horford and Joakim Noah and football greats Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow, Haugh’s childhood idol.

“I like to just keep it down and keep it humble,” Haugh said. “But if we go out there and win another national championship, I think this team and the players on it will be remembered like those two Florida football teams with Tebow.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

The additions give Florida 21 commitments in its 2027 recruiting class, which ranks No. 4 nationally in the 247Sports composite team rankings.

Wheeler, a 6-foot-5, 266-pound prospect from St. Paul’s School in Baltimore, is rated the nation’s No. 11 defensive lineman and No. 108 overall recruit in the 2027 cycle. He becomes the 14th Florida commitment ranked among the top-300 nationally.

In seven games during the 2025 season, Wheeler recorded 30 tackles, including four sacks. He is the highest-rated defensive lineman among the five defensive line commitments in Florida’s 2027 class.

Johnson, a 6-foot, 185-pound playmaker from Clinch County High School in Homerville, Georgia, adds versatility to the Gators’ class.

Over the past two seasons, he has caught 68 passes for 1,559 yards — an average of 22.9 yards per reception — and 16 touchdowns. Johnson also contributed on defense in 2025, totaling 29 tackles and five interceptions. A dynamic return specialist, he scored on two punt returns and one kickoff return.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

The Blue Devils will visit the O’Connell Center during the 2026-27 a season, one year after Florida traveled to Durham and suffered a 67-66 loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Both programs are expected to enter the season ranked among the nation’s top five teams, with the Gators likely in the top spot after returning six of their top seven scorers along with the frontcourt of Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. Each received postseason recognition after the Gators led the nation in rebounding, won the SEC regular season and earned a No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Gators’ 73-72 loss to Iowa in the second round spurred the trio to return to school for their senior seasons. Chinyelu, Condon and Haugh combined for an average of 43.1 points and 24.8 rebounds.

Florida also returns starting point guard Boogie Fland and SEC Sixth Man of the Year Urban Klavzar.

Guard Denzel Aberdeen also transferred back from Kentucky after spending a season with the Wildcats after the Orlando native helped the Gators to the 2025 national title. Aberdeen, a former Dr. Phillips standout, has applied for an NCAA waiver for a fifth season and could join a deep guard rotation that includes Fland, Klavzar, Isaiah Brown, AJ Brown and Alex Lloyd.

Golden also added two intriguing international prospects: 6-foot-10 forward Arturas Butajevas of Lithuania and 6-foot-9 Domen Petrovic of Slovenia.

Duke, meanwhile, lost All-American center Cameron Boozer to the NBA draft after one season in Durham. But Jon Scheyer’s squad returns starting point guard Cayden Boozer, veteran guard Caleb Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II, a projected first-round pick in 2027.

The Blue Devils also added Wisconsin transfer guard John Blackwell, who averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting nearly 39% from 3-point range.

The Gators won their only previous home game in the SEC-ACC Challenge, an 87-69 victory against Virginia on Dec. 4, 2024.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

Soon, he hopes to win more titles with the Gators.

“I already have a lot of good rings,” Bell said Thursday on the “The Frangie Show” on 1010XL in Jacksonville. “I want some more of those.”

Bell has deep ties to the Southeastern Conference.

He served as Alabama’s president from July 2015 to July 2025, a span during which the Crimson Tide won two national championships and five SEC titles under Nick Saban. Before that, Bell was LSU’s provost from 2012 to 2015 and spent 16 years on Alabama’s faculty from 1986 to 2002.

The 69-year-old earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a bachelors degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M long before the Aggies joined the league.

Bell’s passion and interest in college athletics will serve him well if the school’s Board of Trustees approves him following a formal interview June 10, followed by a vote. The state’s Board of Governors has final approval.

Over the years, he has witnessed the expectations in Gainesville and throughout the premiere athletics conference.

“Gator Nation, they’re used to winning,” he said.

Bell knows the SEC’s competitive landscape well. He served as president of the conference from 2023 to 2025 and on its Executive Committee from 2021 to 2025.

“We all have the same target,” he said. “That’s to make sure that our athletic plan is able to compete at the highest level, and my expectation is win some championships.”

While at Alabama, Bell attended Heisman Trophy ceremonies, including those honoring Crimson Tide winners DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Bryce Young in 2021. There, he met Florida legends Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.

“I actually stood up with some of those guys and got to know them,” Bell said. “They’re just a lot of fun.”

Bell said he appreciates the pageantry and traditions that define college football programs.

“I think about just the traditions that have meant so much at Florida, and traditions matter,” he said. “I know there’s a lot around the Gator Bait (cheer). It’s meaningful to the Gator family. I hope we’re able to have some really great conversations around that.”

Former UF President Kent Fuchs announced in June 2020 that Florida’s band would no longer play the musical cue prompting fans to chant “Gator Bait” because of concerns about possible racial undertones. Art depicting alligator hunters using Black babies to lure the animals into the open was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The decision came amid a broader national reckoning on race following the murder of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Bell emerged as the sole finalist as UF president after the school began its third presidential search in four years in December 2025. Florida’s Board of Governors rejected the selection of Dr. Santa Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, in June 2025.

UF’s Board of Trustees subsequently extended the contract of Fuchs, who had served as the university’s interim president since Aug. 1, 2024, after serving in the position from 2015 until 2023.

Donald W. Landry, a professor of medicine at Columbia University, has served as interim president since September 2025.

Bell would become UF’s first permanent president since Ben Sasse resigned in July 2024, fewer than 18 months after taking office. Sasse said he stepped down to help care for his wife as she dealt with epilepsy.

Sasse was diagnosed in December 2025 with stage-four pancreatic cancer.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

A day later, coach Jon Sumrall and his staff landed 4-star defensive tackle Zahmar Tookes as Florida’s class jumped to No. 3 nationally, according to 247Sports’ composite team rankings.

Jackson’s decision continued the success of offensive line coach Phil Trautwein landing top prospects at an area critical to Sumrall’s rebuild. The 6-foot-6, 297-pound Jackson and 6-foot-4, 235-pound Tookes are among 13 top-300 prospects in UF’s 19-member class.

Jackson, who hails from Lithonia, ranks as the nation’s No. 14 player at his position and No. 135 overall, based on 247Sports’ composite rankings. He is the fourth offensive lineman in Florida’s 2027 class.

Jackson joins Pennsylvania 5-star Maxwell Hiller, the nation’s top-rated interior lineman, Elijah Hutcheson, a 4-star prospect from Roanoke, Virginia, rated the nation’s No. 7 offensive tackle, and 4-star offensive lineman Peyton Miller of Texas, the nation’s No. 8 interior lineman.

Trautwein’s impact has been immediate since Sumrall’s December hiring of the former Gators’ All-SEC offensive tackle.

Last week at the SEC spring meetings, Sumrall said recruiting is a staff-wide effort.

“The one thing that we’re unique about, is we staff recruit more than (most),” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “Phil deserves all the credit in the world, but we put him on the staff recruit list. I want the whole staff to be all hands on deck with recruiting every player.”

Meanwhile, Tookes, who hails from Rochester, New York, is rated his state’s top prospect, No. 28 at his position and No. 250 nationally overall, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. He had 77 tackles, including 10 for loss, in 2025 for Brighton High School.

The Gators also added 4-star linebacker Ja’Bios Smith this past week. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Smith is a native of Swainsboro, Georgia, rated the nation’s No. 12 linebacker and No. 142 overall prospect.

He recorded 160 tackles, including 13 for loss, the past two seasons.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

Kevin O’Sullivan’s team entered the tournament as the No. 8 national seed and positioned to host the school’s first Super Regional since 2023 in the Gators’ bid for their third College World Series appearance in four seasons. Instead, Florida (41-21) fell for the fourth time during a regional since 2021.

On paper, Troy was a huge underdog. The Trojans earned the regional’s No. 3 seed and slipped into the 64-team field as an at-large team out of the Sun Belt Conference.

But for two days at Condron Family Ballpark, the Trojans (36-30) were the superior team in every way.

“They outplayed us in two games,” O’Sullivan said. “They deserve to move on.”

A night after Troy recorded five home runs and 17 hits during a 16-11 rout to force a winner-take-all rematch, O’Sullivan sent out Cooper Walls, with the Gators’ pitching options limited after three games in three days.

Walls, a 6-foot-5 right-hander and Hawaii transfer, immediately struggled, managing just one strike on his first seven pitches.

Josh Pyne connected on his eighth pitch for a single. Two batters later, Troy star catcher Jimmy Janicki ripped a double down the right-field line to score two runners before Walls struck out the next two batters.

After Walls walked the first batter he faced in the top of the second inning, O’Sullivan sent in Caden McDonald, the team’s designated hitter and one of Florida’s better relievers.

“There were some other options, but Coop has started for us before,” O’Sullivan said. “We just didn’t get the start that we needed. Quite frankly, we just didn’t pitch well enough in this tournament.”

McDonald’s outing started well enough. Troy’s Jabe Boroff hit into a double play, and Houston Markham flew out to end the inning, beginning a scoreless four-inning stretch by the sophomore right-hander from Tampa.

Trailing 2-0, the Gators got on the board after Cade Kurland opened the bottom of the fifth inning with a double down the left-field line against reliever Benjamin Stubbs. Florida’s veteran second baseman scored two batters later on a single by Kyle Jones.

In a regional where 36 home runs were launched in seven games — and each of the six previous games featured no fewer than 15 combined runs — the finale was shaping up to be a low-scoring, old-school affair.

But O’Sullivan then made another pitching change.

The longtime Florida coach swapped a tiring McDonald for Russell Sandefer with one out in the top of the sixth inning. Sandefer, a UCF transfer, walked the three batters he faced to load the bases, though, which led O’Sullivan to turn to senior left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola.

“It’s always easy to second guess,” O’Sullivan said. “But I saw (McDonald) in the dugout and he looked gassed. I made a decision and obviously it didn’t work out.”

Lugo-Canchola, who struggled Sunday night in limited action, gave up five runs. A two-run single by left fielder Drew Nelson and a two-RBI double by Boroff book-ended a squeeze bunt RBI single where no one covered first base for Florida.

Troy ended the inning ahead 7-1, with the game effectively out of reach.

Florida did manage a run in the top of the seventh inning on a single by leadoff hitter Jones, scoring Landon Stripling. But with runners on first and second and facing a full count, Florida home-run leader Brendan Lawson hit an infield pop-up to second base to end the inning.

Troy added to its lead in the top of the eight inning on a three-run home run by Boroff, who broke open Sunday night’s game with a grand slam.

“It’s surreal,” said Boroff, who was named the regional’s most valuable player.

Before routing the Gators on Saturday night, Troy rallied from a 6-2 deficit to beat Miami 9-6. To earn their at-large bid, the Trojans made a run at the Sun Belt tournament title, beating in-state rival South Alabama twice in the double-elimination format to reach the semifinals. It was enough for Troy to join four other Sun Belt schools in the field of 64.

“No one does that two times in two weeks — come on,” coach Skylar Meade. “This team’s built for it.”

Troy’s mettle and hitting have set up an improbable Super Regional meeting on the Trojans’ home field against Arkansas-Little Rock (36-26). Little Rock, of the Ohio Valley Conference, was the No. 4 seed and champion of the Hattiesburg Regional at Southern Miss. Whichever school wins the Super Regional — both are the Trojans — there will be a surprise participant in the College World Series.

“It’s really tough in baseball,” Meade said. “Beautiful things do happen where unpredictability prevails. There’s a reason college baseball … the excitement is through the roof. It is an absolutely great thing for the sport.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com