Todd Raymond Golden (born July 7, 1985) is an Israeli-American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach who is the current head coach of the

Florida Gators men's basketball The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played on Billy Donovan Court in the O'Connell Center, ...

team. In the 2024–25 season, Golden led the Gators to a 36–4 record and the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

Early life and education

Golden is from

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, and graduated from Sunnyslope High School in 2003. Golden played basketball and baseball at Sunnyslope and helped them win the 2002 Arizona 4A state championship in basketball, scoring 6 of their 62 points in a 62–61 victory. In 2003, Golden enrolled at

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

, where he played

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

Saint Mary's Gaels The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most vars ...

from 2004 to 2008. The Gaels would make appearances in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

NCAA Tournaments during his career, though he did not appear in their sole 2005 NCAA tournament game, a 65–56 loss to

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

. Golden played a total of 109 games with 82 starts, averaging 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. During his senior season of 2007–08, he ranked second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, and graduated as the Gaels' all-time leader in free-throw percentage (83.2%) before the record was broken by

Matthew Dellavedova Matthew William Dellavedova (born 8 September 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Saint Mar ...

Pro basketball career

From 2008 to 2010, Golden played for

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

. In two seasons with Maccabi Haifa, Golden played in 22 games and averaged 2.2 points. Golden also competed in the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games (), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Poli ...

with the USA Open Team.

Coaching career

After working in the private sector in advertising sales once his playing career was over, Golden entered the college coaching ranks, joining Kyle Smith's staff at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, first as director of basketball operations, then as an assistant coach. He then took a director of basketball operations position at Auburn under

Bruce Pearl Bruce Alan Pearl (born March 18, 1960) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team, where he is the school's all time leader in wins. He previously served in the same position ...

, his coach during the

. Golden rose to assistant coach with the Tigers in his final season, before reuniting with Smith at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

San Francisco

On April 1, 2019, Golden was officially introduced as the 20th men's basketball coach in Dons history, replacing Smith who departed for

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. In his first season as head coach, Golden led San Francisco to a 22–12 record (9–7 in conference play) and a fifth-place finish in the WCC. The Dons' season was ended with an 81–77 loss to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament semifinals. In 2020–21, the Dons took a step back from the year prior, amassing an 11–14 record (4–9 in conference play) and finishing eighth in the WCC. On November 27, 2020, the Dons defeated No. 4 ranked

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61–60, Virginia's first loss to a non-major opponent since their 2018 NCAA Tournament loss to 16-seeded UMBC. The 2021–22 season was the most successful of Golden's tenure, achieving a 24–10 (10–6 in conference play) record, and qualifying for the NCAA tournament, the program's first appearance since 1998. They lost in overtime 92–87 to Murray State in the first round. The program's 24 wins represented their highest mark since winning 25 games during the 1981–82 season.

Florida

Todd Golden at a photoshoot ahead of the 2025 Final Four in San Antonio

On March 18, 2022, Golden was announced as the next men's basketball coach at

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, following the departure of Mike White to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. His contract with the school is for six years, worth $18 million over the life of the contract. In 2022-23, Golden's first as head coach,

finished 8th in the SEC with a 9-9 record, including a 67-54 win over then #2

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, but ultimately finished with a losing 16-17 record after consecutive first-round exits in the SEC tournament and NIT to close the season.

amassed a 24-12 record in 2023-24 (11-7 in conference play), including a run to the championship game of the SEC Tournament, where they were ultimately beaten by Auburn. For their season they were awarded a seven seed in the 2024 NCAA tournament, but lost their first-round game to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, 102-100. This team's 24 wins were the most by a Gators team since 2017. The 2024-2025 team under Golden finished the season with a 36-4 record, winning the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. This marked the Gators' first national title since 2007. Golden was named a finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year. On May 6, 2025, Florida gave Golden a six-year, $40.5 million contract extension, making him at the time one of the five-highest paid college coaches.

Misconduct allegations

On November 8, 2024, ''

The Independent Florida Alligator ''The Independent Florida Alligator'' is the student newspaper of the University of Florida. ''The Alligator'' is one of the largest student-run newspapers in the United States, with a circulation of 14,000 and readership of more than 21,000. It ...

'' reported that Golden had been accused of sexual harassment and stalking of an unconfirmed number of women, specifically gearing towards

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

students. On November 9, Golden released a statement regarding the allegations, noting that he has sought legal counsel to bring potential defamation claims against undisclosed involved parties. On January 27, 2025, the University of Florida announced that they concluded their investigation of Golden, finding no evidence of any

Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...

violations after a “thorough investigation that included dozens of interviews," though noting that this was only a determination of whether alleged misconduct occurred in his capacity as an employee of the university, not whether the allegations were true.

Personal life

Golden is Jewish, and is a dual citizen of the United States and Israel. He is married to former Saint Mary's volleyball player Megan York, with whom he has two children.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Florida Gators profile

San Francisco Dons profile

Columbia Lions profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Todd 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Auburn Tigers men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Arizona Basketball players from Phoenix, Arizona College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Columbia Lions men's basketball coaches Florida Gators men's basketball coaches Israeli Basketball Premier League players Jewish American basketball coaches Jewish American basketball players Jews from Arizona Maccabiah Games basketball players for the United States Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball players San Francisco Dons men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona