- Sep 8, 2014
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UF spent most of any Power 5 program on buyouts last 15 years
UF spent most of any Power 5 program on buyouts last 15 years
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It should come as little surprise, but Florida has spent quite a lot of money in the last 15 years on buyouts.
Like, a lot a lot. In fact, according to a recent study posted by AthleticDirectorU.com, the Gators spent more money than any other Power 5 program on football coaches' buyouts over the past 15 years.
And only two programs have spent more on football and basketball buyouts combined than Florida has.
The Gators have spent $24.9 million on football severance in the past 15 years, according to the study. That topped Nebraska ($24.3 million), Kansas ($23.7 million), Auburn ($21.4 million) and Tennessee ($20.2 million) in the Top 5.
Florida's biggest expenditures come from failed head coaching hires.
Will Muschamp received the first significant buyout from the Gators when he was canned in 2014. He earned a buyout of about $6.3 million for the right not to coach UF following his fourth season, after he compiled a 28-21 overall record and a 17-15 mark in the SEC.
UF turned to former Alabama offensive coordinator and then-Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain to replace him.
McElwain's tenure got off to a hot start, but he couldn't sustain it after winning the SEC East in his first two seasons, becoming the first coach in SEC history to reach conference title games in his first two seasons at a program. Things crashed spectacularly when Florida went 4-7 and McElwain claimed that death threats had been made to people in the program in his third year, then failed to provide the administration with any proof of his claims.
That entire fiasco cost the Gators $7.5 million just to cut ties with McElwain.
But in both instances, Florida ended up incurring costs to buy out the contracts of assistant coaches who were set to return beyond just the year their head coach was fired.
On a per-year basis over the past 15 years, Florida has ranked sixth in football severance compensation, spending $1.66 million per year.
You can view AthleticDirectorU.com to see some cool visualizations and charts of each Power 5 program's spending over the last 15 years by heading to their site. It's worth your time.
UF spent most of any Power 5 program on buyouts last 15 years
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It should come as little surprise, but Florida has spent quite a lot of money in the last 15 years on buyouts.
Like, a lot a lot. In fact, according to a recent study posted by AthleticDirectorU.com, the Gators spent more money than any other Power 5 program on football coaches' buyouts over the past 15 years.
And only two programs have spent more on football and basketball buyouts combined than Florida has.
The Gators have spent $24.9 million on football severance in the past 15 years, according to the study. That topped Nebraska ($24.3 million), Kansas ($23.7 million), Auburn ($21.4 million) and Tennessee ($20.2 million) in the Top 5.
Florida's biggest expenditures come from failed head coaching hires.
Will Muschamp received the first significant buyout from the Gators when he was canned in 2014. He earned a buyout of about $6.3 million for the right not to coach UF following his fourth season, after he compiled a 28-21 overall record and a 17-15 mark in the SEC.
UF turned to former Alabama offensive coordinator and then-Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain to replace him.
McElwain's tenure got off to a hot start, but he couldn't sustain it after winning the SEC East in his first two seasons, becoming the first coach in SEC history to reach conference title games in his first two seasons at a program. Things crashed spectacularly when Florida went 4-7 and McElwain claimed that death threats had been made to people in the program in his third year, then failed to provide the administration with any proof of his claims.
That entire fiasco cost the Gators $7.5 million just to cut ties with McElwain.
But in both instances, Florida ended up incurring costs to buy out the contracts of assistant coaches who were set to return beyond just the year their head coach was fired.
On a per-year basis over the past 15 years, Florida has ranked sixth in football severance compensation, spending $1.66 million per year.
You can view AthleticDirectorU.com to see some cool visualizations and charts of each Power 5 program's spending over the last 15 years by heading to their site. It's worth your time.