Jeremy Foley - Ending at The Top

Ending At The Top

Foley has served as athletic director since 1992, and has been responsible for the hiring of several of Florida's most notable coaches, including Urban Meyer as the head football coach in 2004 and Billy Donovan as the men's basketball coach in 1996. The sports program has finished as the top-ranked overall program in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in all but one year under his tenure. On June 22, 2007, Foley and the UAA signed an eleven-year employment contract "worth up to $1.2 million annually with bonuses, making him the highest paid athletic director in the country and keeping him in Gainesville until retirement age." University of Florida President Bernie Machen said "Jeremy's contract is what you would expect for the best athletic director in the nation."

Jeremy Foley's tenure as Florida's athletic director has generally been considered extremely successful by Gator alumni and supporters. He is most notably credited for his hiring of Meyer and Donovan who have won national championships at Florida in the two most popular intercollegiate sports. Foley's successful hires also include Becky Burleigh, the first and only coach of the fledgling Florida Gators women's soccer program that won the 1998 national title, and more recently, Tim Walton, whose Gators softball team advanced to the Women's College World Series in four consecutive seasons from 2008 to 2011.

Foley has also maintained successful and long-term relationships with iconic coaches who were hired before he became athletic director, most notably men's golf coach Buddy Alexander and volleyball coach Mary Wise.

Though he demonstrates a fierce loyalty to coaches that bring success to Florida, Foley has proven willing to remove unsuccessful coaches, at times quickly, when he has become convinced a change was necessary. Carolyn Peck, who led Purdue University to a women's basketball NCAA championship, was removed after her fifth season in Gainesville, and two-time College World Series World Series coach Andy Lopez was fired after six seasons.

While Foley's firing of football coach Ron Zook midway through the 2004 season was unusual at the time, after the success of Urban Meyer's football teams, other universities have more commonly chosen to jettison football coaches mid-season in order to gain an advantage in the hiring process.

As athletic director, few Gator fans have questioned Foley's dedication and enthusiasm. He personally attends many athletic competitions for all sports on campus and travels with Florida's teams for significant events. In addition to the Gators' success on the playing field, the University of Florida's is one of the few athletic programs in the nation that not only supports itself financially, but makes regular seven-figure contributions to the general fund of its university.

One of Foley's responsibilities as Florida athletic director is to act as chief financial officer (CFO) for the University Athletic Association. In that capacity he has overseen $180 million in capital improvements, including two major expansions of the football stadium, the addition of a multi-purpose field house on campus and new facilities for tennis, track & field, soccer, baseball, golf, softball and swimming. Jeremy Foley manages an annual budget of more than $89 million, but he is particularly proud of the athletic program's academic success. "The national average for student-athlete graduation is around 76 percent," he said. "At UF, 92 percent of student-athletes graduate."