Image Credit: Maddie Washburn, UAA
Florida Gators men’s basketball coach Todd Golden is under a Title IX investigation by the University of Florida amid allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual harassment of multiple female students. Golden, 39, is in his third year leading the program, which entered the 2024-25 season ranked No. 21 nationally.
Among the allegations are that Golden made unwanted sexual advances toward women, including asking for explicit sexual favors and sending unrequested pictures of his genitals. He is also alleged to have stalked women in person — sending women photos of themselves he took in public, attending locations where he would encounter them — and online by using social media likes and follows as a means of getting their attention.
Neither UF nor the University Athletic Association are able to address the accusations or investigation due to federal Title IX law. Golden has denied the allegations privately, Only Gators has learned.
The Independent Florida Alligator, which first reported the allegations and notes the Title IX complaint was initially filed on Sept. 27, obtained specific, corroborating details of incidents experienced by two women who say they were contacted and harassed by Golden as students. Those incidents fit the description of the allegations contained in the documents.
“He just had this manipulation tactic over everyone,” one woman told The Alligator regarding Golden’s cyberstalking. “And he sent us all the same shit. It was copy-paste to every girl.”
The Alligator further reports that two Florida staffers (non-coaches) were “complicit in Golden’s misconduct;” however, neither is named in the Title IX complaint, and statements about those staffers appeared highly speculative with no specifics were provided as to their potential involvement in these incidents or others.
Golden agreed to a two-year extension in March through the 2029-30 season. The Gators finished just under .500 in Year 1 under his coaching before significantly improving in 2023-24 going 24-12 (11-7 SEC) with their first NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons.
Aware of these allegations in private circles over the last 6-9 months, rivals attempted to use the rumors against Golden while recruiting against him this offseason, Only Gators learned.
One of athletic director Scott Stricklin’s signature acquisitions — arguably the most successful given his first three external coaching hires are no longer at Florida amid a variety of misdeeds — Golden would be the latest in a long line of problematic coaches hired by Stricklin should these allegations prove out.
Former soccer coach Tony Amato was fired in 2022 amid allegations of widespread player mistreatment during his lone season leading the program. Allegations against Amato included the coach commenting on players’ eating habits and body shapes — despite knowing some struggled with eating disorders — as well as taking actions to admonish or punish players based on how much they ate or weighed.
Former women’s basketball coach Cameron Newbauer resigned in 2021 after allegedly creating a toxic environment and verbally abusing players. Six weeks before his departure, despite a mountain of internal allegations against Newbauer and handfuls of complaints by the parents of players, Stricklin announced that the coach had signed an extension.
Former head football coach Dan Mullen incurred a one-year show-cause order and one year of probation from the NCAA amid recruiting violations. He also gave the university a black eye with public comments about desiring to “pack The Swamp” during the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Following Mullen’s departure, players under current head coach Billy Napier shared significant dissatisfactions about their living situations, team meals and even on-campus parking — issues ignored by Mullen’s staff.
While quite different than the allegations against Amato and Newbauer, some of Mullen’s failings raised further questions about Stricklin’s handling of the athletic department and the coaches he’s hired.
Adding the allegations about Golden to that pile paint a stark picture of what the UAA and Gators athletics has become under Stricklin’s leadership.
