Billy Donovan Head Coach Donovan Bio

The Donovan File

Coaching Honors:

• Basketball Times National Rookie Coach of the Year, 1994
• West Virginia College Coach of the Year, 1994
• Southern Conference Coach of the Year, 1994
• Gainesville Sun Sportsperson of the Year, 1999
• NABC District VI, Coach of the Year, 2000
• ESPN.com National Coach of the Year, 2001
• NABC District VI Coach of the Year, 2003
• United States Sports Academy, National Coach of the Year, 2007
• Wooden Award’s “Legends of Coaching” Honor, 2010
• SEC Coach of the Year, 2011

Playing Honors:

• Honorable Mention All-America (UPI), 1987
• All East, 1987
• NABC All District, 1986 (second team), 1987 (first team)
• All Big East, 1986 (third team), 1987 (first team)
• New England Player-of-the-Year, 1987
• Providence Male Athlete-of-the-Year, 1986, 1987
• Providence Captain, 1986, 1987
• Providence MVP, 1986, 1987
• NCAA Southeast Region Most Outstanding Player, 1987
• Big East All-Tournament Team, 1987
• All-Time Providence Civic Center Team, 1999
• Providence Hall of Fame, 1999

Education:

• St. Agnes High School, 1983
• Providence College, 1987 (Bachelor of Arts in General Social Studies)

Date of Birth: May 30, 1965

Family: Wife - The former Christine D’Auria
Children - William (20, 2/10/92), Hasbrouck (19, 3/12/94), Bryan (15, 1/6/97) and Connor (11, 11/18/01)

Billy Donovan Timeline
FLORIDA (1996-PRESENT)
1996  As a disciple of the up-tempo style of play for the previous 11 years (three as a player and seven as a coach), Donovan was named head coach of the University of Florida in March of 1996…After inheriting a squad that won just 12 games, averaged 66.8 points per game and shot .429 from the field the year before his arrival, Donovan quickly elevated the University of Florida among to the nation’s elite…Florida has experienced unprecedented success under Donovan, having reached the NCAA Tournament eight consecutive years, a first in school history, while winning the school’s first national title in 2006…His 1999 squad reached the Sweet 16, while the 2000 squad was the national runner-up, Florida’s first appearance in the national championship game…Over the past nine seasons, Donovan’s teams have won 236 games or 26.2 per season…Florida reached No. 1 in the nation in both 2002-03 and 2003-04…In 2005, Donovan guided the Gators to their first SEC Tournament title, adding to the two regular season SEC crowns and three SEC East titles Florida has won under his guidance…In 2006 the Gators won a then-school record 33 games including the final 11 of the season, winning the SEC and NCAA Tournament titles…The Gators became the first team in 15 years to win back-to-back NCAA titles, as his 2007 squad won a school record 35 games, including the final 10, winning the SEC East, Tournament and overall titles in addition to the NCAA title…Donovan has signed 14 McDonald’s All-Americans during his time at UF and has produced eight NBA First Round Draft picks, including Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah all going among the first 10 picks of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Donovan vs. opponents as a player: (67-54)

Alabama-Birmingham 1-0; Alabama 1-0; American 1-0; Assumption 2-1; Arizona 1-0; Arkansas-Little Rock 1-0; Austin Peay 1-0; Boston College 5-3; Boston University 1-0; Brown 4-0; Chaminade 1-0; Connecticut 5-2; Dayton 0-1; Farleigh Dickinson 0-1; Georgetown 2-9; George Mason 1-0; Hofstra 1-0; Holy Cross 4-0; Howard 4-0; Illinois State 0-1;  Long Island 0-1; Louisiana Tech 0-1; Maine 2-0; Marquette 0-1; Miami 1-0;  Northeastern 1-0; Notre Dame 0-2; Penn 1-0; Pittsburgh 2-6; Rhode Island 4-0; Richmond 0-1; Rider 1-0; Seton Hall 9-1; Siena 1-0; St. John=s 4-6; Syracuse 0-8; Temple 1-0; Tulsa 0-1; Villanova 2-7; Virginia 1-0; West Texas State 1-0; Xavier 0-1.

Did You Know… Billy Donovan holds a 28-10 NCAA Tournament record and is 18-3 in the Big Dance since 2006.

Did You Know… Billy Donovan and Dick Harp are the only two men who have played in a Final Four, served as an assistant coach on a Final Four team and was a head coach of a Final Four team? Donovan served as an assistant on the 1993 Kentucky team that advanced to the Final Four, while Harp served as an assistant on the 1952 and 1953 Kansas teams that advanced to the Final Four.

Did You Know…Florida had just two first round draft picks prior to Donovan’s arrival. UF has had nine first-round selections under Donovan.

Did You Know… Florida has led the SEC in an offensive team statistic 35 times under Billy Donovan. UF had led the conference in an offensive team statistic just three times prior to his arrival?

Did You Know… Florida’s six SEC Academic Honor Roll selections in 1997 and 1998 were a league record.