Florida's Foley Won't Meddle In Successor's Business, But Could Help On Various Fronts

Univ. of Florida AD Jeremy Foley, who  announced he will retire Oct. 1  after 40 years at UF, said that he "didn't want to meddle in the work of his successor after he retires," according to Ryan Young of SEC COUNTRY. Appearing on WRUF-FM's "Gator Talk," Foley said, "There are some things I think I can come ask and help with, especially on a facilities front, trying to push some of those things forward. I don't want to be in the way, I don't want to step on people's toes. I have no desire to do that, but I think there's things I can do to help the program and the university." Foley said that part of the reason he set his retirement date for Oct. 1 was to be able to "take part in the ceremony to honor" former UF coach Steve Spurrier during the Florida-UMass  season opener on Sept. 3. Asked by a fan on the radio show if he would consider extending his tenure longer if a new AD was not in place by Oct. 1, Foley said, "We're trying to get that figured out here in the next couple weeks, but obviously I'm always going to look after the Gators. We'll see what's going on" ( SECCOUNTRY.com, 8/25 ). In Orlando, Mike Bianchi notes UF does not seem "any closer to naming a new AD now than back in June" when Foley announced his retirement. Bianchi writes UF is essentially asking all potential AD candidates, "Why would you want to change Foley's structure and staff when that structure and staff has accounted for 130 SEC championships, 27 national titles and 24 of the last 25 South Eastern Conference All-Sports trophies?" This may be why some "big-name candidates" like Univ. of Arizona AD Greg Byrne and Univ. of North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham "showed some initial interest and then decided to stay put" ( ORLANDO SENTINEL, 8/26 ).