Ahead of his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, former Florida head coach Billy Donovan will be honored during UF football's season opener against Long Island University on Aug. 30, the program announced Thursday.
The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame class will be enshrined a week later, from Sept. 5-6, at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Donovan was originally announced as a member of the 2025 Hall of Fame class on April 5, when he was honored along with the entire class at halftime of the Gators' Final Four win in San Antonio.
Donovan guided Florida from 1996-2015, leading the program to two national championships, four Final Fours, six Southeastern Conference regular-season titles, four SEC Tournament crowns, and 467 victories. Since leaving Gainesville, Donovan has recorded 438 NBA wins during stints with the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder.
In late July, Donovan recently negotiated a contract extension with the Bulls, though the organization did not reveal the length or financial terms of the contract.
Donovan, 60, will enter his sixth season in Chicago in 2025-26, with 800 NBA games coached over his career at the professional level. He holds a 195-205 record in Chicago and 438-362 overall mark in 10 seasons as an NBA head coach.
Donovan, who had one year remaining on his contract, guided the Bulls to a second straight 39-43 record last season, finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference and losing in the play-in tournament for the third year in a row.
UF made the school's first-ever appearance in the National Championship game under Donovan in 2000, before cutting down the nets in 2006 and 2007. Florida is one of eight men's programs to win back-to-back National Championships in NCAA history.
Donovan coached Joakim Noah to the first Consensus All-American campaign in Gators' history in 2006-07, when the center averaged 12 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game over 40 contests. Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. became the second Consensus All-American in program history this past season, earning First-Team recognition.
Including Noah, nine Gators coached by Donovan went on to become first-round NBA Draft picks.
Donovan's success at Florida led him to multiple head coaching opportunities in the NBA. He won 400 games over five seasons leading the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2015-20, and has collected 395 wins up until this point in his fifth season with the Chicago Bulls. Donovan owns a 19-27 postseason record in the pros, compiled over six trips to the NBA playoffs.
Donovan earlier this year was honored for his contributions as a player at Providence, with the school hanging his jersey in the rafters of Amica Mutual Pavilion in February. With the Friars, Donovan averaged 15.1 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game during the 1985-86 season and 20.6 points, 7.1 assists and a conference-leading 2.4 steals per game in the 1986-87 campaign.
In 2014, near the end of his coaching tenure at Florida, Donovan was named the best coach in men's college basketball.