Florida football spring practices will be closed to the public and
media, the team announced Wednesday.
Spring workouts had been open throughout Urban Meyer’s tenure, but
are to be kept private in the Gators’ first season under coach Will
Muschamp.
"With a new coaching staff here teaching our system, we feel like
minimizing our distractions is important," Muschamp said. "We
realize that there is high interest from the fans, and we are
extremely appreciative of the support that The Gator Nation gives
us.
“We hope they understand that this decision has been made in the
interest of helping our program be successful on Saturdays this
fall by allowing our team to learn and develop together in this
type of environment. We also respect that the media have a job to
do and understand that this creates a challenge for them, so we ask
for their patience with us as we work through our first spring
practice here at Florida.”
The first of 15 spring practices will be held on Wednesday. They
conclude just prior to the Orange and Blue game, which takes place
at noon on April 9.
Tuesday’s Pro Day will also be closed to the public, though members
of the media are allowed to attend.
“Pro Day is an extremely important day for the career hopes of
these players, and they’ve spent an enormous amount of time and
energy preparing for it,” Associate Athletics Director for
Communications Steve McClain said. “We feel that creating a more
private environment and minimizing potential distractions will help
give them the best chance to perform up to their potential. We also
feel like it’s become more important than ever for us to monitor
who is around our team and student-athletes, and taking this step
provides us an even greater ability to manage that.”
Florida’s 2010 Pro Day was open to fans.
