Two UF coaches answered questions Tuesday night about both sports and their personal lives.
Jim McElwain, UF’s head football coach, and Mike White, the men’s basketball head coach, spoke in the University Auditorium to about 250 people.
Ted Spiker, UF’s journalism chair, asked questions about the most entertaining games they’ve coached and their first dates. Spiker’s questions showed the coaches’ lives off the field.
“I love to mow the lawn,” McElwain said, in response to a question asking what he does when he’s not working. “I can power wash a driveway like nobody’s business.”
White said this was his first time speaking with students and press. He told students he met his wife after seeing a picture of her college volleyball team. He went to a volleyball party just to meet her.
“It was not ‘we met’ or ‘someone introduced us’; it was stalking,” he said. The coaches also spoke about how they felt about their teams’ performances.
“For the first time in 10 years, we weren’t the most penalized team in the SEC (Southeastern Conference),” McElwain said.
UF microbiology and cell science senior Charles Pertuz said he came to learn more about the coaches’ personal lives.
“It was great to get to know about them,” the 22-year-old said. “We are all pretty proud of what they did.”
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