UF athletic director Jeremy Foley is not a fan of white helmets.
He hasn’t been since the Gators wore them during the loss against Alabama in the 2009 Southeastern Conference championship game.
“We might have some new helmets, but as long as I’m holding up my hand, they won’t be white,” Foley said. “I’m superstitious that way.”
Foley spoke about everything from alternate football uniforms — a possibility for the future, but not this season — to what brought him to Florida during a talk with students Tuesday in the Evans Champions Club at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
He also spoke about the future indoor practice facility, which he was reluctant to agree to until a storm broke out while he was driving home one day last September.
“It looked like the world was ending; there was so much rain,” he said.
The Stephen C. O’Connell Center is typically the refuge for team practices interrupted by bad weather, Foley said. Once construction on the O’Dome begins, however, this will no longer be an option. Foley said the project is full steam ahead despite the postponed construction.
“That’s a commitment to you, that’s a commitment to (men’s basketball head coach) Billy … that’s a commitment to the university community,” he said.
Foley was joined onstage by Travis Leyndyke, the director of ticket operations; Mike Hill, the executive associate athletics director for external affairs; and Chip Howard, the executive associate athletics director for internal affairs.
Jonathan Arnholz, a 21-year-old public relations junior and vice president of the Men’s Basketball Rowdies, said the event was a good way for students to become more involved in the University Athletics Association.
“And then obviously it gave the athletic association the chance to answer some questions and get some feedback from students,” he said.
Foley ended the talk by inviting students to meet with him for advice on how to get their careers started.
After he graduated college, he said he was turned down by every job he applied for. One man advised him to get his master’s in education in sports administration, which led him to the internship at UF that started his career. Now, Foley is paying it forward.
“One guy changed my life,” he said, “and I want to help anybody I can.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 4/8/2015 under the headline “Jeremy Foley speaks about career, new facility during talk”]
From left: Mike Hill, UAA executive associate athletics director for external affairs, and Chip Howard, executive associate athletics director for internal affairs, watch Jeremy Foley, the UF athletics director, speak about his career at an Accent Speaker’s Bureau event in the Evans Champions Club on Tuesday. “It’s not a perfect science,” he said about the process of hiring a new coach. “The fit part is really important. The honesty and integrity part is really important.”
