Donovan apologizes, returns to Gators with six-year deal
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Billy Donovan swallowed a gulp of water and then his pride.
He apologized Thursday to the Orlando Magic, his family and the Florida Gators for changing his mind about joining the NBA coaching ranks. Instead, he'll rejoin Florida with a new six-year contract worth $3.5 million per year.
"It was my decision to go to the Magic," Donovan said. "It was my mistake. And I have to take responsibility for that, which I'm trying to do."
Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley announced Donovan and the Gators have agreed in principle to a new contract, with an option for a seventh year. Foley also said football coach Urban Meyer agreed to a new six-year deal at $3.25 million per year, with an option for a seventh.
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| Billy Donovan rejoins Florida with a new six-year deal worth $3.5M per season. (AP) |
Donovan struck a deal late Wednesday to opt out of the five-year, $27.5 million contract he signed last week with the Magic. The deal has a clause that prohibits Donovan from coaching in the NBA for five years. He is now set to sign a long-term contract that would keep him in Gainesville through 2013.
The Florida contracts mark the first time under Foley that the basketball coach would earn more than the football coach. Neither contract has been signed. Donovan led the Gators to the last two national championships; Meyer's team won the football crown last January in his second season with the Gators.
Donovan said he didn't feel good last Friday after signing the contract with the Magic. And when he woke up Saturday morning, he felt he made a "huge mistake."
He put the reasons for reneging on the deal squarely on himself.
"There was no words, there was no pressure by anyone to come back," Donovan said. "It was what was in my heart. You realize you made a mistake and you go forward. I think sometimes people think, 'Well what happened? What was the reason?' There really wasn't one. It had nothing to do with the Magic, my wife, the University of Florida, it was a process I went through myself that I'm sorry for."
Donovan, whose NBA playing career consisted of 44 games with the New York Knicks in 1987-88, said last week that he had always been intrigued by the pro game. He said Orlando was the perfect situation because it was an up-and-coming team and close to home.
That all changed when he contacted the Magic on Saturday to back out of the deal, something that took him time to work up to.
"It was a hard phone call," Donovan said.
