Todd Golden humbly reacts to beating Gators legend Billy Donovan as youngest Florida coach to win NCAA championship

Florida coach Todd Golden etched his name in the program's history on Monday, becoming the youngest Gators coach to win a national title at the age of 39 years and eight months. The Gators beat fellow top-seed Houston 65-63 in this season's NCAA Tournament final at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday.

When he was informed of his historic feat during his post-game press conference, here is how Golden responded:

"I mean, I'm super proud, obviously, but I'm just a piece of this puzzle. I've been able to put together an incredible staff and recruit some great student-athletes over the last three years. And we've stayed the course all year and worked really hard."

"My best answer is I'm just proud," Golden said. "I'm proud to be the head coach of Florida. I'm proud of the way our players performed, and I'm proud of the way our staff prepared our guys to become national champions."

Billy Donovan coached at Florida from 1996 to 2015 and led the program to its first two national championships in 2006 and 2007. He then moved to the NBA and has coached the Chicago Bulls since 2020. Golden, meanwhile, led Florida to the top of the mountain in just his third year at the helm. This was also the Gators' first national title since Donovan's triumph in 2007.

Florida coach Todd Golden ranks eighth among youngest coaches to win NCAA Tournament

Floroda HC Todd Golden - Source: Imagn

Florida's Todd Golden became the eighth youngest head coach to win a national title on Monday, as per the Final Four books. Here is a look at the coaches that are above him on the list.

• 1. Branch McCraken (Indiana): 31 years, 9 months, 21 days
• 2. Harold Foster (Wisconsin): 34 years, 9 months, 29 days
• 3. Fred Taylor (Ohio State): 35 years, 3 months, 16 days
• 4. Bob Knight (Indiana): 35 years, 5 months, 4 days
• 5. Howard Dobson (Oregon): 35 years, 8 months, 23 days
• 6. Don Haskins (UTEP): 36 years, 0 months, 5 days
• 7. Jim Valvano (NC State): 37 years, 0 months, 24 days
• 8. Todd Golden (Florida): 39 years, 8 months

Golden became the youngest coach since Jim Valvano to win a national crown. Valvano's only NCAA championship win as a head coach came in 1983 when he took NC State to the title. Meanwhile, Donovan was 41 years old when he guided the Gators to the national title.