It’s long past time the Florida Gators got serious about women’s basketball

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Image Credit: Hayli Balgobin, UAA

When the Florida Gators made women’s basketball a varsity program in 1975, seven months before Title IX was signed into law by President Gerald Ford, it not only set a precedent but saw immediate success by winning the state. While that accolade was only a paper title — Florida defeated the only three other teams available — it’s the closest to a piece of hardware the Gators have collected even now, a half-century later.

After starting the 2025-26 season with a glimmer of hope, Florida lost for the seventh time in nine games on Monday, falling to 1-6 in SEC play. The Gators dropped those league contests by an average of 14.0 points. Those include the first SEC victory of the season by Auburn, which lost by 61 points to Texas (yes, really) just three days earlier, and a 29-point shellacking at the hands of No. 6 LSU on Monday night.

Florida is not a talentless team. In fact, far from it.

Sophomore point guard Liv McGill, a McDonald’s All-American and 2025 Freshman All-SEC selection, is a bona fide star, averaging 23.0 points, 5.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 steals (though her 3-point shot could use some work). Her substantial 5.0 turnovers per game are an issue, but it largely speaks to how much weight she is forced to carry for the program and how she is not being coached out of her issues.

Sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neil, a fellow McDonald’s All-American (and yes, Shaquille’s daughter), averages 13.5 points, 6.9 boards, 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals. Junior G Laila Reynolds — you guessed it, a McDonald’s All-American herself — is just behind O’Neal, averaging 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds while filling out the stat sheet each game.

When Reynolds committed to head coach Kelly Rae Finley, she was the second McDonald’s All-American signee at Florida — ever. Finley’s roster features more players holding that accolade (three) than in the entire history of the women’s team (one). That undoubtedly speaks to a strong and respectable recruiting effort, but it also clarifies the level of underperformance the team is experiencing.

The Gators stand at 13-9 in Finley’s fourth season, on their way to missing the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and eighth time in the last nine years. One could understandably conclude that she will be ousted at season’s end, but even her holding the job is a symptom of a much larger problem.

Florida’s athletic leaders have rarely proven that they, you know, actually care about women’s basketball. It’s no coincidence that it is the only sport UF fields that has never won a conference championship, only coming close once. (Yes, Tennessee did largely dominate the SEC for three decades.)

Finley is in her post because she deserved an opportunity after being in the right place at the right time, doing her best to save the program following one of the worst coaching decisions in the history of Gators athletics.

That came when athletic director Scott Stricklin brought in Cameron Newbauer ahead of the 2017-18 season. Newbauer, who did have prior success leading Belmont to consecutive March Madness appearances, went 19-34 in his first two seasons at Florida but was somehow allowed to retain his job.

After going 15-15 in his third season, Newbauer was not only retained … Stricklin somehow thought it was a good idea to sign him to a three-year contract extension despite an overall mark of 34-49 (.410), the worst stretch across three seasons in nearly 40 years.

A program expecting success in a sport does not make such a move.

One month after signing his extension, Newbauer resigned. Two-plus months after departing, his players detailed an alleged pattern of abuse (physical and verbal) — complaints made to UF and seemingly ignored … you know, considering the extension.

Finley picked up the pieces and, despite serving as interim coach, led Florida to a 21-11 (10-6 SEC) mark and NCAA Tournament berth, its best effort in six seasons. Hence, the deserved opportunity.

That opportunity has seemingly been squandered. Presuming the Gators continue on this trajectory, a sixth season cannot be allowed — not if Florida has any desire to compete in women’s basketball.

It’s long past time for the Gators to support the women’s game with at least some semblance of the dedicated effort it provides the men’s program.

Florida has won five NCAA Tournament games this century. It has not advanced to the second weekend in nearly three decades — 1998 under Carol Ross, the best coach in program history, who managed an Elite Eight berth the year prior.

The second weekend should be an annual minimum expectation for the Gators, but it cannot be until leadership stops operating with its hands in its pockets. Not while competitors go out and do what is necessary to win, be that investing in the program, recognizing young talent like Molly Miller (Arizona State) or taking major swings to obtain established coaches from successful teams, like LSU did when it swiped Kim Mulkey from Baylor.

Florida has won SEC championships in soccer, softball and volleyball with national titles in the prior two sports and excruciating finishes in the latter. Its swimming & diving and track & field programs have dominated the league and national stages, leading to individual and team glory that has expanded internationally into the Olympics.

Gators lacrosse, which was only founded in 2010 (35 years after women’s basketball was established), has already reached three Final Fours and won 25 conference titles (regular season, tournament) in just 15 years.

For decades, Florida fans have assumed it was not a matter of “if” but “when” the women would find success on the hardwood. After 50 years of mediocrity and much worse, it’s time for the Gators to demand better — from the top down.