Ivy League School to Hire Florida Gators Men's Basketball Assistant As New Head Coach

Columbia is nearing a deal with one of the top assistants in the SEC.

Columbia is set to hire Florida assistant Kevin Hovde as the program's next head men's basketball coach. / Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Columbia Lions are nearing a deal with Florida Gators assistant Kevin Hovde to become the program's new head men's basketball coach, according to a report from CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

It is unclear at this time whether or not Hovde will remain on Florida's bench through the remainder of the NCAA tournament. The Gators advanced to the Sweet 16 with a victory over the UConn Huskies on Sunday.

Columbia will be Hovde's first head coaching job. Hovde played from 2006-11 at Richmond, and immediately jumped into coaching with an assistant job at Columbia. He was with the program from 2012-16 before leaving for an assistant job at San Francisco. Hovde remained at San Francisco until 2021, when he took another assistant job at Richmond. He's been on Todd Golden's staff with the Gators since Golden arrived in Gainesville in 2022.

Hovde will replace Jim Engles, who stepped down earlier this month after the program missed the Ivy League tournament. Engles went 71-150 in nine seasons at the school, and did not make an NCAA tournament.

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