Jeremy Foley was named University of Florida’s director of athletics in 1992 and handled virtually every aspect of UF’s $119.3M athletic program during his athletic administrative career, which began with an internship in the Gator Ticket Office in 1979. Foley’s 25-year run as Athletic Director, at the time the second longest tenured AD in Division I, ended October, 29 of 2017 when he retired. He now serves as Athletic Director Emeritus.
As CFO for the University Athletic Association, Foley spearheaded $307 million in capital improvement projects since 1999 and outlined a $100-million Master Facility plan before his retirement.
Foley’s commitment to the overall athletic program includes a plan of increased opportunities for women, as three women’s sports were been added under his tenure — soccer, softball and lacrosse. Also, in an era when many Division I schools are losing money on intercollegiate athletics, the University of Florida Athletic Association under Foley contributed more than $76M since 2006 to help fund UF academic endeavors.
UF was equally successful on the field of play and in the classroom during Foley’s administrative tenure. The UF athletic program ranked among the nation’s top 10 for 33 straight years, according to national all-sport rankings. UF also became the first program in collegiate history to own both the men’s basketball and football national titles in the same calendar year. Overall, UF won 27 NCAA titles and 130 SEC titles under his watch. Foley was named SportsBusiness Journal National Athletic Director of the Year in 2006.