ORLANDO, Fla. _ Jeremy Foley, the iconic former athletics director at the University of Florida, is retired now and spending a few weeks this summer in his second home in Vermont.
He began his career at UF more than 40 years ago as a lowly intern stuffing envelopes, parking cars and cleaning bathrooms. He sat in the AD's chair for 25 years _ a span in which the Gators won 24 SEC All-Sports trophies, 130 conference championships and 27 national titles.
Foley still has an office and a title (athletics director emeritus) at UF and serves as an occasional sounding board for current Gators AD Scott Stricklin. Although he is no longer in a decision-making role, Foley still as some strong opinions on the immediate future of college football amid the global pandemic, the long-term future of college athletics and, yes, the importance of wearing face masks.
Foley took some time this week for two separate interviews _ one with Marc Daniels and me on our daily radio show and another follow-up phone interview. Here are some highlights of those conversations:
