We here at Hail Florida Hail have kept our content focused on the Florida Gators over the past three years, and it will continue to be about the Florida Gators only. If someone wants a deep dive into pressing political issues that align with their viewpoint, there are 87 different outlets one can find to discuss politics.
Unfortunately, politics are now creating a headache for Florida Gator athletics as the University of Florida is still without a school president after rejecting the sole candidate who was up for a vote.
University of Florida rejects Santa Ono as president
The Florida Board of Governors has rejected the nomination of Santa Ono to become the University of Florida's 14th president in school history. The vote was 10-6 against Ono, and it is the first time in the history of the board that they have rejected a university trustee board's leadership selection.
Again, we are a Florida Gator athletics-based site, and if you want to read about why he wasn't confirmed and argue whether it was the correct call, feel free to hop on social media and have a field day.
But whether or not you agree with the decision, the reality is that it creates a mess for the Gators.
Florida has been under the leadership of Kent Fuchs since last August on an interim basis. Fuchs was forced to come back after Ben Sasse lasted barely over a year before stepping down.
The problem with not having a full-time president is that the world of college athletics is constantly shifting, and Florida needs someone in place to make the big, macro-level decisions that will position the Gators moving forward.
There is also the backdrop of The Swamp getting renovations.
If you don't think a university president can make or break an athletics program and the two are unconnected, look at what happened to USF athletics under then-president Judy Genshaft. The Bulls had all the momentum in the world around 2008 and were miles ahead of where UCF was as a program.
A couple bad business deals later, and USF was left in the dust while UCF ascended from Conference USA to the Big 12 in a little over a decade.
That's the most jarring local example, but FSU, too, is finding itself slowly getting left behind as university leadership tries to desperately escape the ACC.
Ono understood the role of athletics within a major university. Just knowing how things go in the state of Florida, the eventual president of the University of Florida probably won't be as focused on athletics as they will be on other endeavors.
Regardless of who eventually gets the job, the University of Florida once again finds itself a ship without a captain, and that does nothing to help the Florida Gators.