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Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan will serve a school-imposed three-game suspension to start the 2026 season, the university announced on Friday afternoon.
The disciplinary action stems from a June 2 incident in which O’Sullivan unleashed an expletive-laced tirade on NCAA officials due to a late time change to Florida’s NCAA Tournament game against East Carolina in the Conway Regional.
Multiple videos of the incident surfaced in the immediate aftermath, showing O’Sullivan berating several individuals. O’Sullivan also engaged with East Carolina players as they entered the field.
“The suspension announced today reinforces Florida Athletics’ commitment to our standards, with coach O’Sullivan accepting full responsibility for his behavior,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement on Friday. “Sully has vowed to learn from the experience and serve as a better leader moving forward.”
The Division I Baseball Committee also released a statement on Friday regarding O’Sullivan’s conduct.
“The committee determined during a meeting in late June that O’Sullivan’s actions were misconduct per NCAA Bylaw 31.02.4,” the statement read. “As defined in the bylaw, misconduct in an NCAA championship is ‘any act of dishonesty, unsportsmanlike conduct, unprofessional behavior or breach of law, occurring from the time the championship field is announced through the end of the championship, that discredits the event or intercollegiate athletics.’”
O’Sullivan issued apologies via phone to multiple NCAA officials and East Carolina player Parker Byrd shortly after the incident occurred, according to multiple sources.
Florida’s statement regarding his suspension was released nearly three months after it first publicly reprimanded its longtime head coach, who has led the program since 2008 and won the 2017 National Championship.
“This afternoon I met with Kevin O’Sullivan and told him that his actions prior to yesterday’s NCAA Tournament game fell well short of expectations of how Gators treat people,” Stricklin said in a statement released in June. “One of our department’s core values is respect, and Coach O’Sullivan’s unacceptable actions failed to demonstrate that. On behalf of Florida Athletics, I want to personally apologize to everyone impacted – including NCAA representatives, Coastal Carolina and their staff, East Carolina and their team – as well as to Gator Nation.”
O’Sullivan also apologized publicly in June.
“Prior to yesterday’s NCAA Tournament game against East Carolina, I let my emotions get the best of me and channeled that energy in a way I should not have,” O’Sullivan said. “I want to sincerely apologize for my actions and behavior to the entire NCAA Regional field of Coastal Carolina, East Carolina and Fairfield, the NCAA – including site representatives Rick French and Mark Scalf – as well as all of Gator Nation.
“I did not represent the University of Florida to the appropriate standard yesterday and take full responsibility for that, and promise to learn from this experience and be better moving forward. I appreciate all of the tireless efforts on behalf of host Coastal Carolina, their Tournament Director Bryan Stiles, and the NCAA over the course of NCAA Regionals, and am sorry for allowing this instance to get in the way of an otherwise great weekend of postseason baseball.”
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