Billy Donovan gets raise to $3.7M

— -- Florida coach Billy Donovan signed a three-year contract extension last month that raised his average salary to $3.7 million over the final six years of the deal, which runs through the 2018-19 season.

Donovan and the top-ranked Gators became the first team in Southeastern Conference history to go 18-0 in regular-season league play. Florida also won the SEC tournament and earned the NCAA tournament's overall top seed.

The Gators (34-2) have won a school-record 28 consecutive games while making the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive year. Both are the longest current streaks in college basketball.

Donovan received a $250,000 longevity bonus before March 1 and increased his base salary nearly $100,000 a season.

Including the bonus, Donovan will earn $3.9 million this season. He will make $3.681 million in each of the next five years.

Florida's success this season already has triggered several contract bonuses for Donovan.

Donovan earned $50,000 for winning the SEC regular-season title, $25,000 for winning the SEC tournament and $75,000 for advancing to the Sweet 16. He also gets $50,000 for the top-ranked Gators finishing in the top 10 in the final Associated Press poll and $25,000 for being named the AP's SEC coach of the year.

Those bring his total to $225,000 -- and there could be more.

The NCAA bonus would increase from $75,000 to $100,000 if Florida makes the Final Four, and Donovan could get an additional $150,000 for winning the national championship.

Donovan also would land another $50,000 if he's named AP national coach of the year.

Just last week, Donovan hinted that he was still intrigued at the thought of coaching in the NBA.

"I got into coaching because of the basketball piece of it, and there is an intrigue as it relates to [the NBA]," said Donovan, who has led Florida to two national championships. "When you try to project where your future is, where you're going to be, and you don't know because I don't have a crystal ball, all I can say is I am happy here at Florida. I love being here.

"The NBA part of it, the intrigue part of it for me, is just the fact that it's basketball 24 hours a day. That's all you're dealing with is basketball."

Louisville coach Rick Pitino, Donovan's college coach and mentor, said he'd like to see the O'Connell Center court named after his former Providence point guard and Kentucky assistant one day.

"You know, it's always been, not a dream of Billy's, but a dream of mine to see a court named 'Billy Donovan Court,'" Pitino said Friday. "I thought it would happen a while ago, to see his name on the court. I still very much want to see that someday because of what he's meant to Gator basketball."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.