Gov. DeSantis appoints Urban Meyer onto New College’s trustees

Gov. Ron DeSantis wants Urban Meyer to be a trustee at New College of Florida.

DeSantis said Tuesday evening he is appointing the former Ohio State University and University of Florida coach onto the Sarasota school’s board pending Senate approval.

“Urban Meyer brings a strategic mindset and national stature that will serve New College immeasurably,” said New College President Richard Corcoran in a statement. “His lifetime of leadership, building teams, mentoring young people, teaching excellence, and developing culture aligns perfectly with our academic mission.”

Meyer would replace Trustee Christopher Rufo who did not want another term. DeSantis is also reappointing New College Trustees Mark Bauerlein and Debra Jenks to the board.

Meyer is currently a college football analyst for FOX Sports after he was fired from head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars after a losing season in 2021.

“In Meyer’s only season with the Jaguars, the team went 2-11, its 10th season with double-digit losses in the past 11 years, but issues off the field are what doomed him,” an ESPN story said at the time. “From hiring a strength and conditioning coordinator who had been accused of making racist remarks and bullying Black players, to a video of Meyer with a woman who was not his wife at a bar, to tensions between Meyer and his staff and players, there was dysfunction almost from the moment Meyer was hired.”

But Meyer also was a winner in his career that spanned at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, and Ohio State. Three times, Meyer won the National Championship — twice with the Gators in 2006 and 2008 and once with the Buckeyes in 2014.

“Winning 85 percent of his games and claiming three national titles, Urban Meyer guided four different FBS programs and became one of the most successful and transformative coaches in college football history,” according to his spot in the National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame.

Meyer’s appointment is at New College, a once-progressive Sarasota liberal arts college that conservatives took over and brought in DeSantis allies to lead. Corcoran is a former House Speaker.

Critics slam New College for its wasteful spending, such as Corcoran’s compensation package, which exceeds $1 million.

Meanwhile, conservatives argue their overhaul of New College is working and is much needed change to combat the “woke” higher education system.

“This fall, New College of Florida reached record enrollment of more than 900 students — equaling the largest enrollment in our history,” David Rancourt , New College’s Vice Provost and VP of Admissions, wrote in a Florida Politics guest column this Fall.