Richard Corcoran

In addition to selecting the former UF and Ohio State coach, the governor reappointed Mark Bauerlein and Debra Jenks to the board of the Sarasota school. Appointments require state Senate confirmation.

The school failed to acquire part of the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus last year after public pushback. But a proposed state budget for 2026 shows that's back up for discussion.

A backdoor plan to hand the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College was revealed in public records last year and eventually dissolved. Observers have anticipated the issue could come up again.

Gov. Ron DeSantis celebrated Florida’s symbolic designation as the top state for religious freedom in the nation, announced during an event at New College by the conservative legal group First Liberty Institute.

The scholarship was established for a person of color by the Lentini family, who want the endowment returned. A New College attorney says that's not how gifts work.

A proposal to transfer control of the Ringling from Florida State University to New College of Florida was not included in this year’s legislative budget.

Since Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new slate of trustees in early 2023, the small liberal arts college has undergone a dramatic transformation — eliminating its Gender Studies program, reshaping student life, and launching a costly new athletics department.

Fred Piccolo, Jr. also faces charges in Sarasota County for walking naked in department stores at University Town Center Mall.

Said New College trustee Ron Christaldi, a prominent Tampa lawyer and GOP political donor: "New College’s vision is to continue to grow and expand … and it needs more space to do that.”

An emergency meeting of faculty and administrators was held Thursday, but it did not assuage fears among some USF professors.

A community grassroots organization is pushing back against a proposal that would strip the Ringling Museum of Art of its partnership with FSU and give it to New College of Florida.

The sale of airport land has to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, which blocked the deal in April, citing numerous problems.