Bill Donovan, the father of Hall of Fame former Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan who remained connected to UF’s program even after his son left, died Saturday, Feb. 14, at 85.

Donovan’s death was confirmed in an obituary posted by Williams-Thomas Funeral Home on Monday, Feb. 16.

A former Boston College Hall of Fame guard who left as the school’s third-time leading scorer in school history, Donovan remained close to the game of basketball through his son, who heled lead Providence to a Final Four in 1987 before going on to coaching success with the Florida Gators. Billy Donovan led Florida to four Final Fours and two national titles from 1996-2015 and his father was often on the bench courtside with him and traveled to road games.

Stetson coach Donnie Jones, a former Florida basketball assistant coach under Donovan from 1996-2007, said the elder Donovan had a way of picking the spirits of players and coaches up, even after tough losses.

“He had such great awareness of the moment,” Jones said. “It was always an encouragement, or he gave a perspective that was always encouraging, or two or three good things if he did make a comment in passing. But it was always a happy spirit it was always an encouraging spirit.”

Condolences poured in around the country as news of the elder Donovan’s passing surfaced.

Donovan lived part-time in Gainesville after his son began his NBA coaching career with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2015 and often attended UF games coached by Mike White and Todd Golden. During the Final Four in San Antonio last April, Donovan rode the team bus with Golden’s father, Scott Golden, to practices and games.