Gov.-elect Donalds talks humility, higher ed, college sports in post-victory speech

In his first public appearance since his historic electoral victory, Gov.-elect Byron Donalds delivered a brief speech Thursday calling the results humbling.

Donald’s 12-minute speech carried none of the partisan fire that has come to mark Gov. Ron DeSantis’s public appearances, and struck a more conciliatory message than his predecessor favored.

‘Elections are a mirror that are basically held up to our state, and what we saw last week is that Florida is a very passionate, diverse, and deeply engaged place. The margins were close. The reality carries with it a profound lesson in humility, and it serves as a powerful reminder: The leaders in this room do not serve a single faction or a single ideology,” Donalds said.

“We serve all 23 million Floridians, regardless of how any citizen casts their ballot.”

Donalds delivered his speech during a State University System Board of Governors summit at Florida International University. As such, his prepared comments were education-specific. The university system has for the past decade been ranked No. 1 in the nation by U. S. News & World Report — an assessment that takes into consideration the length of time it takes for students to complete two- and four-year college programs, the cost of in-state tuition and fees, and the debt burden graduates carry.

‘Our mission now is to stay that way, and then to continue to expand our capabilities,” he said. “A decade at the summit, at the summit of higher education, is not a partisan achievement. It is a Florida achievement.”

Donalds said he’ll continue to stand behind performance-based funding for state universities, which, he said, “rightfully ties resources to tangible student outcomes.” Going forward, he said, he’d like state universities to set the “bold goal” of graduating more engineers.

‘I rely on candor’

Seemingly nervous at first, Donalds quickly found his footing as he finished his prepared remarks and interacted directly with people in the audience.

Donalds mentioned he was going to meet with other governors next week for an event and said the focus should be on policy, not sizing up “potential future rivals on a presidential debate stage.”

Without missing a beat, Donalds quickly added: “I’m not running for president. I just want to be clear on that. You got to say that stuff now, crazy.”

When asked how the universities could best work with his administration, Donalds said he likes to maintain open-door communication. “I rely on candor. Like I’m a big boy. Like you could just tell me what it is.”

‘The toddler phase of NIL’

The governor-elect held nothing back when Florida Gulf Coast University trustee Paul Applegarth asked about his position on the federal Protect College Sports Act. The legislation follows legal rulings that forced the NCAA to lift its longstanding prohibition on compensating student athletes, a move Donalds supports.

The Protect College Sports Act would establish a national framework for the enforcement of name, image, and likeness deals and give an antitrust exemption to the NCAA and college athletic conferences. It has passed the U.S. Senate but not the U.S. House. While it is supported by President Donald Trump, who endorsed Donalds for governor, it is opposed by the Congressional Black Caucus.

“I hate that bill. I’m just telling you, I don’t like it. I’m not a fan of it,” Donalds said, adding he had shared his sentiments with Sens. Rick Scott and Ashley Moody before the Senate voted 77-22 to pass it (Scott opposed it but Moody supported it.)

Donalds said college sports are in the “toddler phase of NIL right now.” As he continued — only half jokingly adding that he was “really going to get in trouble now” — Donalds said the collapse of some conferences and realignment of others may reflect a faulty business model.

“I am a market-based system person. I believe in free markets, and so if somebody has the talent and ability to leverage their name, to go to make money, good.”

Dollars and “sense”

One professor asked what lessons Republicans should take away from the elections. Donalds said the outcomes reflected kitchen-table issues like rising costs of living as well as concerns about the future and being able to “sustain a great life.”

Specific to higher education, Donalds stressed it’s about ensuring students graduate with degrees that would make graduates economically viable.

“So, that’s the way I look at the world. I try to keep things pretty simple. If it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense. And when you talk to somebody in their life, if they cannot figure out how to pay rent-slash-mortgage, pay utility bills, put food on the table, gas in the car, pay for insurance, pay for healthcare, etc. — if they are struggling, either to do it or don’t have the confidence that they’re going to be able to do that into the future, I think you’re going to continue to see this push and pull electorally throughout the United States of America,” he said.