Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed transferring the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida as part of his 2026–27 budget plan, a move intended to expand and reshape the small liberal-arts institution. The proposal would give New College 32 acres of land and unfinished facilities while New College would assume related debt and operational control under a tight handover deadline. The plan revives an earlier effort to remake New College after a politically driven trusteeship overhaul; critics warned the transfer could saddle New College with debt and administrative challenges while opponents called it a politically motivated restructuring. If enacted, the move would reshape campus footprints, enrollment pipelines and regional higher-education offerings in southwest Florida.