Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

University of Florida’s national ranking held steady in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings, while other Florida schools are on the rise.

UF, which was ranked the No. 5 best public university in the nation as recently as 2023, remained at No. 7 for the second straight year. UF tied for that spot with the University of Texas at Austin.

The new rankings follow a chaotic turn for UF when school officials hired University of Michigan President Santo Ono to take over as President, only to be overturned by the Florida Board of Governors amid a conservative backlash.

Meanwhile, both Florida State University and the University of South Florida jumped two spots to earn rank

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