After days of speculation, the news finally became official Thursday morning.

Colorado State coach Jim McElwain has agreed to become the next head coach of the Florida Gators, according to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy.

Prior to the announcement, athletic director Jeremy Foley flew to Fort Collins, Colo., with a contingent of Florida administrators, spending the night before flying back Wednesday afternoon. The only holdup, it appeared, was McElwain’s $7.5 million buyout, which the Gators wanted to negotiate.

Reports mentioned several candidates for the job, including Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, but McElwain’s association with the vacancy heated up in recent days.

On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Brett McMurphy reported that McElwain was Florida’s top candidate, a similar report to that of Yahoo Sports’ Pat Forde from Sunday. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley traveled to Fort Collins, Colo., on Tuesday to meet with McElwain about the opening.

Details of the contract have yet to emerge, but reports late Wednesday indicated that Florida may have to tackle a larger portion of the buyout attached to McElwain’s contract with CSU than it wanted.

McElwain, 52, brings a wealth of offensive experience and success to the Gators, something they desperately need. He was Alabama’s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban from 2008-11 and won two national championships.

At Colorado State, McElwain is 22-16 overall, but has improved the Rams from a 4-8 record in his first season to a 10-2 record just two seasons later. CSU went 2-1 against in-state rival Colorado, a Pac-12 program, under McElwain.

His Rams teams have been particularly adept running the football. Capri Bibbs rushed for 31 touchdowns in 2013, tied for the third-most in a season in NCAA history. Alabama transfer RB Dee Hart has run for more than 1,250 yards this year on 6.7 yards per carry. But CSU has been able to throw as well. WR Rashard Higgins (89 catches, 1,640 receiving yards, 16 TDs) is a Biletnikoff Award finalist.

The Gators offense struggled under coach Will Muschamp, who resigned under pressure in November, but remained stout defensively. Per a report from FootballScoop.com, McElwain is expected to retain at least defensive coordinator DJ Durkin and defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson.

The Mountain West Conference recently named McElwain its Coach of the Year after CSU finished 10-2, 6-2 in the Mountain Division, and ranked as high as No. 21 in the Associated Press poll.