article

The Florida Gators is the team name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. There are 8 men's athletic teams and 10 women's teams that compete in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference in Division I-A, and have combined to win the Southeastern Conference All-Sports Trophy every year since its inception. The Gators have also been in the top 10 of the National All Sports rankings every year for the past two decades.

Traditional rivals in most sports include in-state Florida State University and the University of Miami, as well as conference rivals Georgia and Tennessee.

The athletic department is run by the University Athletic Association, a private organization. The department dedicates about $73 million per year to its sports teams and facilities. Since 1992, the athletic director of the Gators has been Jeremy Foley. All athletic teams have on-campus facilities for competition, including Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field for football, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for men’s and women’s basketball, and McKethan Stadium for baseball.

Tailgating for the Gators is a major pastime and is followed on websites that have drawn thousands of fans. *

Football

The football team is traditionally the most popular sport at the university, where even the spring practice Orange and Blue Game has drawn crowds in excess of 50,000. *

Florida plays an eight-game conference schedule, headlined by annual SEC Eastern division showdowns against Tennessee and Georgia, the latter being held in Jacksonville, Florida every year and dubbed "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." The permanent SEC West team the Gators face every season is LSU. In addition, the team has a yearly out-of-conference meeting with Florida State at the end of the season.

The Gators had their first taste of long-term success in the mid-1960s, when Ray Graves set the team record for wins at Florida with 70, a record that stood for thirty years. One of his best teams was in 1966, a squad led by Heisman Trophy winner, Steve Spurrier. He retired after a 9-1-1 season in 1969 to let Florida alumnus Doug Dickey to take over the reins. Dickey had some success, going 58-43-2, but it wasn’t enough to keep his job after a 4-7 season in 1978.

Charley Pell took over from Dickey, bringing the Gators back to respectability on the field, but had troubles off of it. Though he began his career with an 0-11 season, the Gators turned it around with an eight win season the following year, which set an NCAA record for win differential in a year (this has since been surpassed). He went 33-15 after the winless opening season. He was fired during his (and, at the time, the Gators’) best season in 1984 in light of major NCAA violations.

Galen Hall coached the team from the middle of 1984 to 1989 with much success, including an SEC title in 1984 and 1985, though these were to be stripped due to NCAA violations committed by Pell. Future NFL stars such as Lomas Brown and Emmitt Smith headlined the rosters. Hall went 40-18 at Florida. He had his own violation scandal, however, and was fired during the 1989 season. Gary Darnell finished the season for him.

The football team has been one of the winningest in Division 1-A since 1990, the year Spurrier returned to his alma mater as coach. That year, the Gators finished first in the SEC for the third time ever (the others being the title-stripped years of ’84 and ’85), but were ineligible for the SEC title. They won their first official SEC championship in 1991. The team played for the championship in the first ever championship game in 1992 but lost to the eventual national champions, Alabama. To date, the team has played in the most championship games of any team in either division, winning five times (1993-1996, 2000) in seven appearances.

The 1996 team, led by another Heisman winner, Danny Wuerffel, went 12-1 and won the national championship game in the Sugar Bowl, avenging an earlier loss to rival Florida State. Their other national championship game appearance was in 1995 in the Fiesta Bowl, later nicknamed the “Fiasco Bowl” for its lopsided score in favor of Nebraska (62-24).

Following the 2001 season, Spurrier left the program to try his hand at coaching in the National Football League. After a much-publicized and much-scrutinized coaching search, former Gator assistant coach Ron Zook was hired as his replacement. Zook's squads were known for their inconsistency; they handed Nick Saban's Louisiana State team its only loss in its 2003 national championship season and Georgia its only loss in 2002, while going winless against the state of Mississippi, Miami, and its bowl games. Zook was fired midway through the 2004 season, but allowed to finish out the regular season.

Urban Meyer was announced as Florida Football's new head coach in December 2004. His first season in 2005 was a respectable 9-3, including a bowl win against the Iowa Hawkeyes, but the team missed out on a chance to play in the SEC title game after a devastating loss to Spurrier's new team, South Carolina, though the team managed to sweep its three biggest rivals (Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida State) for just the fourth time in school history.

The Gators had arguably the best recruiting class in the nation in 2006*, signing such players as All-American dual-threat quarterback Tim Tebow and overall #1 HS recruit, wide receiver Percy Harvin. Other five star recruits included offensive lineman Carl Johnson, linebacker Brandon Spikes, wide receiver Jarred Fayson, and safety Jamar Hornsby. The Gators' first game in the 2006 season will be versus Southern Miss on September 2nd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Men's Basketball

Florida had limited success prior to the mid-1990s. However, under the tenure of Norm Sloan, Vernon Maxwell led the team to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen in 1987, and Sloan coached the team to the tournament again the following two years. After a drug scandal involving Maxwell, Sloan left and the program went on probation.

Don DeVoe coached the team for the 1989-90 season, after which Lon Kruger was hired. While never known as a great recruiter, Kruger slowly brought the team to increased success and reached the NIT final four in his second year as coach. In 1993-94, however, the pieces fell into place for Florida. Behind Andrew DeClercq and Dametri Hill, the Gators went to their first Final Four following a dramatic victory over UConn where Donyell Marshall missed two free throws with no time on the clock to force overtime, where the Gators eventually prevailed. They lost to Duke in the national semifinal, 70-65. The next year, they returned to the NCAA tournament, but were eliminated in the first round. Kruger's final season in 1995-96 resulted in a losing record, and he left to coach at Illinois.

Jeremy Foley, looking for a young coach with a proven track record, hired Billy Donovan, then at Marshall, as Kruger's replacement. His recruiting prowess was evident early, bringing future NBA star Jason Williams with him from Marshall and having early recruiting classes with future NBA players Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, and Matt Bonner, among others. The Gators have made the NCAA Tournament every year since Donovan's third season with the team, a seven-year streak that is easily the school record. Although Donovan is young (40) compared to many coaches, he is the longest tenured men's basketball coach in the SEC.

The team had the distinction of never having won a conference tournament despite several regular-season titles until the 2004-05 season, when they beat rival Kentucky in the SEC title game.

The 2005-2006 team's start of 17-0 was the best in school history, surprising many with a young (four sophomores and one junior) but selfless squad following the graduation of David Lee and the departures of Matt Walsh and Anthony Roberson to the NBA.They were 60% of their offense in 2005. The team started the season unranked, yet still managed to win its second consecutive SEC Tournament championship and a national championship.

Gators 2006 NCAA Tournament Results
Round Opponent Score
Round #1 # 14 South Alabama 76-50
Round #2 # 3 Wisc. Milwaukee 82-60
Sweet 16 # 7 Georgetown 57-53
Elite 8 # 1 Villanova 75-62
Final 4 # 11 George Mason 73-58
Championship # 2 UCLA 73-57
The Gators took a 27-6 overall record and #10 national ranking into the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where they were a #3 seed in the Minneapolis regional. They beat South Alabama and Wisconsin-Milwaukee to advance to the regional finals. There, the Gators defeated the Georgetown Hoyas and moved to the Elite Eight, where on Sunday, March 26th, Florida defeated #1 seed Villanova 75-62 to move on to the Final Four.

Florida defeated the George Mason Patriots 73-58 in the National Semi-finals in Indianapolis. On April 3 2006, the Gators defeated the UCLA Bruins, 73-57 to win the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship for the first time in school history.

Women's Basketball

Florida's women’s team has been coached by Carolyn Peck, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue, since the 2002-03 season. Her brother, Michael, has been an assistant on the staff since 2001.

While traditionally being overshadowed by divisional (and national) basketball powers Tennessee and Georgia, the Lady Gators have made several NCAA Tournament appearances and sent players to the WNBA, such as Delisha Milton-Jones. The winningest coach at Florida was Peck's predecessor, Carol Ross, who guided the team for 12 seasons but now coaches at her alma mater, Ole Miss.

With a senior-ladden team, the Lady Gators started the 2005-06 season unranked and gradually worked their way into the Top 25, finishing the season at 21-9 overall and 8-6 in conference play. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament to New Mexico.

Baseball

Baseball is coached by Pat McMahon, who joined in 2001 after coaching at Mississippi State.

The 2005 season was the best in school history, as the team won the SEC title and made the College World Series for the first time in seven years, and advanced all the way to the championship round against Texas, but ultimately lost two games to none. The baseball team has made the Series five times in total.

The expectations for the team were high for 2006; they opened the season as the #1 team in the polls. The team has struggled through the 2006 season, however, and missed the NCAA regionals altogether.

Soccer

Becky Burleigh has been the coach since the team first began play in 1996. The team quickly became a contender and, in 1998, won the national title in its third year of existence against the storied North Carolina program. A player from that team, Heather Mitts has enjoyed a career on and off the field, including a spot on the United States Women's National Soccer Team.

Another former player, Abby Wambach, has become a recent star on the U.S. team and scored the game-winning goal in the final game of the 2004 Olympic Games.

Volleyball

Florida began competing in Volleyball in 1984 under the lead of Marilyn McReavy but didn’t achieve true success until Mary Wise took over the program in 1991.

In her 15 years at Florida, Wise has compiled a 492-51 (0.906) record, won 15 consecutive SEC regular season titles (1991-2005), 12 SEC Tournament titles (1992-96, 1998-03, 2000) and the Gators have made 15 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, including 7 final four appearances and a trip to the National Championship game in 2003.

The 2005 season brought with it a 33-3 overall record and a trip to the Elite Eight where Florida lost to top seeded Nebraska.

Women's Tennis

Florida has one of the strongest and most storied women's tennis programs in NCAA history, producing such former greats as Lisa Raymond and Jill Craybas. Currently, they are second to only Stanford with 4 NCAA Championships.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics was one of the first women's sports added at the University of Florida and achieved early success winning the 1982 AIAW Championship. Since the NCAA took over the championships in 1982, Florida has advanced to the National Championships (Top 12) 15 times and an additional 10 times, has advanced to the Super Six. Florida's highest finish in NCAA competition was as runner-up in 1998.

Currently, the Gators are coached by Rhonda Faehn and finished 4th at the 2006 NCAA Championships.

Mascots, Cheers, and Spirit Program

Costumed in plush to look like American Alligators, the official mascots of the Florida Gators are Albert and Alberta.

A short video showing alligators moving in on their prey, with the famous Jaws theme playing in the background, is displayed on the jumbotron during every football game before the players come out of the tunnel. ESPN's College Gameday analyst Lee Corso, a graduate and former coach at rival school Florida State, called it one of the best moments in college football.

The marching band that performs at halftime and after big plays during the football season is known as The Pride of the Sunshine.

The coordinated dance team that performs at many sports are known as the Dazzlers.

The football team has a long-time tradition of having George Edmondson Jr.--better known as Mr. Two Bits--wandering through the stands with a sign and a whistle to pump up the crowd to the cheer of:

''Two bits,
''Four bits,
''Six bits,
''A dollar.
''All for the Gators,
''Stand up and Holler!

Though he officially retired in 1998, Edmonds has been seen at many football games since.

Fans are often seen to perform the Gator Chomp. Another tradition of football fans--at home and on the road--is singing We Are the Boys from Old Florida after the end of the third quarter. *

All-Sports Rankings

NACDA Directors’ Cup

Annual Finishes in the National All-Sport Rankings
Academic Year UF Finish
1983-84 5th
1984-85 4th
1985-86 8th
1986-87 4th
1987-88 5th
1988-89 9th
1989-90 5th
1990-91 5th
1991-92 5th
1992-93 4th
1993-94 4th
1994-95 5th
1995-96 3rd
1996-97 5th
1997-98 T2nd
1998-99 4th
1999-00 7th
2000-01 7th
2001-02 3rd
2002-03 7th
2003-04 6th
2004-05 6th
2005-06 5th
Florida has finished in the top 10 in national all sports rankings every year since 1983-84. UCLA is the only other program that has matched that feat. Perhaps more impressive is that Florida has managed this accomplishment while fielding fewer sports than other perennial top athletic programs. The finish marks Florida's 23rd consecutive position among the nation's top-10 programs.

In the 2005-06 academic calendar, Florida finished fifth place in the NACDA Directors' Cup, with eleven different Gator teams finishing in the top 10 of their respective sport.

  • Men's Basketball (No. 1)
  • Men's Golf (No. 2)
  • Women's Tennis (No. T-3)
  • Gymnastics (No. 4)
  • Men's Swimming & Diving (No. 5)
  • Volleyball (No. T-5)
  • Women's Golf (No. T-6)
  • Men's Indoor Track & Field (No. 9)
  • Men's Tennis (No. T-9)
  • Women's Swimming & Diving (No. 10)

2005-06 Directors’ Cup Standings
  1. Stanford - 11975.375 points
  2. UCLA - 1071.375 points
  3. Texas - 966.00 points
  4. North Carolina - 952.75 points
  5. Florida - 913.00 points

SEC All-Sports Trophy

To date, Florida has claimed 168 SEC titles. The next closest program is Georgia with 116 titles.

The SEC All-Sports Trophy began in 1973 as the Bernie Moore trophy and tabulated the league’s best men’s sports program. In 1983, the SEC also began calculating the best women’s sports program in the conference, as well as tabulating an overall champion. In 1994, the "New York Times" Regional Newspaper Group took over the awarding of the trophy.

In the history of the award, Florida has won 13 Women’s Trophies, 11 Men’s Trophies, and 16 Overall Trophies.

In 2004-05, Florida won its 14th consecutive SEC All-Sports Trophy. UF finished 1st for the Men’s Trophy and 3rd for the Women’s Trophy.

2004-05 Overall SEC All-Sports Standings

Place School Points Sports Average
1. Florida 149 16 9.31
2. Tennessee 135.5 15 9.03
3. Georgia 137 16 8.56
4. Auburn 126.5 16 7.91
5. LSU 112.5 16 7.03
6. Alabama 99 16 6.19
7. Kentucky 95 16 5.94
8. South Carolina 87.5 15 5.83
9. Arkansas 83 15 5.53
10. Miss. State 67.5 13 5.19
11. Vanderbilt 54.5 11 4.95
12. Mississippi 60 13 4.62

National Championships

In its history, Florida has won 25 team national championships and 185 individual national championships.

  • Men's Golf - 1968 NCAA Championship
  • Men's Golf - 1973 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Swimming - 1979 AIAW Championship
  • Gymnastics - 1982 AIAW Championship
  • Women's Swimming - 1982 NCAA Championship
  • Men's Swimming - 1983 NCAA Championship
  • Men's Swimming - 1984 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Golf - 1985 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Golf - 1986 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Tennis - 1988 National Team Indoor
  • Women's Tennis - 1991 National Team Indoor
  • Women's Track - 1992 NCAA Indoor Championship
  • Women's Tennis - 1992 National Team Indoor
  • Women's Tennis - 1992 NCAA Championship
  • Men's Golf - 1993 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Tennis - 1996 NCAA Championship
  • Football - 1996 Associated Press/Coaches'
  • Women's Tennis - 1996 National Team Indoor
  • Women's Tennis - 1997 National Team Indoor
  • Women's Tennis - 1998 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Soccer - 1998 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Tennis - 1999 National Team Indoor
  • Men's Golf - 2001 NCAA Championship
  • Women's Tennis - 2003 NCAA Championship
  • Men's Basketball - 2006 NCAA Championship

Prominent current and former athletes

Baseball

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Football

Golf

Soccer

Track and Field

External links

University of Florida athletics

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Florida Gators".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world