Florida Gators Totally Explained

Florida Gators is the team name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Lady Gators is an alternative often used for the women's teams.
   All Gator athletic teams compete in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, of which they're charter members, in NCAA Division I.
   The athletic department is run by the University Athletic Association (UAA), a private organization despite the school itself being publicly funded. Since 1992, the athletic director of the Gators has been Jeremy Foley.
   All athletic teams have on-campus facilities for competition. Most of these facilities are adjacent to the half-mile-long Stadium Drive, including Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (dubbed The Swamp) for football; the Stephen C. O'Connell Center (also known as the O-Dome) for men’s and women’s basketball, women's volleyball and gymnastics; McKethan Stadium for baseball; and Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex for men's and women's tennis.
   The overall athletic program is one of the best in the nation and arguably the best overall in the SEC for the past two decades. The men's and women's teams have combined to win the Southeastern Conference All-Sports Trophy in every year but one 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.
   Most recently, the Gators completed an unprecented "Triple Crown", winning back to back Division I Men's basketball championships while sandwiching a BCS National Title in football in between, all in 366 days.

Overview

The University of Florida was one of the charter members in the Southeastern Conference. Previously the Gators were in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1912 to 1921, and in the Southern Conference from 1922 until the SEC was founded in 1932.
    Orange and blue were officially adopted as the school colors in 1910 from the main colors of the two institutions that had united to form UF in 1903.
   With the state of Florida being home to an estimated million alligators, the American Alligator (often just called a "Gator") was chosen as the mascot to represent the University of Florida in 1911. The official costumed mascots of the Florida Gators are Albert (Albert E. Gator) and Alberta.
   The Gators' most prominent current rivals are SEC Eastern Division foes, the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers, and the ACC's Florida State Seminoles. Florida has also shared past rivalries with the Auburn Tigers and Miami Hurricanes which have lessened in intensity in recent years.
   There are 8 men's athletic teams and 10 women's teams currently fielded by the UAA. They are:

Men's Sports
Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Football
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Women's Sports
Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Gymnastics
Soccer
Softball
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball

In addition, women's lacrosse is scheduled to begin play in 2010.

Football

   The football team, as is the case for all other SEC schools, competes in the higher of two classifications, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which is still frequently referred to by its former designation of Division I-A.
   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 formerly 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 in-state rival Florida State at the end of the season.
   The football team has been one of the winningest in Division I-A/FBS since 1990, the year Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier returned to his alma mater as coach. 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.
   Following the 2001 season, Spurrier left the program to try his hand at coaching in the National Football League. Ron Zook, at one time the defensive coordinator under Spurrier, was hired as his replacement. Zook's squads were known for their inconsistency, and he was fired midway through the 2004 season, following a surprise loss to the Bulldogs of Mississippi State in Starkville, MS. Urban Meyer was announced as Florida Football's new head coach in December 2004. His first season in 2005 brought an immediate improvement of Florida's record at 9-3, with signature wins over all three of Florida's top rivals. The team narrowly missed out on playing for the SEC title due to a shocking loss to Spurrier's new team, the South Carolina Gamecocks.
   The 2006 team played for the school's second National Championship in January 2007, beating the Ohio State Buckeyes by the score of 41-14 to win Florida's second football national title.
   The Gators have won the SEC Championship Game a record 6 times in 8 tries since the game began in 1992. They won their first official conference title in 1991, the last year before the game was played.

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. Lon Kruger slowly brought the team to increased success and reached the NIT final four in his second year as coach. In 1993-94, 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. Two years later, Kruger's final season resulted in a losing record, and he left to coach at Illinois.
   Florida's Athletic Director 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, an eight-year streak that's easily the school record.
   The team had the distinction of never having won their conference tournament despite several regular-season titles under Donovan 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 but selfless squad led by four sophomores. The team started the season unranked, yet still managed to win its second consecutive SEC Tournament championship. On April 3 2006, the Gators defeated the UCLA Bruins 73-57 in the National Finals to win the school's first men's basketball championship. All 5 starters announced they were going to return for another season to try to win consecutive championships. The University of Florida Athletic Association then purchased the floor used in Indianapolis for the Final Four, and installed it in the O'Connell Center.
   Before the start of the 2006-2007 basketball season, the Gators were picked as the preseason #1 in both major media polls for the first time in school history. The Gators won their second consecutive NCAA National Men's Basketball Championship on April 2, 2007, defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 84-75. They became the first team since the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils to win back-to-back tournaments and the first in history to do so with the same starting lineup.
   The Thursday after the National Championship, Florida's four juniors announced they'd skip their senior year and enter the NBA draft. After spurning the open Kentucky coaching job the week after winning the championship, head coach Billy Donovan accepted the head coaching job with the NBA's Orlando Magic on June 1, 2007. A day later, Donovan informed the Magic he wanted to return to Florida instead. On June 6, 2007, the Orlando Magic let Donovan out of the five-year contract he'd previously signed. He signed a contract on June 7, 2007 to become the highest-paid coach in college basketball.

Women's Basketball

Women's basketall was approved as a sport by UF in March 1972 and began play in 1973 as a club team. In 1975 they debuted as a varsity program under head coach Dr. Paula Welch. They made local headlines in 1976 by winning the "state championship" by beating the other three women's teams in the state at that time.
   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 is Carol Ross, who guided the team for 12 seasons but now coaches at her alma mater, Ole Miss.
   Florida's women’s team had been coached by Carolyn Peck, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue, since the 2002-03 season. Her brother, Michael, had been an assistant on the staff since 2001. Peck was fired midway through the 2006 season (though allowed to finish out the year) after enduring the worst losing streak of any Gator's sports.
   Former UF player and previous UNC Charlotte coach, Amanda Butler was named the new women's basketball coach on April 13, 2007.

Baseball

Andy Lopez took over the program in 1994, one season removed from leading Pepperdine University to its only national championship in the College World Series. In 1996, he coached the Gators to a 50-win season and College World Series bid. By 2000, however,the program had seemingly hit a plateau and Lopez was replaced in order to get the program to the next level. Pat McMahon became head coach 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 struggled through the 2006 season, however. The Gators found themselves 1 game under .500 (26-27) heading into their final series, against LSU in Gainesville. UF surprisingly took 2 of 3 to finish right at .500, 28-28. However, the team's 10-20 SEC record was the second worst in the conference (only Auburn's 9-21 campaign was worse), and they didn't qualify for the SEC Tournament. There was very slight hope that the team might be selected for the NCAA Regionals, but in the end their disappointing performance didn't get them a bid.
   After missing the NCAA Regionals again in 2007, McMahon was terminated as Florida baseball coach on June 7, 2007. (External Link

) Former Clemson associate head coach Kevin O'Sullivan agreed to become the Gators' new head baseball coach on June 13, 2007. (External Link

)

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 US women's national 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 16 years at Florida, Wise has compiled a 520-53 (0.907) record, won 16 consecutive SEC regular season titles (1991-2006), 12 SEC Tournament titles (1992-96, 1998-2003, 2000) and the Gators have made 16 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, including 7 final four appearances and a trip to the National Championship game in 2003.
The 2006 season brought with it a 33-3 overall record and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen, held in Gainesville. The Gators fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 3 games to 1.

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're 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.
Florida finished the 2007 season third overall behind Utah and Georgia despite being ranked #1 in the nation and defeated Georgia to win the SEC Championship earlier in the year.

Lacrosse

In early 2006, the UF Athletic Association announced they'd soon begin play in women's lacrosse, due to the growth of the sport and increased availability of competition. They became the second SEC school to offer lacrosse as a varsity sport, following Vanderbilt. They will begin play in 2010.

Cheers and Spirit Program

A short video showing alligators moving in on their prey, with the famous Jaws theme playing in the background, is displayed on the Daktronics ProStar Video Board, commonly known as a jumbotron during every football game before the players come out of the tunnel. ESPN's College Gameday analyst Lee Corso, a former coach and graduate of rival school Florida State, called it one of the most thrilling moments in college football.
   "Orange and blue" is one cheer that's very popular at home games, with the student section yelling "Orange!," and the alumni section answering back with their loudest "Blue." This can go back and forth for several minutes, with both sides competing to be the louder one.
   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, and was made an honorary alumnus in 2005.
   Another tradition--at home and on the road--is when Gator fans link arms and sway, singing We are the Boys after the end of every third quarter. � We are the boys from old Florida

   F - L - O - R - I - D - A � Where the girls are the fairest,

   the boys are the squarest � of any old state down our way.

� We are all strong for old Florida,

   down where the old Gators play. � In all kinds of weather,

   we'll all stick together. for � F - L - O - R - I - D - A (External Link

)

Traditionally fans add "Hey!" at the end of the first stanza, and shout "Go Gators!" after the line "Down where the old Gators play," and at the conclusion of the song.
The University of Florida Fight Song ("The Orange and Blue

") is also sung frequently at all Florida sporting events. � So give a cheer for the Orange and Blue

   Waving for-ev-er � Forever Pride of old Flor-i-da

   May she droop nev-er… � We'll sing a song for the flag to-day

   Cheer for the team at play! � On to the goal we'll fight our way for Flor-i-da.

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
2006-07	6th

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.
In the 2006-07 academic calendar, Florida finished sixth place in the NACDA Directors' Cup. The finish marks Florida's 24th consecutive position among the nation's top-10 programs. Eleven different Gator teams finished in the top 10 of their respective sport.
· Men’s Basketball (No. 1)
· Football (No. 1)
· Gymnastics (No. 3)
· Men’s Swimming & Diving (No. 4)
· Women’s Tennis (No. T-5)
· Women’s Swimming & Diving (No. 7)
· Men’s Golf (No. T-9)
· Soccer (No. T-9)
· Softball (No. T-9)
· Men’s Tennis (No. T-9)
· Volleyball (No. T-9)

2006-07 Directors’ Cup Standings

1. Stanford - 1429.00 points
2. UCLA - 1257.00 points
3. North Carolina - 1161.33
4. Michigan - 1135.25
5. Southern California - 1103.50
6. Florida - 1064.25

SEC All-Sports Trophy

At the end of the 2005-06 season, Florida has claimed 168 SEC titles, the most in conference history. The next closest program is Tennessee with 141 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.
   Georgia won the 2005-06 All-Sports trophy to snap Florida's record streak at 14 straight (1990-91 through 2004-05).
   Florida reclaimed the SEC All-Sports Trophy for the 2006-07 athletic year. The Gators won in the overall, men's, and women's sports trophies. They are the only SEC program to earn all 3 in a single year, and had last accomplished the feat in 2000-01. (External Link

)

2006-07 Overall SEC All-Sports Standings

Place	School	Points	Sports	Average
1.	Florida	285.5	16	11.45
2.	Tennessee	141	15	9.40
3.	Georgia	133.5	16	8.34
4.	LSU	115.5	16	7.22
5.	Auburn	102	16	6.38
5.	Vanderbilt	76.5	12	6.38
7.	Alabama	100	16	6.25
8.	Arkansas	88	15	5.87
9.	Mississippi	75	13	5.77
10.	South Carolina	86.5	15	5.77
11.	Kentucky	89.5	16	5.59
12.	Mississippi State	52	14	4.00

National Championships

In its history, Florida has won 27 team national championships and 185 individual national championships. Florida is also the only team to hold both major championships at the same time (as the 2006 BCS Champions and the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions). The Gators basketball team repeated in NCAA Men's Basketball in the 2005-2006 season and in the 2006-2007 season being the first time since Duke in the early 90's.

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 AP & Coaches Polls Championship

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

Football - 2006 BCS Championship

Men's Basketball - 2007 NCAA Championship

Notable alumni

Baseball

David Eckstein, All-Star shortstop and 2006 World Series MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals

Mark Ellis, second baseman for the Oakland Athletics

Josh Fogg, starting pitcher for the Colorado Rockies

Matt LaPorta, UF All-American, 1st baseman in the Milwaukee Brewers organization

Al Rosen, former Major League Baseball third basesman & MVP

Brad Wilkerson, outfielder for the Texas Rangers Men’s Basketball
See Florida Gators men's basketball Women’s Basketball

Amanda Butler, also current coach

Vanessa Hayden, center for the Minnesota Lynx

Tammy Jackson, reitred four-time WNBA champion

DeLisha Milton, WNBA champion and US gold medalist

Murriel Page, forward for the Los Angeles Sparks Football
See Florida Gators football Golf

Tommy Aaron, Masters winner

Mark Calcavecchia, British Open winner

Bob Murphy, 1965 U.S. Amateur champion and current broadcaster

Andy Bean, PGA Tour player and Champion's Tour player

Gary Koch, six-time winner on the PGA Tour and NBC Sports golf analyst

Bubba Dickerson, 2001 U.S. Amateur champion

Chris DiMarco, current PGA Tour player

Matt Every, led all amateurs in 2005 U.S. Open

Steve Melnyk, 1969 U.S. Amateur champion and current broadcaster

Andy North, two time U.S. Open winner

Camilo Villegas, current PGA Tour player

Soccer

Danielle Fotopoulos, NCAA record holder for most career goals, former US National team member

Heather Mitts, US National Team member, model, and sportscaster

Abby Wambach, US National team member Track and Field

John Capel, US Olympian sprinter who also played football

Dennis Mitchell, US gold medalist relay runner

Candice Scott, Olympian for Trinidad

Bernard Williams, US gold medalist relayer Swimming and Diving

Ryan Lochte, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Matt Cetlinski, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Mike Heath, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Martin Zubero, Spain Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Anthony Nesty, Suriname Olympic gold medalist swimmer

David Larson, Suriname Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Tracy Caulkins, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Nicole Haislett, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Dara Torres, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Allison Sinclair, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Mary Wayte, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

Janie Wagstaff, US Olympic gold medalist swimmer

External results

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