The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and are consistently ranked among the top college sports programs in the United States. The University of Florida currently fields teams in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports.
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nickname, "the Head Ball Coach". He played college football as a quarterback for the Florida Gators, where he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy. The San Francisco 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1967 NFL draft, and he spent a decade playing in the National Football League (NFL), mainly as a backup quarterback and punter. Spurrier was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.
William John Donovan Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. Before moving to the NBA, he served as the head basketball coach at the University of Florida from 1996 to 2015, and led his Florida Gator teams to back-to-back NCAA championships in 2006 and 2007, as well as an NCAA championship appearance in 2000.
Samuel Ray Graves was an American professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting center and team captain for the Volunteers under head coach Robert Neyland. After playing in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, he returned to Tennessee to serve as an assistant football coach, then left for a longer stint as an assistant at Georgia Tech under head coach Bobby Dodd. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 1960 until 1969, where he led the Gators to their most successful decade in program history up to that point. While at Florida, he recruited and coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier, who often praised Graves as a role model and mentor during his own successful coaching career. Graves also served as Florida's athletic director from 1960 until his retirement in 1979.
The 1983 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Charley Pell's fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Pell's Gators posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–2, placing third among ten SEC teams. Behind a stout defense and a rushing attack led by future pros Neal Anderson, John L. Williams, and Lorenzo Hampton the 1983 Gators were the first squad in program history to be ranked among the top ten teams in the final Associated Press (AP) poll. It was also the second time that the Gators were ranked in every weekly AP Poll throughout the season,.
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their home games in Condron Ballpark on the university's Gainesville, Florida, campus, and are currently led by head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. In the 105-season history of the Florida baseball program, the team has won 16 SEC championships and has appeared in 14 College World Series tournaments. The Gators won their first national championship in 2017.
The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Tim Walton. In the twenty-six year history of the Florida Softball program, the team has won two Women's College World Series (WCWS) national championships, nine SEC regular season championships, five SEC tournament championships, and have made eleven WCWS appearances.
Timothy Ian Walton is an American college softball coach and a former college and professional baseball player. Walton is currently the head coach of the Florida Gators softball team of the University of Florida.
The 2008 Florida Gators softball team was an American softball team, representing the University of Florida for the 2008 NCAA softball season. The team went 70–5 overall and 27–1 in SEC play. The 70 wins set an NCAA single season record and Florida, named the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, advanced to the semifinals of the Women's College World Series. They also were the SEC regular season and tournament champions. Five Gators were named All-Americans and Junior pitcher Stacey Nelson was the SEC Pitcher of the Year.
The 2010 Florida Gators softball team represented the University of Florida softball program for the 2010 NCAA softball season.
The 2014 Alabama Crimson Tide softball team is an American softball team, representing the University of Alabama for the 2014 NCAA softball season. The Crimson Tide played their home games at Rhoads Stadium. After losing in the 2013 NCAA Super Regionals, the 2014 team looked to make the postseason for the 16th straight year, and the Women's College World Series for ninth time, where they would lose against the Florida Gators in the championship game. This season represented the 18th season of softball in the school's history.
The 2013 Florida Gators softball team represented the University of Florida softball program for the 2013 NCAA softball season.
The 2014 Florida Gators softball team represented the University of Florida softball program during the 2014 NCAA Division I softball season.
Lauren Elizabeth Anna Haeger is a professional softball pitcher and first baseman with the Dallas Charge of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). After being named a member of the 2011 MaxPreps Softball All-American Team and earning a gold medal at the III Pan American (18-under) Games in 2010, Haegar played softball at the University of Florida.
The history of Florida Gators football began in 1906, when the newly established "University of the State of Florida" fielded a football team during its first full academic year of existence. The school's name was shortened to the University of Florida in 1908, and the football team gained the nickname "Gators" in 1911. The program started small, usually playing six to eight games per season against small colleges and local athletic club teams in north Florida and south Georgia. The Orange and Blue developed early rivalries with the Stetson Hatters from nearby Deland and Mercer Bears from Macon. During the 1910s, Florida began playing a wider range of opponents from more established football programs across the southeastern United States and faced off against several future rivals - such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and Auburn - for the first time.
Kelly Katlyn Barnhill is an American professional softball pitcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2019, earning All-American honors during her tenure with the team. She was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Honda Sports Award, and espnW Player of the Year in 2017. She is the career no hitters (7), strikeouts, strikeout ratio (10.5) and WHIP leader for the Gators. She also ranks in career strikeout ratio for both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA Division I.
The 2020 Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the 2020 NCAA Division I softball season. The Gators play their home games at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium.
The Alabama–Florida football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game between the Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama and the Gators of the University of Florida. Both schools were charter members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1933. Although Alabama and Florida played 24 times between 1916 and 1991, the rivalry did not manifest until 1992, when they competed in the first SEC Championship Game, setting a precedent for years to come which would decide both SEC and national champions.
Aubree Munro Watson is an American, former college softball player, medal-winning Olympian, professional softball catcher. She played college softball for the Florida Gators where she won two NCAA Championships, and played professionally for the USSSA Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). She is currently a member of the United States women's national softball team, and represented Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal.
Amanda Lorenz is an American professional softball player for the USSSA Pride and member of the United States women's national softball team. She played college softball for the Florida Gators, where she was named NFCA National Freshman of the Year in 2016.
