Several selector organizations release annual lists of their All-America teams after each college football season, honoring the best players at each position. Selector organizations include football analysts, television networks, publications, media wire services, sports writers' associations, and coaches' associations. Traditionally, several of the selectors have recognized two or more tiers of All-Americans, referred to as the first team, second team, third team and honorable mentions.
The NCAA currently recognizes the All-America teams of five selector organizations to determine "consensus All-Americans" and "unanimous All-Americans" in college football.[1] The NCAA compiles consensus All-Americans using a point system based on the All-America teams from the five selector organizations.[2] The point system consists of three points for a first-team selection, two points for a second-team selection, and one point for a third-team selection; no points are awarded for honorable mention selections.[2] Since 1993, the NCAA-recognized selectors have included the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Associated Press (AP), the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News (SN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), but the number of selectors used by the NCAA has varied over time, and has included different organizations in the past.[1] The players receiving the most points at each position are recognized as consensus All-Americans; in order for a player to receive unanimous All-American recognition, he must be a first-team selection by all of the NCAA-recognized selector organizations.[1][2]
Since the Florida Gators football team played its first season in 1906, eighty-nine Gators football players have received one or more selections as first-team All-Americans.[3] Included among these players are thirty-three consensus All-Americans, of which eight were also unanimous All-Americans.[1] The first Florida player to be recognized as a first-team All-American was end Dale Van Sickel, a member of the great Gators eleven of 1928.[3][4] Florida's first consensus All-American was quarterback Steve Spurrier, who was the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1966.[3][5]
2012 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana (2012).
Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN0-7948-2298-3.
Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN0-9650782-1-3.
Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN1-58261-514-4.
Kabat, Ric A., "Before the Seminoles: Football at Florida State College, 1902–1904," Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. LXX, no. 1 (July 1991).
MacCambridge, Michael, ed., ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game, ESPN, New York, New York (2005). ISBN978-1401337032.
McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). ISBN0-87397-025-X.
Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN1-57167-196-X.
Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). ISBN0-938637-00-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.