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.
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.
Norman Leslie Sloan Jr. was an American college basketball player and coach. Sloan was a native of Indiana and played college basketball and football at North Carolina State University. He began a long career as a basketball coach months after graduating from college in 1951, and he was the men's basketball head coach at Presbyterian College, The Citadel, North Carolina State University, and two stints at the University of Florida. Over a career that spanned 38 seasons, Sloan was named conference coach of the year five times and won the 1974 national championship at North Carolina State, his alma mater. He was nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" due to his combative nature with the media, his players, and school administrators, and his collegiate coaching career ended in controversy when Florida's basketball program was under investigation in 1989, though Sloan claimed that he was treated unfairly.
Anthony Duvale Grant is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Dayton. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2006 to 2009, and at the University of Alabama from 2009 to 2015. Prior to becoming the VCU head coach, he was an assistant coach at the University of Florida from 1996 to 2006.
Taurean James Green is a Georgian-American professional basketball player who last played for Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He is the son of former NBA journeyman Sidney Green. Green played college basketball for the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Florida Gators teams that won back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2006 and 2007. He also played internationally for Georgia after gaining citizenship in June 2010.
Kerwin Douglas Bell is an American football coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts football team since 2021. He played professionally as a quarterback for 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL), World League of American Football (WLAF), and the National Football League (NFL) from the late 1980s until 2002. He then went into coaching, first at the high school level before moving to the collegiate ranks in 2007.
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The 2007–08 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2007–08 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The 2005–06 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2005–06 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The 2004–05 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2004–05 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
John Lotz was an American college basketball player and coach. Lotz was best known as the head coach of the Florida Gators men's basketball team, and as a long-time assistant under coach Dean Smith of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team.
The 2008–09 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2008–09 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The Gators were looking to build on their 24–12 record from the 2007–08 season.
The 2009–10 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2009–10 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The 2010–11 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2010–11 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The 2001–02 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2001–02 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
James Livingston White Jr. was an American college baseball, basketball and football head coach for three different Southern universities, the University of Virginia, Wake Forest College and the University of Florida, in the 1910s and 1920s. He also served as the athletic director for Wake Forest and Florida.
Erik Murphy is a French-born Finnish-American professional basketball player for the Kawasaki Brave Thunders of the Japanese B1 league. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2013, he also represents the Finnish national team.
The 2014–15 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gators competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by nineteen-year head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They finished the season 16–17, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky.
The 2015–16 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the Gators' first season since 1995-96 without long-time head coach Billy Donovan, as he left the Gators to become the new head coach of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. The Gators, led by first year head coach Mike White, competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They finished the season 21–15, 9–9 in SEC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated North Florida and Ohio State to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to George Washington.
The 1998–99 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 1998–99 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The team was the first strong team for Coach Donovan at Florida. The Gators made the Sweet Sixteen, before being upset by Gonzaga. At the end of that game, Florida guard Kenyan Weaks was called for a controversial traveling violation.
