Florida Gators

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{{Infobox college athletics |name = Florida Gators |logo = FloridaGators.png |university = University of Florida |conference = Southeastern Conference ] |city = Gainesville |state = Florida |stateabb = FL |teams = 18 |stadium = Ben Hill Griffin Stadium ] |arena = Stephen C. O'Connell Center ] |nickname = Gators |fightsong = The Orange and Blue|color1 = Orange |color2 = Blue |hex1 = FF4A00 |hex2 = 0021A5 |pageurl = http://gatorzone.com/ |pagename = GatorZone.com-->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 are 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 american 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 Atlantic Coast Conference'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:{||valign="top"|Men's Sports

Baseball
Basketball
Cross Country
Golf
Football
Swimming & Diving
Tennis
Track & Field

|width="50"| |valign="top"|

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 , aka "The Swamp", has a seating capacity of just over 90,000, the highest in the state of Florida.

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 Louisiana State University. In addition, the team has a yearly out-of-conference meeting with Florida-Florida State rivalry 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 University.

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 Florida Gators football team played for the school's second National Championship in January 2007, beating the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes football team 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 National Invitation Tournament 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 Connecticut Huskies. Two years later, Kruger's final season resulted in a losing record, and he left to coach at Illinois Fighting Illini.

Florida's Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, looking for a young coach with a proven track record, hired Billy Donovan, then at Marshall University, as Kruger's replacement. His recruiting prowess was evident early, bringing future NBA star Jason Williams (basketball) with him from Marshall and having early recruiting classes with future NBA players Mike Miller (basketball), Udonis Haslem, and Matt Bonner, among others. The Gators have made the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament every year since Donovan's third season with the team, an eight-year streak that is easily the school record.

The team had the distinction of never having won SEC Men's Basketball Tournament despite several regular-season titles under Donovan until the 2004-05 season, when they beat rival University of 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 men's basketball 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 Stephen C. 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 would skip their senior year and enter the NBA draft. After spurning the open Kentucky Wildcats 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 had 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. http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/women/media/2006/pdf/history/florida.pdf

While traditionally being overshadowed by divisional (and national) basketball powers Tennessee and Georgia, the Lady Gators have made several NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship 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, University of Mississippi.

Florida's women’s team had been coached by Carolyn Peck, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue Boilermakers, 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 University.

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 Longhorns, 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 Southeastern Conference 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 did not get them a bid.

After missing the NCAA Regionals again in 2007, McMahon was terminated as Florida baseball coach on June 7, 2007. Former Clemson associate head coach Kevin O'Sullivan agreed to become the Gators' new head baseball coach on June 13, 2007.

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 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 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 (sport) 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 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.

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 would 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 University. They will begin play in 2010.

Cheers and Spirit Program A short video showing alligators moving in on their prey, with the famous Jaws (film) 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 is 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

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 {| style="border:'1' 'solid' 'gray' " width="150" align="right"|+ Annual Finishes in the National All-Sport Rankings|-! width="64" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Academic Year! width="64" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | UF Finish|-| width="64" | 1983-84| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1984-85| width="64" | 4th|-| width="64" | 1985-86| width="64" | 8th|-| width="64" | 1986-87| width="64" | 4th|-| width="64" | 1987-88| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1988-89| width="64" | 9th|-| width="64" | 1989-90| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1990-91| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1991-92| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1992-93| width="64" | 4th|-| width="64" | 1993-94| width="64" | 4th|-| width="64" | 1994-95| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1995-96| width="64" | 3rd|-| width="64" | 1996-97| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 1997-98| width="64" | T2nd|-| width="64" | 1998-99| width="64" | 4th|-| width="64" | 1999-00| width="64" | 7th|-| width="64" | 2000-01| width="64" | 7th|-| width="64" | 2001-02| width="64" | 3rd|-| width="64" | 2002-03| width="64" | 7th|-| width="64" | 2003-04| width="64" | 6th|-| width="64" | 2004-05| width="64" | 6th|-| width="64" | 2005-06| width="64" | 5th|-| width="64" | 2006-07| width="64" | 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 Director's 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 University - 1429.00 points
2. UCLA - 1257.00 points
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - 1161.33
4. University of Michigan - 1135.25
5. University of Southern California - 1103.50
6. University of 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 University of 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.

2006-07 Overall SEC All-Sports Standings {| style="border:'1' 'solid' 'gray' " width="275"|-! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Place! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | School! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Points! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Sports! bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Average|-| 1.| Florida| align="right" | 285.5| align="right" | 16| align="right" | 11.45|-| 2.| Tennessee| align="right" | 141| align="right" | 15| align="right" | 9.40|-| 3.| Georgia| align="right" | 133.5| align="right" | 16| align="right" | 8.34|-| 4.| LSU| align="right" | 115.5| align="right" | 16| align="right" | 7.22|-| 5.| Auburn| align="right" | 102| align="right" | 16| align="right" | 6.38|-| 5.| Vanderbilt| align="right" | 76.5| align="right" | 12| align="right" | 6.38|-| 7.| Alabama| align="right" | 100| align="right" | 16| align="right" | 6.25|-| 8.| Arkansas| align="right" | 88| align="right" | 15| align="right" | 5.87|-| 9.| Mississippi| align="right" | 75| align="right" | 13| align="right" | 5.77|-| 10.| South Carolina| align="right" | 86.5| align="right" | 15| align="right" | 5.77|-| 11.| Kentucky| align="right" | 89.5| align="right" | 16| align="right" | 5.59|-| 12.| Mississippi State| align="right" | 52| align="right" | 14| align="right" | 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 {||valign="top"|Baseball

David Eckstein, All-Star shortstop and 2006 World Series MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals
Mark Ellis (baseball), 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 & MLB Most Valuable Player Award
Brad Wilkerson, outfielder for the Texas Rangers (baseball)

Men’s Basketball
See Florida Gators men's basketball#Notable alumni

Women’s Basketball

Amanda Butler, also current coach
Vanessa Hayden, center for the Minnesota Lynx
Tammy Jackson, reitred four-time WNBA champion
DeLisha Milton-Jones, WNBA champion and US gold medalist
Murriel Page, forward for the Los Angeles Sparks

Football
See Florida Gators football#Notable alumni

Golf

Tommy Aaron, The Masters Tournament winner
Mark Calcavecchia, The Open Championship winner
Bob Murphy (golfer), 1965 United States Amateur Championship (men's golf) 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 United States Amateur Championship (men's golf) champion
Chris DiMarco, current PGA Tour player
Matt Every, led all amateurs in 2005 U.S. Open
Steve Melnyk (golfer), 1969 U.S. Amateur champion and current broadcaster
Andy North, two time U.S. Open winner
Camilo Villegas, current PGA Tour player

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Soccer

Danielle Fotopoulos, NCAA record holder for most career goals, former US National team member
Heather Mitts, United States women's national soccer team, 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 race
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
Michael Heath (swimmer), 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

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References

External links

Gatorzone.com - Official website of the Florida Gators.
University Athletic Association - Official site of UF's athletics board.