Florida Gators football

The University of Florida's campus did not include sports facilities when it opened in 1906, so UF's first several football and baseball squads played their home games at The Ballpark, a primitive municipal facility near downtown Gainesville. In 1911, the school purchased the bleachers from the city and moved them to University Athletic Field, a newly-cleared patch of land on the west side of campus along University Avenue. Larger bleachers were installed in 1915, when the facility was renamed Fleming Field.[3]

The football program first gained national recognition in the late 1920s, prompting UF president John J. Tigert to initiate plans for a modern stadium. A shallow ravine just south of Fleming Field was the chosen site, and 20,000 seat Florida Field opened in 1930. The facility underwent major expansions in the mid-1960s, early 1980s, and early 1990s to increase stadium capacity to about 90,000, the largest in the state.[4] Its name was extended to "Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium" in 1989 to honor UF benefactor Ben Hill Griffin, and the field was rechristened "Steve Spurrier-Florida Field" in 2016 to honor Gator player and coach Steve Spurrier. Spurrier also coined the stadium's nickname of "The Swamp" in 1992, early in his tenure as head football coach.[5]

The Florida Gators have been named national champions five times by NCAA-designated major selectors.[10]

Florida claims three national championships, for the 1996, 2006 and 2008 seasons. At the end of each season the Gators were ranked No. 1 in both the final AP and Coaches polls and were recognized as consensus national champions after winning a designated national championship bowl game.

Florida has been named national champion by NCAA-designated "major selectors" in two additional years, 1984 and 1985. Partially because the football program was on NCAA probation in the mid-1980s, the university has never claimed a share of the national championship for either season.[14]

Florida has won eight officially recognized SEC football championships. The Gators won their first championship with a conference record of 5–0–1 in 1984, but the title was vacated several months after the season by the SEC university presidents because of NCAA infractions by the Florida coaching staff under Charley Pell. The 1985 and 1990 teams also finished atop the standings with conference records of 5–1 and 6–1, respectively, but Florida was ineligible for the championship due to its NCAA probation for rule violations by previous coaching staffs. The Gators won their first official SEC football championship in 1991.[15]

With the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina to the Southeastern Conference in 1992, the conference split into eastern and western divisions and a game between the division winners determined the SEC champion. Florida has made thirteen appearances in the SEC Championship Game (the most by any SEC school), most recently in 2020. The Gators have a 7–6 record all-time in SEC Championship Games as of 2020. With the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in 2024, the conference will eliminate divisions that year.

†Florida tied with Georgia atop the SEC east during the 1992 season and played in the 1992 SEC Championship Game by virtue of its head-to-head victory. Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee ended the regular season in a 3-way tie in 2003, but Georgia advanced to the 2003 SEC Championship Game due to its higher BCS ranking. Florida and Georgia again tied atop the SEC East in 2012 but Georgia advanced to the 2012 SEC Championship Game by virtue of its head-to-head victory.

Florida plays SEC East opponents Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Georgia, and South Carolina along with SEC West foe LSU on an annual basis. The other SEC West teams are played on a six-year rotation, with the added possibility of meeting in the SEC Championship Game.

The University of Florida's athletic program operated with a limited budget for the first several years after its establishment in 1906. To reduce travel costs, early Florida football teams played limited slates of games, mostly against squads from nearby schools. Local scheduling resulted in the development of gridiron rivalries with several in-state private colleges, most notably Stetson, Florida Southern, and Rollins. Of those early opponents, Florida Southern and Rollins no longer sponsor intercollegiate football programs and, after dropping the sport for half a century, the Stetson Hatters compete in a lower division of college football. Florida also scheduled occasional games against teams organized by local athletic clubs or nearby military bases during the first half of the 20th century, particularly during the two world wars. However, the Gators have not played a non-collegiate squad since 1945.[59]

In more modern times, Florida began an annual rivalry with the University of Miami Hurricanes in 1938 that continued uninterrupted until 1987. The teams have met on an occasional basis since then and are still considered rivals. Florida State (FSU) established a football program in 1947 and first faced Florida in 1958, beginning a series that was uninterrupted until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 resulted in both schools playing conference-only schedules. The Gators have also scheduled occasional contests against several Florida schools with newer football programs, usually in Gainesville.

All records accurate as of the conclusion of the 2021 season[59]

Steve Spurrier under center v. Georgia, 1966

Historically, Florida's most hated and fierce rival has been the Georgia Bulldogs. Previously known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," and now most commonly called the "Florida–Georgia game" by Gator fans, this rivalry often decides the SEC East and has national implications.[71] The game is held at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, usually on the last Saturday in October or the first Saturday in November.[72] The designated "home" team alternates, with ticket distribution split evenly between the schools.[73] Since 2009, the Okefenokee Oar has been awarded to the winner of the Florida-Georgia game.[74]

In the rivalry's early years, games rotated among locations in Savannah, Tampa, Jacksonville and, occasionally, Gainesville and Athens.[75] Since 1933 the game has been played in Jacksonville, except for 1994 and 1995 (when the teams played a pair of home-and-home games at their respective stadiums).[75] Georgia had early success in the rivalry, winning the first six games and holding a 21–5–1 series lead before 1950.[75] After the 2018 game Florida has won 21 out of the most-recent 29 games, and holds a 38–30–1 advantage in the series since 1950.[75] Georgia lead the series overall 54–44–2 through the 2022 season.[76]

Tim Tebow in the spread v. Tennessee, 2007

Although Florida and Tennessee are charter members of the SEC, irregular conference scheduling resulted in the teams meeting infrequently for many years. Tennessee won the first ten games between 1916 and 1954, when Florida finally defeated the Volunteers.[68] In 1969, Florida hired Tennessee head coach (and former Florida quarterback) Doug Dickey to replace the retiring Ray Graves immediately after their teams met in the Gator Bowl.[77]

The rivalry reached a peak during the 1990s. In 1992, the SEC expanded to twelve schools and split into two divisions.[78][79] Florida and Tennessee (in the Eastern Division) have met every year since, usually in mid-September for both teams' first conference game of the season.[68] Led by coaches Steve Spurrier and Phillip Fulmer and featuring players such as Danny Wuerffel and Peyton Manning, both teams were regularly ranked in the top 10 when they met, giving the rivalry conference and national title implications. Florida and Tennessee combined to win six SEC titles and two national championships during the 1990s.[80]

Since becoming annual opponents in 1992, the Gators and Volunteers have combined to represent the Eastern Division in the SEC Championship Game 16 times. Florida had an 11-game winning streak against Tennessee (2005–2015) and leads the series 31–20 following the 2021 season.[81]

2007 Florida State game

The University of Florida and the Florida State College for Women became co-educational in 1947.[82] The new Florida State Seminoles football team began playing small colleges, moving up to the major-college ranks in 1955.[83] Almost immediately, Florida State students and supporters called for the teams of Florida's two largest universities to play each other annually.[84]

Contrary to popular belief, Florida's state legislature did not decree that Florida and Florida State should meet on the field; a bill mandating the game was rejected by the Florida Senate.[85] Prodding by Florida governor LeRoy Collins facilitated an agreement between the two universities to begin an annual series in 1958.[86] Due to Florida State's smaller stadium, the first six games were played at Florida Field. The series has alternated between the campuses since 1964, when Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee was expanded.[87] The Florida–Florida State game has had national-championship implications since 1990, and both teams have entered the game with top-10 rankings thirteen times.[88] Among these was the Sugar Bowl rematch at the end of the 1996 season, when Florida avenged its only regular-season loss and won its first national championship 52–20.[89]

Florida dominated the early series with a 16–2–1 record through 1976. Both teams have produced significant winning streaks, and the series is nearly tied over the past four decades; Florida State holds a 21–20–1 advantage since 1980. Since 2000, the teams share 10-10 records against one another. Florida leads the all-time series 37–26–2 through the 2021 season.[90]

Florida and LSU first met on the football field in 1937, and have been annual opponents since 1971.[64] Since 1992, LSU has been Florida's permanent inter-divisional rival from the SEC Western Division. The winner of the Florida–LSU game went on to win the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national championship game in the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2019 seasons. This rivalry has been known recently for close games, with both teams highly ranked. Florida leads the all-time series 33–32–3 through the 2021 season.[91]

Auburn and Florida played annually from 1945 to 2002.[62] In the overall series won-lost record, Auburn is Florida's most evenly-matched SEC opponent. Beginning in the 1980s, one team was usually highly ranked coming into the game and it had conference- and national-title implications.[92][93] The series has had several notable upsets. Auburn defeated previously-unbeaten Florida teams in 1993, 1994, 2001, 2006 and 2007, although the Gators won SEC championships in 1993, 1994 and 2006.[15]

The annual series ended in 2002, when the SEC adjusted its football schedules so each team played one permanent and two rotating opponents from the opposite SEC division every year (instead of one rotating and two permanent teams).[94] When Texas A&M and Missouri joined the conference in 2012, the schedule was changed again; each team played one permanent and one rotating opponent from the opposite division every year. LSU was designated as Florida's annual SEC Western Division opponent, and Florida and Auburn play two regular-season games every 12 years. Auburn leads the series 43–39–2 through the 2021 season.[95]

Miami is Florida's only pre-World War II in-state rival that still plays major college football. The schools first met on the gridiron in 1938 and again every season until 1987, when the SEC's expansion of its conference schedule to seven games precluded the annual matchup.[96] A contract to renew the annual rivalry in the 1990s fell through when the SEC expanded its schedule again to eight games, and the Florida and Miami did not play again until the 2001 Sugar Bowl.[97] The home and home series briefly resumed in 2002 and 2003, and they played again in the 2004 Peach Bowl.[98] Since then, the schools have played intermittently during the regular season, with home and home series split across several years.

Miami leads the series 29–27 through the 2021 season.[99] The next scheduled matchup between the schools will be in Gainesville on August 31, 2024.

Although the series started in 1916, many consider the rivalry between Florida and Alabama to have started in 1992, with the advent of the SEC Championship Game.[100] Florida has appeared in 13 of the 30 conference championship games with Alabama appearing in 14. 10 of those matches were against each other, the most common matchup so far. Alabama leads the conference championship match-up 6–4, following the most recent match-up between both programs, the 2020 SEC Championship Game, which saw Alabama beat Florida 52–46.[101]

Alabama leads the series 27–14 since the end of the 2021 season.[102]

Former UF head coach and then South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier playing against Florida in 2008.

The Gamecocks and the Gators in 2023 set to be the last of an unbroken 31 game series.

The University of South Carolina Gamecocks are one of Florida’s permanent SEC East opponents before the 2024 conference expansion and one of the three teams on South Carolina’s “Orange Crush” schedule. Between 1993 and 2000 South Carolina had their schedule finish with games against Tennessee, Florida, and Clemson; This occurred again in 2022.[103] The series against these three teams continued to be called “Orange Crush” even when the games did not form a direct back-to-back series. The Gamecocks and the Gators met every year from 1993 to 2023 as SEC East opponents with 2024 set to be the first year this won’t occur.[104] The Gamecocks and the Gators also share having had Steve Spurrier as a head coach. In 2010 Spurrier lead Gamecocks beat Florida allowing them to go to the 2010 SEC Championship Game as East Division Champions.

Thirteen people associated with Florida have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, four as head coaches and ten as players.

• Steve Spurrier was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986 for his record as Florida's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from 1964 to 1966 and again in 2017 for his head coaching achievements at Duke, Florida, and South Carolina.[131] He is one of four members of the College Football Hall of Fame inducted as both a player and a coach.[135]
• Doug Dickey, Florida's quarterback in 1951 and 1952, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 for his record as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers from 1964 to 1969 and the Gators from 1970 to 1978.[126]
• Marcelino Huerta, a standout Gator lineman from 1947 to 1949, was inducted in 2002 for his record as head coach of the Tampa Spartans, Wichita State Shockers and Parson Wildcats.[128]

Since Florida's first season in 1906, 89 players have received one or more selections as first-team All-Americans.[15] This includes 32 consensus All-Americans, of which six were unanimous.[136] The first Florida first-team All-American was end Dale Van Sickel, a member of the 1928 team.[137] Florida's first consensus All-American was quarterback Steve Spurrier, the winner of the Heisman Trophy for the 1966 Gators.[15][138]

Since 1994, the Southeastern Conference has annually designated one former football player from each SEC member school as an "SEC Legend." Through 2017, the following Gators have been named SEC Legends:

The Fergie Ferguson Award is given in memory of one of the University of Florida's finest athletes, Forest K. Ferguson. Ferguson was an All-SEC end for Florida in 1941 and state boxing champion in 1942. Subsequently, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he led an infantry platoon during the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944.[139] Ferguson helped clear the way for his troops to advance on the Axis position, and was severely wounded leading his men in the assault.[139] A recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions,[139] he died from war-related injuries in 1954. The award, a trophy, is given to the senior football player who most displays "leadership, character, and courage."[140]

The University of Florida Athletic Association established the Florida Football Ring of Honor in 2006 to recognize the program's greatest players and coaches during the 100th year of Gator football. (The Gators do not have any retired jersey numbers. Although Steve Spurrier's (11) and Scot Brantley's (55) numbers were retired in the 1970s, Spurrier reissued them when he was Florida's head coach, and numbers worn by all members of the Ring of Honor are available for use by current players.)[141]

Originally, members of the Ring of Honor had their jersey painted on the endzone facade at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. When expanded video screens were installed in that location a few years later, inductees were each recognized with an 18-foot wide sign perched atop the north endzone grandstand.[142] Five honorees were inducted in 2006 and 2007, with Tim Tebow added in 2018.[143] To date, the only person who meets the Ring of Honor criteria and has not yet been inducted is two-time national championship winning former head coach Urban Meyer.[144]

To be considered for induction into the Ring of Honor, a former player or coach must be absent from the university for five seasons, be in good standing, and meet at least one of the following criteria:[145]

• Heisman Trophy winner (Spurrier, Wuerffel, Tebow)
• Former All-Americans inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as players (Smith, Youngblood)
• Former All-Americans who are NFL career category leaders (Smith)
• College-career category leaders (Tebow)
• Coaches with one or more national championship (Spurrier)
• Coaches with three or more SEC championships (Spurrier)
• Players with two or more consensus All-America honors who were also named national offensive or defensive player of the year (Marshall, Tebow)

A Florida Football All-Time Team was compiled by the Florida Alumnus, the official publication of the Florida alumni, in 1927.[146]

Another University of Florida all-time team was chosen by the Miami Herald according to a fan vote in August 1983.

The Florida Football All-Century Team, chosen by Gator fans, was compiled by The Gainesville Sun in the fall of 1999.[147]

The 100th-Anniversary Florida Team was selected in 2006 to celebrate a century of Florida football. Fans voted by mail and online.[148]

Florida has had a number of helmet designs, especially early in the program's history. Since the end of the leather helmet era, base colors have alternated between orange, white, and (occasionally) blue, and logos have included the “Gators” script font, an interlocking "UF", a simple "F", and the player number.[154]

From 1979 until 2006, Florida wore orange helmets with a script "Gators" logo in all contests. To commemorate the 100th year of the football program in 2006, the Gators played one game wearing throwback uniforms modeled after their mid-1960s uniforms which included white helmets with a simple "F" logo.[155] In 2009 the Gators participated in Nike's Pro Combat uniform campaign, wearing specially-designed blue uniforms and white helmets with a slant-F logo.[156] These uniforms were worn for the last regular-season game against Florida State, and the white helmets were worn again the following week against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game with white jerseys and pants.[157] Florida introduced a different white alternative helmet in 2015 which featured the script "Gators" logo on one side and the slant-F logo on the other, and in 2018 replaced the slant-F with script "Gators" on both sides. In 2017, the Gators wore "swamp green" helmets for one game. These dark green helmets featured a color-altered Gator head logo on one side and the player's number in orange on the other.

For the 2019 homecoming game versus Auburn, Florida wore the same mid-1960s throwback uniforms, including the white helmets with the blue "F" logo within an orange circular outline. The Gators wore the blue helmets for two games in 2020: the tweaked 1960s version with the orange "F" logo within an orange circular outline for their home game against Missouri, and the traditional version with the "Gators" script in orange font for their road game at Tennessee. The team wore the 1960s throwback uniforms again for their 2021 homecoming game versus Vanderbilt, but with orange helmets including the interlocking "UF" logo.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Gators wore white helmets with the red, white, and blue American flag styled "Gators" script for their 2021 road contest at the University of South Florida.

• 
  Gator helmet logo during the mid-1960s
• 
  Primary helmet logo since 1979
• 
  Alternate Florida Athletics logo since the early 2000s

From 1992 to 2023, Florida played in the East Division of the SEC and played each opponent in the division each year along with several teams from the West Division. The SEC will expand the conference to 16 teams and will eliminate its two divisions in 2024, causing a new scheduling format for the Gators to play against the other members of the conference.[158] Only the 2024 conference schedule was announced on June 14, 2023, while the conference still considers a new format for the future.[159]

Florida has played a continuous series against in-state rival Florida State (FSU) since 1958. While the eight game SEC slate plus the annual matchup with FSU are set years in advance, the schedule allows for two or three additional non-conference games against various opponents that are usually played in Gainesville for revenue purposes. In recent years, Florida has been also invited to participate in several season opening non-conference neutral-site games which do not count against the NCAA cap on regular season games.

Announced opponents and dates are as of September 5, 2022.[160]

• Texas, along with fellow Big 12 rival Oklahoma, are slated to join the SEC in 2024.