| Florida Gators football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1906; 119 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Scott Stricklin | ||
| General manager | Nick Polk | ||
| Head coach | Billy Gonzales (interim) 1st season, 0–4 (.000) | ||
| Stadium | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (capacity: 88,548) | ||
| Field | Steve Spurrier–Florida Field | ||
| Location | Gainesville, Florida | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | SEC | ||
| All-time record | 771–454–40 (.625) | ||
| Bowl record | 25–24 (.510) | ||
| Claimed national titles | |||
| 1996,2006,2008 | |||
| Unclaimed national titles | |||
| 1984,1985 | |||
| National finalist | |||
| 1995,1996,2006,2008 | |||
| Conference titles | |||
| SEC:1991,1993,1994,1995,1996,2000,2006,2008 | |||
| Conference division titles | |||
| SEC East:1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1999,2000,2003,2006,2008,2009,2012,2015,2016,2020 | |||
| Heisman winners | Steve Spurrier – 1966 Danny Wuerffel – 1996 Tim Tebow – 2007 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 34[note 1] | ||
| Rivalries | Alabama (rivalry) Auburn (rivalry) Florida State (rivalry) Georgia (rivalry) Kentucky (rivalry) LSU (rivalry) Miami (rivalry) Tennessee (rivalry) | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Orange and blue[1] | ||
| Fight song | "The Orange and Blue" | ||
| Mascot | Albert and Alberta | ||
| Marching band | Pride of the Sunshine | ||
| Outfitter | Jordan Brand[2] | ||
| Website | FloridaGators.com | ||
TheFlorida Gators football program represents theUniversity of Florida (UF) inAmericancollege football. Florida competes in theFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). They play their home games onSteve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university'sGainesville campus.
Florida's football program was established along with the university in 1906. It took on the "Gators" nickname in 1911, began playing in newly constructed Florida Field in 1930, and joined the Southeastern Conference as a founding member in 1932. On the field, the Gators found intermittent success during the first half of the 20th century, with a highlight being the1928 squad that went 8–1 and led the nation in scoring. Florida football enjoyed its first sustained success in the 1960s under head coachRay Graves. After having appeared in only two sanctionedbowl games up to that time, Grave's Gators won four during the decade, and quarterbackSteve Spurrier became the school's firstHeisman Trophy winner in1966.
Spurrier returned to his alma mater as the Gators' "head ball coach" in1990, and the program has been among the top in college football since then. Since 1990, Florida has won threenational championships (in1996 under Spurrier and in2006 and2008 underUrban Meyer), eight conference titles, fifteen SEC East division titles, and seventeen bowl games, and Florida squads have finished the season ranked in the top-10 fifteen times. In addition, quarterbacksDanny Wuerffel andTim Tebow won the Heisman in 1996 and 2007, respectively.
TheUniversity of Florida was established in Gainesville in 1906 and fielded its first officialvarsity football teamthat fall. Since then, Florida Gator football squads have played in over 40bowl games; won three national championships (1996,2006 and2008) and eightSoutheastern Conference championships (1991,1993,1994,1995,1996,2000,2006 and2008) and have produced threeHeisman Trophy winners, over 90 first-teamAll-Americans and 50National Football League (NFL) first-rounddraft choices.
Discounting interim coaches, there have been twenty-five head coaches in program history, including three who were inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame for their coaching success. Florida's first head coach wasPee Wee Forsythe, and the most recent coach wasBilly Napier.
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Florida competed for its first several seasons as anindependent before joining theSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1912. They moved to theSouthern Conference in 1922, then joined with a dozen other schools to establish the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1932, where it has remained ever since.
The SEC allowed considerable leeway with regard to conference schedules for several decades after its founding in 1932. Like most members, Florida played a few conference foes every season but would not play other schools for several years at a time until the conference attempted to balance schedules by establishing a rotation of sorts in the late 1960s and formalizing it in 1972.
Schedules were further standardized in 1992 when the SEC expanded to twelve teams, established two divisions, and set eight team conference schedule plus achampionship game between the two division winners. Florida was placed in the SEC Eastern Division and played every division foe every season. From 2012 until 2023, the Gators' annual conference slate consisted ofGeorgia,South Carolina,Tennessee,Kentucky,Missouri andVanderbilt along with permanent Western Division opponentLSU plus another Western Division team on a rotating schedule.
In 2024, the SEC expanded to 16 schools and abolished divisions, though it temporarily retained the eight-game conference schedule.[3] Beginning in 2026, the league will move to a nine-game conference schedule which will controversially end some annual rivalries, including some involving Florida.[4]
Florida's key conference rivals includeGeorgia (played inJacksonville usually around Halloween),Tennessee (historically played in mid-September, although the series was not played annually until 1992), andLSU (usually in early to mid-October, but played in November in 2024 and September in 2025). These contests were played annually for many years, but once the SEC moves to a nine-game conference schedule in 2026, Florida will play LSU and Tennessee every other year.[4]
Florida has played in-state rivalFlorida State every year since 1958 except for the pandemic-altered2020 season. The Gators and Seminoles have faced off aroundThanksgiving since the 1970s, and their emergence as perennial football powers during the 1990s helped build theFlorida–Florida State rivalry into a game that often had national-title implications. In-state rivalMiami was once another annual opponent. However, the rivalry was dropped when the SEC expanded its yearly schedule in the late 1980s, and theFlorida–Miami rivalry has been renewed on an infrequent basis since then, and will be scheduled even less frequently due to the SEC and ACC each expanding to nine conference games in 2026. The remaining dates on Florida's regular schedule are filled by non-conference opponents which vary from year to year.
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 atThe 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 renamedFleming Field.[5]
The football program first gained national recognition in the late 1920s, prompting UF presidentJohn J. Tigert to initiate plans for a modern stadium. A shallow ravine just south of Fleming Field was the chosen site, and 20,000 seatFlorida 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.[6] Its name was extended to "Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium" in 1989 to honor UF benefactorBen Hill Griffin, and the field was rechristened "Steve Spurrier-Florida Field" in 2016 to honor Gator player and coachSteve Spurrier. Spurrier also coined the stadium's nickname of "The Swamp" in 1992, early in his tenure as head football coach.[7]
Florida's football program is a charter member of theSoutheastern Conference, which began play in 1933. Before that, the Gators were affiliated with two different conferences after having founded the program without a conference affiliation.[8][9][10][11]
The Florida Gators have been namednational champions five times by NCAA-designated major selectors.[12]
Florida claims three national championships, for the1996,2006 and2008 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.
| Year | Coach | Selector | Record | Bowl | Opponent | Result | Final AP | Final Coaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Steve Spurrier | AP,Coaches | 12–1 | Sugar Bowl (Bowl Alliance National Championship Game) | Florida State | W 52–20[13] | No. 1 | No. 1 |
| 2006 | Urban Meyer | AP, Coaches,BCS | 13–1 | BCS National Championship Game | Ohio State | W 41–14[14] | No. 1 | No. 1 |
| 2008 | 13–1 | BCS National Championship Game | Oklahoma | W 24–14[15] | No. 1 | No. 1 |
Florida has been named national champion by NCAA-designated "major selectors" in two additional years,1984 and1985. 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.[16]
| Year | Coach | Selector | Record | Final AP | Final Coaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Charley Pell,Galen Hall | DeS, DuS, MGR, NYT, R(FACT), SN, SR | 9–1–1 | No. 3 | No. 7 |
| 1985 | Galen Hall | SR | 9–1–1 | No. 5 |
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.[17]
| Season | Conference | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | SEC | Steve Spurrier | 10–2 | 7–0[18] |
| 1993 | 11–2 | 7–1[19] | ||
| 1994 | 10–2–1 | 7–1[20] | ||
| 1995 | 12–1 | 8–0[21] | ||
| 1996 | 12–1 | 8–0[13] | ||
| 2000 | 10–3 | 7–1[22] | ||
| 2006 | Urban Meyer | 13–1 | 7–1[14] | |
| 2008 | 13–1 | 7–1[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 theSEC Championship Game, most recently in2020. 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 eliminated divisions that year.
| Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992† | SEC East | Steve Spurrier | Alabama | L 21–28[23] |
| 1993 | Alabama | W 28–13[19] | ||
| 1994 | Alabama | W 24–23[20] | ||
| 1995 | Arkansas | W 34–3[21] | ||
| 1996 | Alabama | W 45–30[13] | ||
| 1999 | Alabama | L 7–34[24] | ||
| 2000 | Auburn | W 28–6[22] | ||
| 2003† | Ron Zook | – | –[25] | |
| 2006 | Urban Meyer | Arkansas | W 38–28[14] | |
| 2008 | Alabama | W 31–20[15] | ||
| 2009 | Alabama | L 13–32[26] | ||
| 2012† | Will Muschamp | – | –[27] | |
| 2015 | Jim McElwain | Alabama | L 15–29[28] | |
| 2016 | Alabama | L 16–54[29] | ||
| 2020 | Dan Mullen | Alabama | L 46–52 |
†Florida tied withGeorgia atop the SEC east during the 1992 season and played in the1992 SEC Championship Game by virtue of its head-to-head victory.Florida, Georgia, andTennessee ended the regular season in a 3-way tie in 2003, but Georgia advanced to the2003 SEC Championship Game due to its higher BCS ranking.Florida and Georgia again tied atop the SEC East in 2012 but Georgia advanced to the2012 SEC Championship Game by virtue of its head-to-head victory.
| Florida Gators | |||
| Name | Position | Consecutive season at Florida in current position | Previous position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Sale | Co-offensive coordinator /offensive line | 3rd | New York Giants – Offensive line (2021) |
| Austin Armstrong | Defensive coordinator | 2nd | Southern Mississippi – Defensive coordinator / inside linebackers (2021- 2022) |
| Gerald Chatman | Defensive line | 1st | Tulane – Defensive line (2023) |
| Jabbar Juluke | Associate head coach for offense /running backs | 3rd | Louisiana – Assistant head coach / running backs (2018–2021) |
| Will Harris | Secondary | 1st | Los Angeles Chargers – Assistant secondary coach(2023) |
| Jonathan Decoster | AssistantOffensive line coach | 1st | Cleveland Browns – Offensive assistant (2022-2023) |
| Billy Gonzales | Interim Head Coach/Wide receivers | 2nd | |
| Russ Callaway | Co-offensive coordinator /Tight ends | 1st | New York Giants – Offensive Assistant (2021) |
| Mike Peterson | Outsidelinebackers | 3rd | South Carolina – Outside linebackers (2016–2021) |
| Ron Roberts | ExecutiveHead coach / Co-Defensive coordinator / Insidelinebackers | 1st | |
| Tyler Miles | Director of FootballStrength and Conditioning | 1st | Duke – Assistant Director of Sports Performance (2022) |
| Reference:[30] | |||
| Years Coached | Seasons | Name | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1906 – 1908 | 3 | James "PeeWee" Forsythe | |
| 1909 – 1913 | 5 | G.E. Pyle | 14–5–2 |
| 1914 – 1916 | 3 | C.J. McCoy | 9–10–0 |
| 1917, 1919 | 2 | Al Buser | 7–8–0 |
| 1920 – 1922 | 3 | William Kline | 18–8–2 |
| 1923 – 1924 | 2 | James Van Fleet | 12–3–4 |
| 1925 – 1927 | 3 | Tom Sebring | 17–11–2 |
| 1928 – 1932 | 5 | Charlie Bachman | 27–18–3 |
| 1933 – 1935 | 3 | Dutch Stanley | 14–13–2 |
| 1936 – 1939 | 4 | Josh Cody | 17–24–2 |
| 1940 - 1942, 1944 - 1945 | 5 | Tom Lieb | 20–26–1 |
| 1946 – 1949 | 4 | Raymond Wolf | 13–24–2 |
| 1950 – 1959 | 10 | Bob Woodruff | 53–42–6 |
| 1960 – 1969 | 10 | Ray Graves | 70–31–4 |
| 1970 – 1978 | 9 | Doug Dickey | 58–43–2 |
| 1979 – 1984 | 6 | Charley Pell | 33–26–3 |
| 1984 – 1989 | 6 | Galen Hall | 40–18–1 |
| 1989 | 1 | Gary Darnell* | 3–4–0 |
| 1990 – 2001 | 12 | Steve Spurrier | 122–27–1 |
| 2002 – 2004 | 3 | Ron Zook | 23–14–0 |
| 2004 | 1 | Charlie Strong* | 0–1–0 |
| 2005 – 2010 | 6 | Urban Meyer | 65–15–0 |
| 2011 – 2014 | 4 | Will Muschamp | 28–21–0 |
| 2014 | 1 | D.J. Durkin* | 1–0–0 |
| 2015 – 2017 | 3 | Jim McElwain | 22–12–0 |
| 2017 | 1 | Randy Shannon* | 1–3–0 |
| 2018 – 2021 | 4 | Dan Mullen | 34–15–0 |
| 2021 | 1 | Greg Knox* | 1–1–0 |
| 2022–2025 | 4 | Billy Napier | 22–23–0 |
| 2025 | 1 | Billy Gonzales* | 0–0–0 |
| *Acting Head Coach | |||
| reference | |||
Florida has appeared in 49 NCAA-sanctioned bowl games, garnering a 25–24 record. This includes a streak of 22 consecutive bowl-game appearances from 1991 through 2012, the fifth-longest in college football history.[31] Four of their bowl games were for a National Championship, with two under theBowl Alliance and two in theBowl Championship Series. Florida is 3–1 in national championship games.
† The 1912Bacardi Bowl held inHavana, Cuba was not sanctioned by the NCAA and was intended to be one half of a two-game event which was not completed due to a dispute over the rules of the game. As such, theUniversity of Florida Athletic Association does not include the contest in the Gators' official bowl record.[17]
‡Coalition,Alliance,BCS orNew Year's Six Bowl game.
| Bowl | Record | Appearances | Last appearance | Winning % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-American Bowl | 1–0 | 1 | 1988 | 1.000 |
| Aloha Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 1987 | .000 |
| Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 1982 | .000 |
| BCS National Championship Game | 2–0 | 2 | 2008 | 1.000 |
| Birmingham Bowl | 1–0 | 1 | 2014 | 1.000 |
| Citrus Bowl (Capital One Bowl) | 2–4 | 6 | 2015 | .333 |
| Cotton Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 2020 | .000 |
| Fiesta Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 1995 | .000 |
| Freedom Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 1989 | .000 |
| Gasparilla Bowl | 1–1 | 2 | 2024 | .500 |
| Gator Bowl | 7–2 | 9 | 2011 | .778 |
| Las Vegas Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 2022 | – |
| Outback Bowl | 3–2 | 5 | 2016 | .600 |
| Orange Bowl | 4–0 | 4 | 2019 | 1.000 |
| Peach Bowl | 1–2 | 3 | 2018 | .333 |
| Sugar Bowl | 3–6 | 9 | 2012 | .333 |
| Sun Bowl | 0–1 | 1 | 1976 | .000 |
The Southeastern Conference was established in 1932. For the next several decades, member schools arranged their own football schedules, resulting in situations in which some played yearly while others seldom met on the gridiron. In Florida's case, the Gators began an annual rivalry with Georgia in the early 1930s, and LSU, Auburn, and Kentucky became regular opponents after World War 2. However, due to various factors including issues with train travel, Florida's schedule rarely included SEC foes Tennessee, Alabama, or Mississippi over the first 50 years of league play.[61][62]
In 1992, the SEC expanded to 12 teams, split into two divisions, and established a standardized eight game league schedule. Florida was placed in the East Division along with Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. For the next twenty seasons, Florida's schedule included games against all five division opponents, annual match-ups with cross-division rivals Auburn and LSU, and a game against another West Division opponent on a multi-year rotation.[61] When the conference expanded to 14 teams in 2012, new East Division member Missouri was added to Florida's annual slate and Auburn was dropped as a yearly opponent.[63]
In 2024, the SEC expanded to 16 teams, eliminated divisions, and announced an eight-game football slate which attempted to preserve most traditional conference rivalries.[64] The 2025 conference schedule kept the same matchups, with the sites reversed to create home-and-home competitions over the course of two seasons.[65][66] As of June 2025, future SEC schedules are uncertain, with league officials still deciding on whether to play an eight or a nine-game conference slate while weighing changes to the conference championship format.[67]
The table below includes non-conference meetings played either before the founding of the SEC or before Florida's opponent joined the conference.
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Tied | Percentage | Streak | First | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 14 | 28 | 0 | .333 | Lost 9 | 1916 | 2021[68] | TBD |
| Arkansas | 10 | 3 | 0 | .769 | Lost 1 | 1982 | 2023[69] | TBD |
| Auburn | 39 | 43 | 2 | .476 | Won 1 | 1912 | 2019[70] | TBD |
| Georgia | 44 | 55 | 2 | .446 | Lost 3 | 1915 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Kentucky | 53 | 21 | 0 | .716 | Won 1 | 1917 | 2024[71] | 2025 |
| LSU | 34 | 34 | 3 | .500 | Won 1 | 1937 | 2024[72] | 2025 |
| Mississippi State | 35 | 19 | 2 | .643 | Won 2 | 1923 | 2024[73] | 2025 |
| Missouri | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | Lost 1 | 1966 | 2023[74] | TBD |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | Lost 1 | 2009 | 2020[75] | TBD |
| Ole Miss | 13 | 12 | 1 | .519 | Won 3 | 1926 | 2024[76] | 2025 |
| South Carolina | 31 | 10 | 3 | .739 | Won 1 | 1911 | 2023[77] | TBD |
| Tennessee | 32 | 22 | 0 | .593 | Lost 1 | 1916 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Texas | 0 | 3 | 1 | .125 | Lost 3 | 1940 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Texas A&M | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | Lost 1 | 1962 | 2024[78] | 2025 |
| Vanderbilt | 44 | 11 | 2 | .789 | Won 1 | 1945 | 2023[79] | TBD |
| Totals | 359 | 273 | 16 | .566 |
Records as of the end of the 2024 season.[61]
The Southeastern Conference was founded in 1932 by thirteen member institutions. Three original members had left by 1966 and six were added from 1992 onwards. The following table includes some games played before, during, and after the opponents' SEC tenure.[80]
| Opponent | Left SEC | Won | Lost | Tied | Percentage | Streak | First | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | 1964 | 9 | 23 | 6 | .316 | Won 1 | 1912 | 1981 | TBD |
| Sewanee | 1940 | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | Won 7 | 1914 | 1938 | N/A |
| Tulane | 1966 | 14 | 6 | 2 | .682 | Won 12 | 1915 | 2024 | TBD |
Records as of the end of the 2024 season.[80]
Between the establishment of the university's athletic program in 1906 and the beginning of SEC play in 1933, Florida football teams played irregular schedules which mostly featured contests against in-stateprivate colleges, some of which became rivals. Of those early opponents,Southern College,Tampa U, andRollins no longer sponsor intercollegiate football programs, and after dropping the sport for half a century,Stetson competes in a lower division. Florida also scheduled occasional games against teams organized by amateur athletic clubs or military bases during the first half of the 20th century, but the Gators have not faced off against a non-collegiate opponent since 1945.[80]
Florida began an annual rivalry with theUniversity 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 an annual series that has been uninterrupted except for the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.[80]
| Opponent | Won | Lost | Tied | Percentage | Streak | First | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Florida | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | Won 1 | 1999 | 2024 | 2030 |
| Florida Atlantic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 4 | 2007 | 2021 | TBD |
| Florida A&M | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 1 | 2003 | 2003 | 2030 |
| Southern College | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | Won 7 | 1913 | 1930 | N/A |
| Florida State | 38 | 28 | 2 | .574 | Won 1 | 1958 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Florida International | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 1 | 2009 | 2009 | TBD |
| U of Miami | 27 | 30 | 0 | .474 | Lost 1 | 1938 | 2024 | 2025 |
| Rollins | 13 | 2 | 1 | .868 | Won 11 | 1906 | 1948 | N/A |
| South Florida | 4 | 1 | 0 | .800 | Lost 1 | 2010 | 2022 | 2025 |
| Stetson | 19 | 15 | 2 | .559 | Won 3 | 1908 | 1953 | N/A |
| U of Tampa | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | Won 5 | 1938 | 1942 | N/A |
| Totals | 128 | 77 | 5 | .621 |
Records as of the end of the 2024 season.[80]
Although the series started in 1916, many consider the rivalry between Florida andAlabama to have started in 1992, with the advent of theSEC Championship Game.[81] 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, the2020 SEC Championship Game, which saw Alabama beat Florida 52–46.[82]
Alabama leads the series 28–14 since the end of the 2021 season.[83]
Auburn and Florida played annually from 1945 to 2002.[70] 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.[84][85] 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.[17]
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).[86] Due to Auburn having a much longer history vs. Georgia ("Deep South's Oldest Rivalry"), the Tigers and Bulldogs kept each other as their permanent crossover foe.
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 2023 season.[87]
The University of Florida and the Florida State College for Women becameco-educational in 1947.[88] The newFlorida State Seminoles football team began playing small colleges, moving up to the major-college ranks in 1955.[89] Almost immediately, Florida State students and supporters called for the teams of Florida's two largest universities to play each other annually.[90]
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 theFlorida Senate.[91] Prodding by Florida governorLeRoy Collins facilitated an agreement between the two universities to begin an annual series in 1958.[92] 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, whenDoak Campbell Stadium inTallahassee was expanded.[93] 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.[94] Among these was theSugar 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.[95]
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 37–28–2 through the 2023 season.[96]
Historically, Florida's most hated and fierce rival has been theGeorgia 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.[97] The game is held atEverBank Stadium inJacksonville, Florida, usually on the last Saturday in October or the first Saturday in November.[98] The designated "home" team alternates, with ticket distribution split evenly between the schools.[99] Since 2009, theOkefenokee Oar has been awarded to the winner of the Florida-Georgia game.[100]
In the rivalry's early years, games rotated among locations inSavannah,Tampa, Jacksonville and, occasionally, Gainesville andAthens.[101] 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).[101] Georgia had early success in the rivalry, winning the first six games and holding a 21–5–1 series lead before 1950.[101] 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.[101] Georgia lead the series overall 56–44–2 through the 2024 season.[102]
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When the Southeastern Conference split into geographical divisions in 1992,[103] Florida andKentucky were both placed in the SEC East. This guarantees that both teams play each other every season, which they have done consecutively since 1967. The Gators and Wildcats will meet in 2024 despite the end of SEC divisions after the 2023 season.[104] The two teams have played 74 times, with Florida holding a 53–21 lead in the series. From 1987 to 2017, Florida won every single game between the two schools. This 31-year streak was the third longest inFBS history, and the longest in the Southeastern Conference's history. Since 2017, the series has become incredibly competitive with a 4–3 split between the two teams with the winning margin being 11.4 points on average. Because of these factors, this rivalry is relatively new even though the series dates back to 1917.
Former Florida head coachSteve Spurrier was notable for having a particular disdain for Kentucky. During his tenure at Florida, he was known for running up the score in non-competitive games. In his 12 years coaching the Gators, Spurrier never lost to Kentucky, winning by an average score of 32.7 points. Spurrier was famous for the comments he made about his opponents (often referred to as "Spurrierisms")[105][106] but he poked fun at Kentucky the most.[107] Even after leaving Florida, Steve Spurrier would go out of his way to make comments at Kentucky's expense. In November 2004, Steve Spurrier accepted the head coaching job at theUniversity of South Carolina.[108][109] In 2006, the South Carolina Gamecocks upset their rival, the Clemson Tigers. In the following week, Clemson would go on to lose to Kentucky in the2006 Music City Bowl. Following the bowl game, Steve Spurrier said""We thought we had done something good beating Clemson. And then Kentucky beat 'em."[110]
Florida andLSU first met on the football field in 1937, and have been annual opponents since 1971.[72] From 1992-2023, LSU was Florida's permanent inter-divisional rival from the SEC Western Division (the Gators also played Auburn yearly from 1992-2001 when the SEC assigned each team two permanent crossover opponents). 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 34–32–3 through the 2025 season; the series will take a year off in 2026 and return in 2027. Three LSU wins (2013, '14 and '15) were vacated in 2023.[111]
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.[112] 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 the2001 Sugar Bowl.[113] The home and home series briefly resumed in 2002 and 2003, and they played again in the2004 Peach Bowl.[114] Since then, the schools have played intermittently during the regular season, with home and home series split across several years.
Miami leads the series 30–27 through the 2024 season.[115]The next scheduled matchup between the schools will be in Miami Gardens on September 20, 2025.
Although Florida andTennessee 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.[116] In 1969, Florida hired Tennessee head coach (and former Florida quarterback)Doug Dickey to replace the retiringRay Graves immediately after their teams met in theGator Bowl.[117]
The rivalry reached a peak during the 1990s. In 1992, the SEC expanded to twelve schools and split into two divisions.[118][119] 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.[116] Led by coachesSteve Spurrier andPhillip Fulmer and featuring players such asDanny Wuerffel andPeyton 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.[120]
Since becoming annual opponents in 1992, the Gators and Volunteers have combined to represent the Eastern Division in theSEC Championship Game 16 times. Florida had an 11-game winning streak against Tennessee (2005–2015) and leads the series 33–21 following the 2024 season.[121]
For 2025, conference match-ups are the same as in 2024 with the home team reversed for all non-neutral site games. Starting in 2026, the SEC will move to a 9-game conference schedule, with three permanent opponents.[122]
The SEC announced the opponents and sites for Florida's conference games for the 2026 - 2029 seasons. Florida's annual opponents through the 2029 season are Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky. The other six conference games will rotate through other conference opponents, playing each opponent at least once every two years.[123]
| Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| vs.Georgia | ||
| atKentucky | ||
| atLSU | ||
| Mississippi State | ||
| atOle Miss | ||
| Tennessee |
| |
| Texas |
| |
| atTexas A&M |
| Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| vs.Georgia | ||
| atKentucky | ||
| atAuburn | ||
| Ole Miss | ||
| atMissouri | ||
| South Carolina |
| |
| Oklahoma |
| |
| atTexas | ||
| Vanderbilt |
|
| Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| vs.Georgia | ||
| atKentucky | ||
| atMississippi State | ||
| LSU | ||
| atTennessee | ||
| Arkansas |
| |
| Texas A&M |
| |
| atAlabama | ||
| atSouth Carolina |
| Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| vs.Georgia | ||
| atKentucky | ||
| atVanderbilt | ||
| Auburn | ||
| South Carolina |
| |
| atOle Miss | ||
| Texas |
| |
| Missouri |
| |
| atOklahoma |
| Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|
| vs.Georgia | ||
| atArkansas | ||
| atLSU | ||
| Mississippi State | ||
| atSouth Carolina | ||
| Tennessee |
| |
| Kentucky |
| |
| atTexas A&M |
Florida has played acontinuous series against in-state rivalFlorida State (FSU) since 1958. While the eight game SEC slate (nine games starting in 2026) plus the annual matchup with FSU are set years in advance, the schedule allows for two 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 June 2, 2025.[124] One scheduled non-conference game in 2028 must be postponed.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | 2031 | 2032 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIU Aug 30 | Florida Atlantic Sep 5 | South Alabama Sep 4 | Furman Sep 2 | atColorado Sep 8 | Florida A&M Aug 31 | Arizona State Sep 13 | Notre Dame Sep 11 | UCF Sep 3 |
| South Florida Sep 6 | Campbell Sep 12 | Charleston Southern Sep 11 | Colorado Sep 9 | atUCF Sep 14 | atNotre Dame Nov 15 | |||
| atMiami (FL) Sep 20 | atArizona State Sep 16 | |||||||
| Florida State Nov 29 | atFlorida State Nov 28 | Florida State Nov 27 | atFlorida State Nov 25 | Florida State Nov 24 | atFlorida State Nov 30 | Florida State Nov 29 | atFlorida State Nov 27 | Florida State Nov 26 |
|
|
Thirteen people associated with Florida have been inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame, four as head coaches and ten as players.
| Name | Position | Florida years | Inducted | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alvarez | WR | 1969–1971 | 2011 | [143] |
| Charlie Bachman | Coach | 1928–1932 | 1978 | [144] |
| Lomas Brown | OT | 1981–1984 | 2020 | |
| Wes Chandler | WR | 1974–1977 | 2015 | [145] |
| Doug Dickey | Coach | 1970–1978 | 2003 | [146] |
| Ray Graves | Coach | 1960–1969 | 1990 | [147] |
| Marcelino Huerta | Coach | 1947–1949 | 2002 | [148] |
| Wilber Marshall | LB | 1980–1983 | 2008 | [149] |
| Emmitt Smith | RB | 1987–1989 | 2006 | [150] |
| Steve Spurrier | QB, Coach | 1963–1966 1990–2001 | 1986 2017 | [151] |
| Dale Van Sickel | End | 1927–1929 | 1975 | [152] |
| Tim Tebow | QB | 2006-2009 | 2023 | [153] |
| Danny Wuerffel | QB | 1993–1996 | 2013 | [154] |
| Jack Youngblood | DE | 1967–1970 | 1992 | [155] |
Since Florida's first season in1906, 89 players have received one or more selections as first-teamAll-Americans.[17] This includes 32 consensus All-Americans, of which six were unanimous.[157] The first Florida first-team All-American was endDale Van Sickel, a member of the1928 team.[158] Florida's first consensus All-American was quarterbackSteve Spurrier, the winner of theHeisman Trophy for the1966 Gators.[17][159]
Since 1994, the Southeastern Conference has annually designated one former football player from each SEC member school as an "SEC Legend." Through 2023, 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.[160] Ferguson helped clear the way for his troops to advance on the Axis position, and was severely wounded leading his men in the assault.[160] A recipient of theDistinguished Service Cross for his actions,[160] 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."[161]
TheUniversity 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 anyretired jersey numbers. AlthoughSteve Spurrier's (11) andScot 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.)[162]
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.[163] Five honorees were inducted in 2006 and 2007, withTim Tebow added in 2018.[164] 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 coachUrban Meyer.[165]
| Name | Position | No. | Florida years | Inducted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmitt Smith | RB | 22 | 1987–1989 | 2006 |
| Steve Spurrier | QB | 11 | 1964–1966 (player) 1990–2001 (coach) | 2006 |
| Danny Wuerffel | QB | 7 | 1993–1996 | 2006 |
| Jack Youngblood | DE | 74 | 1967–1970 | 2006 |
| Wilber Marshall | LB | 88 | 1980–1983 | 2007 |
| Tim Tebow | QB | 15 | 2006–2009 | 2018 |
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:[166]
A Florida Football All-Time Team was compiled by theFlorida Alumnus, the official publication of the Florida alumni, in 1927.[167]
First team | Second team |
Another University of Florida all-time team was chosen by theMiami Herald according to a fan vote in August 1983.[not specific enough to verify]
First Team Offense First Team Defense | Second Team Offense Second Team Defense |
The Florida Football All-Century Team, chosen by Gator fans, was compiled byThe Gainesville Sun in the fall of 1999.[168]
First Team Offense | Second Team Offense |
The 100th-Anniversary Florida Team was selected in 2006 to celebrate a century of Florida football. Fans voted by mail and online.[169]
Offense | Defense |
The Florida football team has worn a home uniform of blue jerseys (usually a variation ofroyal blue) with white pants for most of the program's history. The most notable exception was a decade-long period from1979 until 1989, when at the suggestion of coachCharlie Pell, the Gators switched to orange home jerseys.[170] For road games, Florida wears white jerseys with blue, orange, or white pants, depending on the colors of the opponent or the choice of the players that week.
Steve Spurrier restored the home blue jerseys when he became the Gators' head ball coach in 1990.[171] From 1990 until 2014, Florida's primary home uniforms were blue jerseys with white pants, with blue pants an option for high-profile games, especially at night. Former coachJim McElwain usually allowed his senior players to decide which uniform combination the team wore for each game. Since this practice began during the 2015 season, the Gators have worn many different combinations of blue or orange jerseys along with blue, orange, or white pants.[172][173]
Florida has occasionally worn alternative uniforms, which are usually similar to current or former uniforms and used an orange and blue color scheme. One exception were the "swamp green" uniforms used at a home game against Texas A&M in October 2017. These used a dark green theme for the entire uniform from shoes to helmet that was inspired by the appearance of actualalligators. The uniform marked the 25th anniversary of former coach Steve Spurrier introducing the Swamp nickname for Florida Field.[174]
For the first time in program history, Florida debuted an all black uniform on November 4, 2023 in its contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks to honor members of the armed forces, veterans and local first responders. In lieu of their names, each player's nameplate displayed one of five words that are "synonymous with the principles embodied by those who serve." The five words were Commitment, Courage, Excellence, Honor and Integrity.
Florida has had a number of helmet designs, especially early in the program's history. Since the end of theleather 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.[175]
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 wearingthrowback uniforms modeled after their mid-1960s uniforms which included white helmets with a simple "F" logo.[176] In 2009 the Gators participated inNike's Pro Combat uniform campaign, wearing specially designed blue uniforms and white helmets with a slant-F logo.[177] 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 theSEC Championship Game with white jerseys and pants.[178] 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 theSeptember 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.
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