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68-568: All Florida Gators sports teams compete in NCAA Division I, and 20 of the 21 Gators teams compete in the SEC. The sole University of Florida sports team that does not play in the SEC is the women's lacrosse team, which plays a sport the SEC has never sponsored. That team joined the Big 12 Conference in 2024 in advance of that conference's first women's lacrosse season in spring 2025. The Gators joined

136-521: A 12–1 record and won the national championship in the Sugar Bowl , beating rival Florida State 52–20. This win was not without controversy from FSU fans who thought they should not have had to play Florida again. FSU won in the regular season match up 24–21. Urban Meyer became Florida's head football coach in December 2004, and his six teams had great success from 2005 to 2010. The 2006 team won

204-574: A collegiate player, O'Leary was honored as a two-time All-American midfielder at Temple University , where she led her Temple Owls team to an NCAA Championship in 1988. Assistant coach Erica LaGrow is a fourth-year Gators assistant. She was a first-team All- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) midfielder for the North Carolina Tar Heels , and graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2008. LaGrow currently plays for

272-556: A private non-profit corporation that reports to the president of the university and its board of trustees. For the 2014–15 school year, the UAA had an operating budget of $ 103,310,001, projected revenues of $ 104,064,487, and made a $ 3.5 million contribution to the university's general fund. Scott Stricklin has been Florida's athletic director since 2016. Beginning in the early 1990s, the Florida Gators has been recognized as one of

340-786: A training room, and other amenities. At the Gators' first home game, an overflow crowd of 2,214 was present in Dizney Stadium for the Gators' 16–6 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins. 2009 BCS National Championship Game The 2009 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was an American football game played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida , on January 8, 2009. It

408-1049: A varsity women's lacrosse team. Following the dissolution of the ALC after the 2014 season, Florida and Vanderbilt joined the Big East Conference, as associate members in women's lacrosse only, starting with the 2015 season. In October 2017, The American announced that it would start a women's lacrosse league in the 2019 season, with Florida and Vanderbilt joining four full conference members. The first Gators recruiting class of 24 players included seven US Lacrosse first-team high school All-Americans—Caroline Chesterman, Katie Ciaci, Brittany Dashiell, Samantha Farrell, Janine Hiller, Jamie Reeg and Julie Schindel, and US Lacrosse named another five as All-American Honorable Mentions—Ashley Bruns, Lelan Bailey, Jenna Hildebrand, Hayley Katzenberger and Mikey Meagher. Dashiell, Bruns and Farrell, plus Kitty Cullen, Colby Rhea and Haydon Judge, were also named Under Armour All-Americans. Amanda Wedekind

476-541: Is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), one of the nation's premier intercollegiate sports conferences, and 20 of the 21 Gators sports teams compete in the SEC. Since the SEC began play in 1933, Florida's varsity athletic teams have won 261 SEC team championships, more than any other conference member. The women's lacrosse team played its first four seasons in the now-defunct American Lacrosse Conference (ALC), followed by four seasons in

544-557: Is currently led by coach Todd Golden and plays its home games in the O'Connell Center . Women's basketball was approved as a new women's varsity sport by Florida in March 1972, but began play in 1973 as a club team. In 1975, the Lady Gators debuted as a varsity program under head coach Dr. Paula Welch. The Gators made local headlines in 1976 by winning the "state championship", beating the other three women's college teams located in

612-469: Is the only school in NCAA Division I history to hold the outright men's basketball and football championships during the same school year. In January 2009, the Gators football team won the 2009 BCS National Championship Game with a 24–14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners . The Florida Gators baseball team took home its first championship at the 2017 NCAA championship , defeating rival SEC foe

680-445: Is the only school in history to have achieved triple crown status in such a short span of time. Florida's first national championships in each of the big three sports (football, men's basketball, and baseball) were won in the span of just 21 years. The University of Florida has been ranked among the nation's top ten NCAA Division I athletic programs every year since 1983–84, an overall ranking that includes both men's and women's sports –

748-492: The 2010 game , ABC or ESPN televised the championship. Tim Tebow 's two touchdown passes and Percy Harvin 's two-yard touchdown run led the Florida Gators to their second BCS National Championship in three seasons. The Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, in front of a Dolphin Stadium record crowd of 78,468. The Sooners, coached by Bob Stoops , lost one game during their regular season to Texas in

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816-682: The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), two by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and one by the Bowl Alliance ). Florida is one of only two Division I schools to hold both major men's championships (football and men's basketball) at the same time (as the 2006 BCS football champions and the 2006 and 2007 NCAA men's basketball champions), and was the first to do so. Men's national championships (26) Women's national championships (22) All of

884-710: The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Florida has historically shared rivalries with Auburn and Miami , too, but those games are no longer played annually and have lessened in intensity. Since 1990, when Heisman Trophy -winning quarterback Steve Spurrier returned to his alma mater as head coach, the Gator football team has won more games than any other program in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 1996 team, coached by Spurrier and led by another Gator Heisman-winner, Danny Wuerffel , finished with

952-710: The Big East Conference and six in the American Athletic Conference before joining the Big 12 Conference for the 2025 season (2024–25 school year) and beyond. All of Florida's conference championships are from the SEC unless otherwise stated. Men's conference championships Women's conference championships † Wrestling is no longer offered at the varsity level at UF since 1979. For purposes of counting "official" SEC team championships in baseball, men's and women's basketball, soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, and volleyball,

1020-603: The Condron Ballpark , and the Donald R. Dizney Stadium for soccer and lacrosse are located on Hull Road on the southwestern side of the campus. The Mark Bostick Golf Course and Scott Linder Stadium for tennis are located on S.W. Second Avenue on the northwestern side of the campus. The Florida Gators athletic program is administered by the University Athletic Association, Inc. (UAA),

1088-582: The Connecticut Huskies in the NCAA regional semifinal, and a 74–66 win over Boston College in the NCAA Regional Final. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley hired Billy Donovan as Kruger's replacement in 1996. Donovan's recruiting prowess was evident early, as he landed recruiting classes with future NBA players Mike Miller , Udonis Haslem and Matt Bonner . Donovan's Gators advanced to the NCAA tournament final before losing to

1156-593: The Michigan State Spartans in 2000, and demonstrated a consistency previously unknown to the program as they received invitations to the NCAA tournament every year from 1999 through 2007, a team-record eight-year streak. Under Donovan, Florida won its first SEC men's basketball tournament in 2005, when they beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC title game. The 2005–06 team's 17–0 start

1224-581: The NBA draft . Donovan's Gators returned to championship form in 2010–11, winning the program's fifth regular season SEC championship and fighting their way to the NCAA regional semifinals (the "Elite Eight") before losing 74–71 to the Butler Bulldogs in overtime. In 2011–12, the Gators received a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, exceeded expectations, and advanced to the Elite Eight, headlined by

1292-480: The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has recognized the Gators athletic program as one of the ten best overall Division I athletic programs in the country in its annual NACDA Directors' Cup standings, including as runners-up on four occasions. The men's athletic program was also the winner of the 2010–11 and 2011–12 Capital One Cup ; the women's athletic program won

1360-449: The O'Connell Center . The Florida Gators men's cross country team has won three Southeastern Conference championships (SEC), and has competed in eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments. The women's cross country team has also won five SEC Championships (including the most recent), and competed in ten NCAA tournaments. In 2009, the Lady Gators placed seventh at the NCAA cross country championship; in 2010, they won

1428-641: The University of Florida in the sport of college lacrosse . The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and are single-sport members of the Big 12 Conference , which they joined after the 2024 season. Previously, the team had competed in the American Athletic Conference (The American), and before that the Big East Conference . Before joining Big East women's lacrosse,

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1496-776: The 2010 NCAA Championship. McFadden was an IWLCA first-team All-American midfielder in her junior and senior seasons. As a senior, she was the recipient of the Tewaarton Award and Honda Sports Award , and was named the ACC Player of the Year, the NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player, and the IWLCA National Midfielder of the Year. The Maryland Terrapins sports program honored her with its Suzanne Tyler Award, given to

1564-607: The 29 years of the NACDA Directors' Cup, the Gators have finished fifth or better in 22 years, and have never finished lower than seventh; the only other program ranked among the top ten Division I programs every year since 1993–94 is the Stanford Cardinal sports program of Stanford University. NCAA Division I all-sports rankings Through the end of the 2022–23 school year, the Florida Gators have won 261 Southeastern Conference (SEC) team championships,

1632-563: The 50-year history of the awards, Florida has won 24 women's trophies, 22 men's trophies, and 28 overall SEC All-Sports trophies. SEC rival Georgia won the overall 2005–06 All-Sports Trophy to snap Florida's record streak at fourteen straight (1990–91 through 2004–05). Florida reclaimed the SEC All-Sports Trophy for the 2006–07 school year, and the Gators have held on to the overall all-sports trophies in every year until Texas A&M ended their streak in 2018–19. The Gators are

1700-629: The Big 12 after having been a single-sport member of the American Athletic Conference since the 2019 lacrosse season. The University of Florida was one of the thirteen charter members who joined to form the new Southeastern Conference in 1932. Previously, the university was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1912 to 1921 and the Southern Conference from 1922 until

1768-548: The Capital One Cup in 2013–14, and both programs have placed in the top five in the standings on several other occasions. Among the Gators' recent national championships, the Florida Gators men's basketball team won the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments , and the Florida Gators football team won 2007 BCS National Championship Game in football, all in the span of 366 days. Florida

1836-711: The College World Series in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023, and 2024. In June 2017, Florida won their first College World Series championship, sweeping fellow SEC rival LSU in two games in the best-of-three finals. In the CWS championship rematch six years later, the Gators, though they set a new program record with 54 wins, lose to the Tigers in three games. Since 2021, the Gators baseball team plays its home games at Condron Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field . Florida enjoyed limited success in men's basketball before

1904-450: The Gators as the preseason No. 2 team in the nation. After defeating the No. 1 ranked Northwestern Wildcats, the No. 5 Gators finished the 2012 regular season with a 15–2 overall win–loss record and a perfect 5–0 in the ALC, winning their second regular season conference championship in only their third year of play. The No. 3 Gators made it a clean sweep by trouncing the No. 1 Wildcats 14–7 in

1972-549: The Gators to a fifty-win season and a College World Series bid. By 2000, the program had seemingly hit a plateau and Lopez was replaced. Pat McMahon became the Gators' head coach in 2001 after coaching the Mississippi State Bulldogs . The Gators' 2005 baseball season was the most successful to date, with the team winning the SEC title, and earning a place in the College World Series for

2040-538: The Gators were members of the American Lacrosse Conference (ALC), which folded after the 2014 season due to aftereffects of conference realignment . They play their home games in Donald R. Dizney Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Amanda O'Leary . The Gators have won regular-season conference titles in 11 of the 13 completed seasons of

2108-453: The Gators' 39th consecutive year ranked among the nation's top ten best overall collegiate athletic programs, and the twenty-second consecutive year ranked among the top seven Division I programs in the NACDA Directors' Cup standings. Only one other Division I athletic program has matched that feat, and Florida has achieved this record while fielding fewer sports teams than many of the other perennially top-ranked collegiate athletic programs. In

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2176-485: The LSU Tigers in two games. The Gators won the NCAA men's indoor track and field championship in three consecutive seasons in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the NCAA women's swimming and diving team national championship in 2010, the NCAA women's tennis championship in 2011, 2012 and 2017, the NCAA men's outdoor track and field championship in 2012, 2013 and 2016, the NCAA women's gymnastics championship in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and

2244-765: The NCAA Regional in Gainesville, and advanced to the Super Regional before losing to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles . O'Sullivan's 2010 and 2011 Gators finished their SEC regular season play with identical 22–8 records, won the program's eleventh and twelfth SEC championships, earned a berth in the College World Series in both years, and advanced to the College World Series final in 2011 before getting swept by SEC foe South Carolina in two games. The Gators returned to

2312-432: The NCAA softball championships in 2014 and 2015. Individual Gator athletes have won 279 individual NCAA championships in boxing, golf, gymnastics, swimming and diving, tennis, and track and field. In 2017, Florida won the baseball national championship for the first time. The Gators swept LSU in the best of three national title series. This earned the university a total of 39 national team championships. Additionally, this put

2380-451: The NCAA tournament in 1988 and 1989, but Sloan was forced to resign at the outset of the 1989–90 season as a result of NCAA infractions. Coach Lon Kruger brought renewed success, and his Gators reached the NIT final four in 1991–92. During the 1993–94 season, Andrew DeClercq and Dametri Hill led the Gators to their first NCAA tournament Final Four following a dramatic overtime victory over

2448-630: The SEC began play in the fall of 1933. All Florida Gators sports teams have on-campus facilities, and most are located on or near Stadium Road on the north side of campus, including Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for football; the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, indoor track and field, and volleyball; and James G. Pressly Stadium for outdoor track and field. The Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium ,

2516-879: The SEC championship for the second consecutive year. Coach Mike Holloway is the head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams. The University of Florida fielded an official varsity football team for the first time in 1906, defeating the Gainesville Athletic Club 6–0 in its first game. Since then, the Gators have played in thirty-seven bowl games, won three national championships (1996, 2006, 2008) and eight Southeastern Conference championships, and produced 138 All-Americans, forty-two National Football League (NFL) first-round draft choices and three Heisman Trophy winners. The Gators' most prominent current football rivals are SEC Eastern Division foes Georgia and Tennessee , annual SEC Western Division opponent LSU , and in-state rival Florida State from

2584-556: The SEC currently only includes regular season team championships, not tournament championships. The Gators have won an additional 66 SEC tournament titles in these sports which are not included in Florida's total of 261 SEC team championships. Coach Andy Lopez took over the Gators baseball program in 1994, one season after leading the Pepperdine Waves to their first College World Series championship. In 1996, he coached

2652-521: The U.S. Women's Elite Lacrosse team, and was a key player on the U.S. national team that defeated Australia in the gold medal game of the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Women's World Cup. Assistant coach Caitlyn McFadden is a second-year Gators assistant. She played for the Maryland Terrapins, and graduated from the University of Maryland in 2010 after leading the Terps to

2720-466: The University of Florida in exclusive company. With the 2017 baseball national championship, Florida became only the fourth school in history to win national championships in football, men's basketball, and baseball. Florida, along with Michigan, Ohio State, and UCLA are the only schools to ever achieve triple crown status. This also put Florida in a category by itself. Florida is the only Southeastern Conference school to accomplish this feat, as well, Florida

2788-407: The University of Maryland female athlete of the year. Completed during the summer of 2009, Donald R. Dizney Stadium hosts the Gators women's lacrosse team. The facility includes a 1,500-seat stadium that runs the length of the game field. The $ 15 million construction cost was funded entirely by private donors. The facility also includes a second practice field, concessions stands, locker rooms,

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2856-481: The annual Red River Rivalry contest, 45–35 on October 11. During the regular season, quarterback Sam Bradford , winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy , led the Sooners on offense to become the highest-scoring team in NCAA history (702 points) and the first team to score 60 or more points in five consecutive games. The game was Oklahoma's fourth BCS Championship appearance. The 2008 Florida Gators football season

2924-423: The creation of its newest sports program—it decided to create a women's lacrosse program in 2005, publicly announced the new program in 2006, hired a head coach and joined a conference in 2007, and announced its first recruiting class and began construction of a dedicated lacrosse stadium in 2008. UAA officials selected women's lacrosse for its newest expansion sport because of the booming popularity of lacrosse at

2992-601: The defending conference champion and second-ranked Northwestern Wildcats 13–11 on April 14, 2011. The Gators completed a perfect 5–0 ALC season three days later when they defeated the seventeenth-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores 8–7. The Northwestern Wildcats edged the Gators 10–9 in the ALC Tournament final, after the Gators defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 16–13 in the semifinal round. The Gators received their first NCAA Tournament bid, seeded fourth in

3060-542: The fifth time in school history. The team advanced to the championship round against the Texas Longhorns , ultimately losing two games to none. Following their 2005 College World Series run, the Gators opened the 2006 season ranked number one in the polls, but struggled to finish 28–28 record (10–20 SEC), and failed to qualify for the NCAA Regionals. After missing the NCAA Regionals again in 2007, McMahon

3128-566: The final of the ALC Tournament, and winning their first-ever conference tournament title. Afterward, the Gators were selected as the No. 1 seed in the 2012 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament . The Gators defeated the Albany Great Danes 6–4 in the opening round of the tournament, and overwhelmed the Penn State Nittany Lions 15–2 in the quarterfinals. After leading 12–5 in the tournament semifinal,

3196-537: The first of two SEC sports programs to earn the overall, men's, and women's all-sports trophies in a single year (the other being Tennessee in the 2022–23 season), and have swept all three trophies sixteen times. In their history of intercollegiate competition, the University of Florida's varsity athletic teams have won 48 national championships (including 42 sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), two by

3264-411: The head coaching job at her alma mater, Ole Miss . From 2002 through 2006, the women's basketball team was coached by Carolyn Peck , a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue . Peck was fired midway through the 2006 season (though allowed to finish the season) after enduring the worst losing streak of any Gator sport. Former Gator player and previous Charlotte coach Amanda Butler

3332-626: The high school level and the rapidly increasing competition available among Division I athletic programs. Although the University of Florida is a long-time member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the other 20 NCAA sports in which it fields varsity teams, the Florida Gators women's lacrosse team competed in the American Lacrosse Conference from 2011 through 2014. Among the other 13 SEC member schools, only Vanderbilt University currently sponsors

3400-546: The mid-1980s. Coach Norm Sloan 's Gators were invited to the National Invitation tournament (NIT)—only the second time the team had been invited to a post-season tournament. They returned to the NIT in 1985 and 1986, and made their first appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament in 1987 , when guard Vernon Maxwell led the team to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The Gators received invitations to

3468-572: The most in conference history. 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 recognizing the best women's sports program in the conference, as well as the best overall SEC sports program. In 1994, the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group assumed responsibility for awarding the trophies. In

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3536-439: The national championships listed above were sponsored by the NCAA other than football in 1996 (Bowl Alliance), football in 2006 and 2008 (BCS), women's gymnastics in 1982 (AIAW), and women's swimming and diving in 1979 (AIAW). Athletes at UF have won 353 individual and relay NCAA national championships. Men's individual and relay championships (157) Women's individual and relay championships (196) The University of Florida

3604-541: The only college sports program ranked in the top ten in the United States for the last 39 consecutive years. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has recognized the University of Florida as ranking among the top seven Division I programs in its NACDA Directors' Cup standings every year since the NACDA and USA Today began awarding the cup in 1993–94. The 2022–23 academic year marked

3672-609: The outset of the 2006–07 season, the Gators were ranked No. 1 in both major polls for the first time. 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 Duke in 1991–92 to win back-to-back tournaments and the first in NCAA history to do so with the same starting line-up. Afterward, Florida's four-star juniors— Joakim Noah , Al Horford , Taurean Green , and Corey Brewer —announced their decision to enter

3740-568: The play of star freshman Bradley Beal and point guard Erving Walker, before falling to Louisville. During the 2013–14 season, the Gators were ranked No. 1 in the nation, won the SEC championship with 36 straight wins during the regular season and tournament games, went on a school-record 30 game winning streak, and advanced to the NCAA Final Four, headlined by the play of four senior veterans: Patric Young , Scottie Wilbekin , Will Yeguete and Casey Prather. The Gators men's basketball team

3808-442: The premier athletic programs in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and one of the best in the nation. The SEC has awarded an All-Sports Trophy to the best overall sports program in the conference since 1984, and Florida has won the award 28 times as of 2023. Florida is the only school in the SEC and one of four schools nationally to have won a national championship in the football, men's basketball, and baseball. Every year since 1993,

3876-537: The school's second national championship on January 8, 2007, defeating the number one-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 41–14. Quarterback Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007, and Florida's Tebow-led 2008 team won the 2009 BCS National Championship Game on January 8, 2009, beating the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners 24–14, for the Gators' third national championship. Florida Gators women%27s lacrosse The Florida Gators women's lacrosse team represents

3944-433: The sixteen-team field on May 9, 2011, and defeated the Stanford Cardinal women's team 13–11 in the first round of the NCAA tournament five days later. The young Gators eventually fell to the veteran Duke Blue Devils 13–9 in the quarterfinals ("Elite Eight") of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, finishing their second season with an overall win–loss record of 16–4. In advance of the spring 2012 season, Lacrosse Magazine ranked

4012-541: The spring 2010 semester. The Gators played their first regular season game on February 20, 2010, posting a 16–6 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins. The young Gators finished their inaugural season 10–8, including ALC wins over Penn State and Johns Hopkins, and were ranked eighteenth in the country in LaxPower's final power ratings. In only their second season of NCAA competition, the sixth-ranked Gators clinched their first ALC regular season championship by defeating

4080-481: The state at that time. While traditionally being overshadowed by conference and national basketball powers Tennessee and Georgia, the Lady Gators have made several NCAA tournament appearances and sent players to the WNBA, including DeLisha Milton-Jones . Carol Ross compiled more wins than any other women's basketball coach in Florida's history, and guided the team for twelve seasons from 1991 to 2003, but left to accept

4148-476: The team's season ended with a 14–13 sudden-death loss to the Syracuse Orange in double-overtime. Florida named Amanda O'Leary as its inaugural head coach on June 22, 2007. Before she became Florida's first head coach, O'Leary served as the head coach at Yale University for fourteen seasons, and was previously an assistant coach at the University of Maryland and the University of Delaware . As

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4216-460: The women's lacrosse program's existence, with four each in the ALC and Big East plus three in The American. Additionally, they have won 10 conference tournament titles (two ALC, four Big East, four American) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament six times (2011–2014, 2018, and 2021), with their best NCAA finish being a semifinal berth in 2012. The University Athletic Association (UAA) quickly proceeded from new idea to reality in

4284-422: Was dismissed. Former Clemson Tigers associate head coach Kevin O'Sullivan became the Gators' new head baseball coach on June 13, 2007. O'Sullivan's Gator teams showed immediate improvement and the Gators finished the 2008 regular season with a 30–24 record (17–13 SEC), and received an invitation to the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee. The 2009 squad finished the regular season with a 38–18 record (19–11 SEC), won

4352-408: Was marked by a powerful combination of dynamic offense and relentless defense. Under head coach Urban Meyer, the team, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow, finished the regular season with a 12-1 record, showcasing a potent spread offense and a formidable defense that consistently stifled opponents. Key victories included a thrilling win against rival Georgia and a dominant performance in

4420-404: Was named the new women's basketball coach on April 13, 2007. During the 2008–09 season, the Lady Gators received an NCAA tournament bid, and won a first-round game before being defeated by eventual tournament champion Connecticut in the second round. Butler resigned after the 2016–17 season. The Gators women's basketball team is currently coached by Kelly Rae Finley, and plays its home games in

4488-416: Was previously named an Under Armour All-American as a rising sophomore in 2006. The Gators' 2009–2010 recruiting class was rated best in the nation. The inaugural Florida Gators team played teams from fellow ALC member schools Johns Hopkins , Ohio State, Penn State, Vanderbilt and defending NCAA champion Northwestern , as well as non-conference opponents Cornell, Georgetown , Navy and New Hampshire during

4556-488: Was the best in team history, surprising many with a young, selfless squad led by four sophomores. The team began the season unranked, but won its second consecutive SEC Tournament championship. On April 3, 2006, the Gators defeated the UCLA Bruins 73–57 in the NCAA tournament championship game to win Florida's first men's national basketball championship. Within days, all five starters announced they would return for another season to try to win back-to-back championships. At

4624-450: Was the national championship game for the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season , and featured the second-ranked Florida Gators against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners . The two participants were determined by the BCS Rankings to decide the BCS National Championship . Television coverage in the United States was provided by Fox , and radio coverage by ESPN Radio . The game was the last BCS Championship to air on Fox; starting with

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