| Florida Gators men's basketball | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
 | ||||
| University | University of Florida | |||
| First season | 1914 | |||
| All-time record | 1,529–1,178 (.565) | |||
| Athletic director | Scott Stricklin | |||
| Head coach | Todd Golden (3rd season) | |||
| Conference | Southeastern Conference | |||
| Location | Gainesville, Florida | |||
| Arena | Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center (capacity: 10,136[1]) | |||
| Nickname | Gators | |||
| Student section | Rowdy Reptiles | |||
| Colors | Orange and blue[2] | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| NCAA tournament champions | ||||
| 2006, 2007 | ||||
| NCAA tournament runner-up | ||||
| 2000 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | ||||
| 1994, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2014 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1994, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 | ||||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1987*, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017 | ||||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | ||||
| 1987*, 1988*, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 | ||||
| NCAA tournament appearances | ||||
| 1987*, 1988*, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 * - vacated by NCAA | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 2005, 2006, 2007, 2014 | ||||
| Conference regular season champions | ||||
| 1989, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 | ||||
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
While the University of Florida's men's basketball team first took the court in 1915, the program did not receive much support from the university for several decades. The basketball team did not have a permanent home court with adequate seating capacity until the Florida Gymnasium opened in 1949, and did not hire a full-time basketball coach until Norm Sloan in 1960, and did not play in a modern arena until the O'Connell Center opened in 1980. Early highlights included the program's first postseason appearance in the 1969 National Invitation Tournament with the Gators' first All-American Neal Walk, a run to the Sweet Sixteen during its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1987 under head coach Norm Sloan, and another surprise tournament run to the 1994 Final Four under head coach Lon Kruger. However, consistent success was elusive, and the Gators often found themselves in the bottom half of the SEC basketball standings.[3]
The trajectory of Florida's basketball program changed with the hiring of head coach Billy Donovan in 1996. After having made five NCAA Tournament appearances and having won only one regular season SEC championship and zero SEC tournaments in 78 seasons of basketball before his arrival, the Gators won seven SEC regular season championships and four SEC tournament championships, appeared in 14 NCAA Tournaments, reached four Final Fours, and won back-to-back national championships (2006 and 2007) during Donovan's 19 seasons in Gainesville before he left to coach in the NBA in 2015.
Todd Golden became the Gators' head basketball coach in March 2022.[4]
- ^ "Rent the Center – Stephen C. O'Connell Center".
- ^ "UF Identity Style Guide". March 1, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Koss, Bill (1996). Pond birds - Gator Basketball: The whole story from the inside. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813015235.
- ^ "Todd Golden Named Florida Men's Basketball Head Coach". Florida Gators. Retrieved March 21, 2022.