The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and are consistently ranked among the top college sports programs in the United States. The University of Florida currently fields teams in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports.
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 joined the American Athletic Conference beginning in the 2019 lacrosse season because the SEC does not sponsor competition in the sport. 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 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 soccer and outdoor track and field. The Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium, the Condron Ballpark, and the Donald R. Dizney Stadium for 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), 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.
Awards and records
Beginning in the early 1990s, the Florida Gators has been recognized as one of 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, 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 the Capital One Cup in 2013–14, and both programs have placed in the top five in the standings on several other occasions.