The Florida Gators, the athletic program of the University of Florida, have three logos. In addition to the primary one, depicting a crocodile’s head, there is also the Block “F” emblem and the wordmark.
The alligator was chosen as the emblem of the University of Florida football team in the early 1900’s. In 1908, Austin Miller, a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and his father, Phillip Miller, ordered pennants depicting an alligator. Later, Austin Miller mentioned that he opted for this cruel creature as it was native to Florida and because he did not know any other university that used it as its symbol. Since then, the alligator logo has been modified several times.
What are Florida Gators?
Florida Gators is the name of an athletic collegiate program in the United States, which represents the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida. The program is composed of 21 men’s and women’s teams, which compete as a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in various sports disciplines, including football, golf, basketball, and others.
The original logo was pretty minimalist – there was only the “F.” And yet, there was something unusual in the way it looked because of the distorted proportions.
This one, on the contrary, was pretty cluttered. There was a map of Florida and a highly decorative boot. On the background, there were two abstract shapes forming a circle.
The distinctive alligator made its debut on the Florida Gators logo. The sharp teeth and the aggressive expression of the eyes made it a decent athletic logo.
While the alligator design remained virtually unchanged in terms of the shape, there was a slight color shift.
Unlike its predecessors, the current Florida Gators logo, which was adopted 1995, depicts not the whole alligator, but only its head. The creature looks aggressive due to its open mouth revealing sharp teeth.
The emblem features a capital letter “F” in an italicized sans serif typeface. The letter itself is blue, while the outline is orange.
The wordmark features a unique bespoke typeface designed so that it resembles handwriting. The letters look rather plump – the effect, which is emphasized by the white and blue outlines.
The primary color palette of both the University of Florida and its athletic teams includes only two colors: orange (PMS 172) and blue (PMS 287). In addition to blue and orange, the Florida Gators logo itself also features green (for the alligator’s muzzle) and white (for the teeth). Taking into consideration the “alligator” theme, the use of green and white seems perfectly natural, although none of them is actually a part of the official palette.
The university can boast quite a few former Florida Gators who have played in one or more regular-season games of the National Basketball Association – the list includes around 30 players.
While the team was fielded in 1915, it did not see much success during its early years, which could be explained by the lack of an adequate gymnasium (it appeared only in 1950), the lack of a full-time basketball coach (was hired only in 1960), and the fact they did not have a modern arena to play in (opened in 1980). The first postseason tournament appearance took place in 1969. In 2015, Mike White became the head coach.
The first time the school official fielded a football team was in 1906. So far, the Gators have won three national championships and eight Southeastern Conference championships. The home arena is Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, which is nicknamed The Swamp.
The school sponsors a successful women’s soccer team that have won thirteen Southeastern Conference championships and one NCAA national championship.
The university’s baseball program is well over a hundred years – it was founded in 1907. One of the most memorable periods for the team was 1996, when they had a fifty-win season (coach Andy Lopez). In 2005, they won the SEC title and had the most successful season so far (coach Pat McMahon).
Their home arena is Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field.
BLUE
HEX COLOR: #0021A5;
RGB: (0, 33, 165)
CMYK: (100, 60, 0, 20)
PANTONE: PMS 287 C
ORANGE
HEX COLOR: #FA4616;
RGB: (250, 70, 22)
CMYK: (0, 70, 100, 0)
PANTONE: PMS 172 C