1.
Florida Gators football
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The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and they play their home games in Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the universitys Gainesville campus. The Gators have won three championships and eight SEC titles in the 108-season history of Floridas varsity football program. The Florida football program has evolved from its beginnings and achieved notable successes. Florida has had a home field since the beginning of their football program. Since 1930, their home field has been Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the stadium was known as Florida Field until 1989 when its name was extended to honor alumnus and sports benefactor Ben Hill Griffin. During the 1990s, football coach Steve Spurrier called the stadium the Swamp, the quickly became popular. Since 1906 Florida has had twenty-five head coaches, including three who were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for their coaching success and their first head coach was Pee Wee Forsythe in 1906, the 2015 season was the first for their twenty-fifth head coach, Jim McElwain. During the programs early years, Florida was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in 1932 the University of Florida was a founding member of the Southeastern Conference, and it is currently one of fourteen member institutions. The Gators have competed in the SEC Eastern Division since the league began play in 1992. Florida plays an eight-game SEC schedule, with six games against the other Eastern Division teams, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, the schedule is filled out with an annual game against Louisiana State and a rotating SEC Western Division team. Until 2003, the Gators also played Auburn every season, Florida has also played in-state rival Florida State every year since 1958, usually facing off in the last game of the regular season. The two teams emergence as perennial football powers during the 1980s and 1990s helped build the Florida–Florida State rivalry into a game often has national-title implications. The remaining dates on Floridas regular schedule are filled by non-conference opponents which vary from year to year, previously known as the worlds largest outdoor cocktail party, it is most commonly called the Florida–Georgia game by Gator fans. The game is held at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, the designated home team alternates, with ticket distribution split evenly between the schools. In the rivalrys early years, games rotated among locations in Savannah, Georgia, Tampa, Florida, Jacksonville and, occasionally, Gainesville, since 1933 the game has been played in Jacksonville, except for 1994 and 1995. Georgia had early success in the rivalry, winning the first six games, after the 2014 game Florida had won 21 out of the most-recent 27 games, and holds a 38–28–1 advantage in the series since 1950. The Bulldogs lead the overall, 49–43–2
2.
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
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The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS football programs were members of this conference at some point, the SIAA was founded on December 21,1894, by Dr. William Dudley, a chemistry professor at Vanderbilt, at the Kimball House in Atlanta. Dudley was a member of the Vanderbilt Athletic Association, formed in 1886 with Dr. W. M. Baskerville as president, most students at Vanderbilt were members. The early sports played on the Vanderbilt campus were baseball, bicycling, Dudley was primarily responsible for the formation of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Sewanees opposition stopped it from occurring, the original members were Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, Sewanee, Vanderbilt, and Virginia. Virginia and North Carolina soon dropped before the inaugural 1895 season, the conference was originally formed for the development and purification of college athletics throughout the South. In 1903, a single-game football playoff occurred, but it seems to have been coordinated more so by the two competing schools than the conference itself, several other efforts over the years by individual schools to hold a conference title game fell through. Most SIAA titles claimed by schools in sports were actually more mythical in nature than officially sanctioned by the league. In 1915, a disagreement arose within the conference regarding the eligibility of freshman athletes, generally, the larger universities opposed the eligibility of freshman players, while the smaller schools favored it. As a result, some of the universities formed the Southern Intercollegiate Conference. At the conferences annual meeting on December 10,1920, the SIAA rejected proposals to ban freshman athletes, in protest, some schools that had voted in favor of the propositions immediately announced they would seek to form a new conference. In 1922, the Southern Conference underwent an expansion and added six more members, all at the expense of the SIAA, Florida, Louisiana State, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane, and Vanderbilt. With the departure of most of the colleges, the SIAA became a de facto small college conference in 1923. In the 1920s and 1930s, the SIAA increased its membership with the addition of additional small universities. The conference eventually disbanded in 1942 with the onset of American involvement in World War II, original charter members are denoted in boldface. Invited charter members are denoted with an asterisk, in the era in which the SIAA operated, teams tended to join in December, therefore, the first year of conference play in a given sport was often the following calendar year. Conference affiliations reflect those for the 2016–17 school year
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C. J. McCoy
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Charles J. McCoy was an American college football and basketball coach. McCoy attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he played for the Miami Redskins football team from 1907 to 1910. He was a member of the 1908 Redskins team that outscored its opponents 113–10 while posting a 7–0 record, McCoy also played baseball and basketball and ran track for Miami. McCoy got his start as a coach at the Sewanee Military Academy. McCoy replaced George E. Pyle as the Florida Gators football coach and he also served as Floridas first basketball coach during the 1915–1916 season and accumulated a 5–1 record. As measured by his winning percentage, McCoy remains the winningest coach in Gators basketball history, Florida did not field a basketball team for the 1916–1917 season. After a winless 0–5 football season in 1916, McCoy was replaced as coach by Alfred L. Buser. Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault, The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, an Oral History of Floridas Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida. McCarthy, Kevin M. Fightin Gators, A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, mcEwen, Tom, The Gators, A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama. Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History, A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, charles J. McCoy at the College Football Data Warehouse
4.
1914 Florida Gators football team
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The 1914 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1914 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The season was Charles J. C. J. McCoys first year of three as the coach of the Gators team. McCoys 1914 Florida Gators completed their ninth varsity football season on a winning streak, with an overall record of 5–2. End Joe Swanson was shifted to fullback, primary source,2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide. Coach Mike Donahues Auburn team was nearly as strong as the season before, in contrast to last year, the Gators held Auburn scoreless in the first half, and the loss was seen as a moral victory and sign of progress. However, the Gators also lost their captain, john Sutton left the game feeling poorly, and further examination revealed a weak heart. Roy Puss Hancock took over for Sutton as captain, Auburns backfield played well and fullback Bedie Bidez scored two touchdowns. Florida gave way to Auburns superior weight by the second half, in the second week of play, Florida enjoyed a first-time victory against the King College Tornados, 36–0. Florida suffered a loss to the Sewanee Tigers, 26–0. Florida was outplayed in the first half, in the final period, Sewanee quarterback Lee Tolley had an 85-yard touchdown run. The starting lineup was Henderson, Lotspeich, Goldsby, Farrior, Yon, Hancock, Freeman, Oates, Fuller, Sparkman, in Tampa, Florida extended the winning streak over Florida Southern 59–0. Florida beat Wofford for the first time 66–0, in Charleston, the Gators defeated The Citadel 7–0 in a heavy rain and a field saturated with inches of mud. Rammy Ramsdell returned the kickoff back 40 yards, and Jim Sparkman eventually carried it over for the decisive touchdown. Florida closed the season with a 14–0 win over the Mercer Baptists on Thanksgiving, Florida ranked in the top half of the SIAA. The yearbook remarked that a Gator squad had never had more guts, head coach, Charles J. McCoy Manager, Ed Embry McEwen, Tom. The Gators, A Story of Florida Football
5.
1916 Florida Gators football team
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The 1916 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 1916 college football season. The season was C. J. McCoys third and last as the coach of the Florida Gators football team. Believing that he had the makings of a great Gators squad, Coach McCoy assembled the most ambitious, the team suffered the transfer of guard Ham Dowling, and tackle Everett Yon was called by the National Guard to defend the Mexican border. Due to a shortage of men, captain Rex Farrior, previously a center, Mercer scheduled a game with Florida, but several Mercer linemen were behind in their studies, and the game was cancelled. Primary source,2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, the season opened with a 21–0 loss to Georgia in Athens. The contest was scoreless in the first half, Georgia had to send in two stars who were resting with dislocated shoulders. Walter Neville scored the games first touchdown, the starting lineup was F. Henderson, Baker, Duvan, Robles, Golsby, Perry, Wilkinson, Fuller, Wilson, Hatcher, Farrier. Led by Cecil Creen, the Crimson Tide beat the Gators 16–0 in the twos first ever meeting, Creen twice tackled Floridas Ward from behind with a clear field ahead. It was the Gators first loss at University Field, the SIAA champion Tennessee Volunteers blanked the Gators in Tampa 24 to 0 in the two rivals first-ever meeting. Buck Hatchers punts were the feature of the contest, the starting lineup was F. Henderson, Baker, Perry, Robles, O. DeVane, Goldsby, Wood, Fuller, Sparkman, Wilson, Farrier. The Auburn Plainsmen beat the Gators 20–0, auburns fullback Scott was the star of the contest. The second touchdown was a 50-yard interception return by Godwin, the starting lineup was F. Henderson, Bankston, Rosenthal, Robles, Stockton, Goldsby, Wood, Fuller, Sparkman, Hatcher, Farrier. Captain Rex Farrior broke his leg in the two minutes of the final game, a 14–3 loss at Indiana, the only game in which the Gators scored when Paul Baker made a field goal. Up at the half 3–0, Florida lineman Orryl Robles was ejected, the starting lineup was F. Henderson, Baker, Rosenthal, Robles, Stockton, Goldsby, Wood, Fuller, Sparkman, Hatcher, Farrier. C. J. McCoy finished his tenure as the Gators coach with an overall record of 9–10. Head coach, Charles J. McCoy Manager, W. D. Payne McEwen, the Gators, A Story of Florida Football
6.
1915 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
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The 1915 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 1915 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. Dan McGugin served his 12th season as the Commodores head coach, Vanderbilt was a member of the SIAA. Several notable players featured on the team, McGugin built his 1915 squad around a 130-pound junior quarterback Irby Rabbit Curry. In the line was sophomore tackle Josh Cody, a tackler and dominating blocker. Cody was selected third-team All-America by Walter Camp, the teams captain was end Russ Cohen. The outlook for the upcoming 1915 Vanderbilt football season was not promising, the Commodores were coming off a losing record of 2–8, the first under head coach Dan McGugin, and the second in the schools 25 years of playing football. Additionally, only 10 experienced players from the year were returning to the team. Despite the one-platoon system with players featuring on offense, defense, and special teams used in 1915, coach McGugin was assisted by doctor and former Vanderbilt athlete Owsley Manier. Using conventional football, Vanderbilt opened the season with a win over Middle Tennessee Normal 51–0. Coach McGugin sent in his substitutes at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the starting lineup was Richardson, Cody, Reyer, Williams, Putnam, Lipscomb, Cohen, Curry, Zerfoss, Wiggs, and King. In the second week of play, Vanderbilt defeated Southwestern 47–0 on a slippery field, all points were scored in the first half. Vanderbilt beat the Georgetown Tigers 75–0, the Commodores racked up 11 touchdowns and 8 field goals, its largest score in three years. Dough Ray scored four times and Hubert Wiggs three times, the starting lineup was Williams, Cody, Hamilton, Reyer, Lipscomb, Putnam, Hayes, Curry, Friel, Zerfoss, and Wiggs. With four players out due to injury, the Commodores still managed to defeat the Cumberland Bulldogs 60–0 in a drizzling rain, Alf Adams stood out on defense. The starting lineup was Chester, Cody, Williams, Reyer, Hamilton, Lipscomb, Richardson, Roach, Floyd, Ray, the Rabbit Curry ran for a 40-yard touchdown with the game barely a minute old, and later had a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown. Sarah Turner had an 80-yard run, and a 60-yard end run for a score in the third quarter, tommy Ridley ran 60 yards on a fake punt. Catching Henderson-Brown exhausted, John Jarrett returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Chester, Cody, Hamilton, Reyer, Williams, Lipscomb, Cohen, Curry, Floyd, Ray, and Wiggs. Against Mississippi, the team traveled by train from Nashville to Memphis, Tennessee, the train was halted near Dickson by a wreck ahead of it, and the players complained about the lack of food on the train
7.
1915 Auburn Tigers football team
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The 1915 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1915 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was the Tigers 24th season and they competed as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the team was led by head coach Mike Donahue, in his 11th year, and played their home games at Drake Field in Auburn, Alabama. They finished with a record of six wins and two losses, Baby Taylor was the only regular left at the start of the 1915 season. Source,1915 Auburn football schedule The season starts with a big 78–0 victory over Marion Military Institute, florida played hard for three quarters, until Wren scored the winning touchdown in the final period. The starting lineup was Robinson, Sample, Taylor, Campbell, Fricks, Wynne, Bonner, Caughman, Steed, Prendergast, the Georgia Bulldogs fell to Auburn 12–0. Auburn beat Mercer 45–0, the sixth straight shutout. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin had been pointing to since before the season, Auburn had dominated Southern football for the past two seasons, without a single team crossing its line. Vanderbilt jumped out to a 17–0 lead on a rain-soaked field, a Curry pass to captain Russell Cohen opened the scoring. Cody personally took over from that point, in one of the greatest exhibitions of punt covering Cody smothered the receiver every time, recovering two fumbles, one across the goal line for a touchdown. Then, in the last ten seconds of play, Cody dropped kicked a three-pointer from the 33-yard line, currys generalship was superb, and late in the game the Vandy line rose as one to throw back three Auburn charges on the five-yard line. The starting lineup, Taylor, Sample, Ducote, Robinson, Frickey, Wynne, Bonner, Steed, Wren, Prendergast, Georgia Tech closed what was then the greatest season in its history with a 7–0 defeat of Auburn. To begin the quarter, Everett Strupper had two key plays, the last of which was the game-deciding touchdown. First he made 20 yards around with a pass from Morrison before being forced out of bounds, Strupper started around left end, then cut back into the center of the field, away from his blockers. He juked and eluded every man on the Auburn team, on the last move Strupper faked right and then dove left underneath the outstretched arms of Baby Taylor into the endzone. The starting lineup against Auburn, Taylor, Wynne, Campbell, Robinson, Frickey, Sample, Bonner, Caughman, Ducote, Prendergast, guard Baby Taylor was a unanimous All-Southern selection, and was selected third-team All-America by Walter Camp. Vanderbilt Football, Tales of Commodore Gridiron History
8.
1915 Clemson Tigers football team
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The 1915 Clemson Tigers football team represented the Clemson Tigers of Clemson Agricultural College during the 1915 college football season. Under third year head coach Bob Williams, the posted a 2–4–2 record in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The 1915 season saw the introduction of Riggs Field as Clemsons home stadium, Riggs would host the football team until Memorial Stadium was built in 1942
9.
Furman Paladins football
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The Furman Paladins football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Furman University located in the state of South Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Southern Conference, the schools first football team was fielded in 1889. The team plays its games at the 16,000 seat Paladin Stadium. They are coached by Clay Hendrix, the Furman Paladins have won 13 Southern Conference Championships,1978,1980,1981,1982,1983,1985,1988,1989,1990,1999,2001,2004, and 2013. They were National Champions in 1988 and National Runner–Up in 1985 and 2001
10.
Howard Bulldogs football
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The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Southern Conference. Samfords first football team was fielded in 1902, the team plays its home games at the 6,700 seat Seibert Stadium in Homewood, Alabama. The Bulldogs are coached by Chris Hatcher, bobby Bowden James Bradberry Cortland Finnegan Jimbo Fisher Jaquiski Tartt Fabian Truss Corey White Nick Williams Michael Pierce 2017 at Georgia Official website
11.
Wofford Terriers football
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The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Southern Conference. Woffords first football team was fielded in 1889, the team plays its home games at the 13,000 seat Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Terriers are coached by Mike Ayers, who is entering his 28th season with the team in 2015, Wofford moved from Division 2 to join the Division 1-AA Southern Conference in the 96-97 season. Since then, Wofford has won 4 Southern Conference Championships, Wofford is typically one of the strongest teams in the Southern Conference every year. Woffords best finish since moving from Division 2 was a trip to the National Semi-finals at Delaware in 2003, brenton Bersin - wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers Wofford has gone to the FCS Playoffs a total of 6 times. In 2003, Wofford appeared in the FCS Playoffs for the first time in school history, in the semi-finals, they lost to the would-be FCS Champions Delaware, and finished the season ranked #3 in the nation. The Terriers moved on to the quarterfinals in 2007 before losing to Richmond and they lost in the opening round to James Madison in 2008. In 2010, they advanced to the National Quarterfinals to face Southern Conference rival Georgia Southern and they were defeated in that game 20-23. Georgia Southern Fans taunted Wofford players, throwing bottles and trash at them. In 2011, they made it to the playoffs, losing to Northern Iowa 21-28 in the second round, in 2012, Wofford dominated visiting New Hampshire, to move on to the Quarterfinals to face would-be champions North Dakota St. Although they had chances to win, they fell 14-7. Woffords Football team has won 4 Southern Conference Championships, the first came in 2003, when Wofford finished 12-2, with a trip to face Delaware in the Division 1-AA Playoff Semifinals. The next championship came in 2007, sharing the championship with Appalachian State, Wofford would also win Conference titles in 2010 and 2012. The Terriers have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs five times with an record of 6–5. The Terriers have appeared in the Division II playoffs two times with an record of 0–2
12.
Louisville Cardinals football
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The Louisville Cardinals Football team represents the University of Louisville in the sport of American football. The Cardinals compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the team is currently coached by Bobby Petrino. The University of Louisville began playing football in 1912 where the Cardinals went 3–1, Louisville had played several years at club level and teams were mostly composed with medical students. Beginning in 1914 the Cardinals joined the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, due to financial difficulty Louisville did not participate in the 1917–1921 seasons. When the Cardinals did rejoin football they came back into the SIAA which was going through reorganization losing most major state schools, Tom King was the first coach to attempt to build a program at Louisville. King played college football at Notre Dame under Coach Palmer and Knute Rockne, King was an undersized end for the Irish and was known for his athleticism and speed. Before he came to the team for punt returns he was on the track team and basketball team. His experience at Notre Dame gave him ideas on developing a spread wing offense so his undersized players could be better utilized and he often recruited players like him, that had the ability to outrun their opponent. His first standout was Fred Koster, at only 160 pounds he was not big enough to play at Male High School, Koster drew national attention to Louisville in 1926 by racking up 68 points in his first 2 games of the season. In six games, Koster scored 18 touchdowns,10 extra points, Koster was an all-around athlete and was a letterman 16 times,4 times in each baseball, basketball, football, and track. Koster was a forward for the basketball team, leading the team in scoring two years. In baseball, Koster played professionally for 10 years for the Philadelphia Phillies as well as the league teams Louisville Colonels. Tom King had the program going in the direction until he decided to play Detroit for $10,000. Rockne who was coach at Notre Dame, and a fellow graduate called King. When King asked what was in it for Louisville Rockne replied $10,000, King served as head football coach for two more years but he also served as track, baseball, basketball and athletic director during his tenure at Louisville. Louisville athletics took a step back when Dr. Raymond Kent was announced as the new president of Louisville and he was outwardly opposed to collegiate sports. King on the advice of his friend Rockne moved on and in 1933 became assistant coach at Michigan State, Louisville fell quickly back into the Dark Ages of football and posted one winning season until World War II. With the onset of World War II, Louisville, like many college athletic programs around the country, was put on suspension until 1946, during that time Louisville played mostly within KIAC and posted a 73–118–8 record with a.378 winning percentage
13.
University of Florida
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The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university on a 2, 000-acre campus in Gainesville, Florida. It is a member of the State University System of Florida and traces its origins to 1853. The University is classified as a Research University with Very High Research by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, for 2017, U. S. News & World Report ranked Florida as the fourteenth best public university in the United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and it is the third largest Florida university by student population, and is the eighth largest single-campus university in the United States with 49,913 students enrolled for the fall 2012 semester. The University of Florida is home to sixteen colleges and more than 150 research centers. The University of Florida traces its origins to 1853, when the East Florida Seminary, on January 6,1853, Governor Thomas Brown signed a bill that provided public support for higher education in Florida. Gilbert Kingsbury was the first person to take advantage of the legislation, and established the East Florida Seminary, the East Florida Seminary was Floridas first state-supported institution of higher learning. James Henry Roper, an educator from North Carolina and a senator from Alachua County, had opened a school in Gainesville. In 1866, Roper offered his land and school to the State of Florida in exchange for the relocation of the East Florida Seminary to Gainesville, the second major precursor to the University of Florida was the Florida Agricultural College, established at Lake City by Jordan Probst in 1884. Florida Agricultural College became the states first land-grant college under the Morrill Act, in 1905, the Florida Legislature passed the Buckman Act, which consolidated the states publicly supported higher education institutions. The member of the legislature who wrote the act, Henry Holland Buckman, later became the namesake of Buckman Hall, the Buckman Act organized the State University System of Florida and created the Florida Board of Control to govern the system. The City of Gainesville, led by its Mayor William Reuben Thomas, on July 6,1905, the Board of Control selected Gainesville for the new university campus. Andrew Sledd, president of the pre-existing University of Florida at Lake City, was selected to be the first president of the new University of the State of Florida, architect William A. Edwards designed the first official campus buildings in the Collegiate Gothic style. Classes began on the new Gainesville campus on September 26,1906, in 1909, the schools name was simplified from the University of the State of Florida to the University of Florida. The alligator was incidentally chosen as the mascot in 1911, after a local vendor ordered. Murphree is the only University of Florida president honored with a statue on the campus, before this, only the summer semester was coeducational, to accommodate women teachers who wanted to further their education during the summer break. Lassie Goodbread-Black from Lake City became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida, john J. Tigert became the third university president in 1928. By the end of the 1946–47 school year,954 men were enrolled at the Tallahassee Branch, the following semester, the Florida Legislature returned the Florida State College for Women to coeducational status and renamed it Florida State University
14.
Florida Gators men's basketball
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The Florida Gators mens basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I and the Southeastern Conference and they play their home games in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. OConnell Center on the universitys Gainesville, Florida campus, and are led by head coach Mike White, the Florida Gators mens team annually plays an eighteen-game conference schedule that is preceded by an out-of-conference schedule that includes an annual game against in-state rival Florida State. Their conference schedule consists of a pair of games against five SEC teams. Historically, the Gators did not have significant rivals in mens basketball, since the late 1980s, however, Florida has built rivalries with Kentucky and Tennessee as the Gators have become consistent contenders for the Southeastern Conference championship. The modern University of Florida was created in 1905, when the Florida Legislature passed the Buckman Act, the first Gators basketball team compiled a 5–1 record, but the following three seasons were canceled during and immediately after World War I. The team was restarted for the 1919–20 season without a professional coach, head coach William G. Kline, who also coached the Florida Gators football team, led the Gators basketball team from 1920 to 1922. By the mid-1920s the team outgrew the University Gymnasium, so the university built another gym to hold the crowds of the student population. Dubbed the New Gym, the Gators played there until 1949, in December 1932, the University of Florida joined the Southeastern Conference as one of its thirteen charter members. The Gators spent most of the first half-century of SEC play in the half of the standings. They only finished higher than fourth twice between 1932–33 and 1979–80, cody had previously coached the Clemson and Vanderbilt basketball teams, Maurer had previously coached the Kentucky and Tennessee basketball squads. None of them were able to build the Gators into consistent contenders in conference play, in hopes of breathing life into the program, Florida hired Norm Sloan as its first full-time head coach for the 1960–61 season. He compiled a record of 85–63 in six seasons, including the Gators first two wins over long-dominant Kentucky in SEC play, sloans Gators did not receive a postseason tournament invitation during his tenure, however, until 1975 only the conference champion was guaranteed an NCAA bid. Nonetheless, according to Florida historian Norm Carlson, Sloan elevated the Gators basketball program from an intramural program, Sloan left Florida for his alma mater, North Carolina State, after the 1965-66 season. Tommy Bartlett succeeded Sloan as head coach in 1966–67 and his Gators experienced initial success during his first three seasons, finishing second, fifth and third respectively in SEC play. His first team notched the schools first 20-win season, a sweep by Tennessee left them one game short of their first SEC title. Led by center Neal Walk and forward Andy Owens, the received a bid to the 1969 National Invitation Tournament—the first postseason tournament invitation in team history. Bartlett could not sustain the level of talent in recruiting, john Lotz, a respected assistant under North Carolinas Dean Smith, succeeded Bartlett in 1973–74
15.
Ham Dowling
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James Hamilton Ham Dowling was a college football player and once chief engineer of the Florida State Highway Commission. Dowling played for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida in 1915 and he also played for John Heismans Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was a member of the ANAK Society and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Dowling was a member of Georgia Techs first national championship team in 1917, which outscored opponents 491 to 17. He was once appointed chief engineer of the Florida State Highway Commission in 1933 and he was again chief engineer in 1954. Ham Dowling at Find a Grave
16.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in the sport of American football. The Yellow Jackets team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Georgia Tech has fielded a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 700–471–43. The Yellow Jackets play in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field in Atlanta, Georgia, the Yellow Jackets have won four Division I-A college football national championships and fifteen conference titles. A number of collegiate and professional football players once played for Tech. The school has 48 first-team All-Americans and over 150 alumni who have played in the NFL, among the most lauded and most notable players the school has produced are Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, Keith Brooking, Joe Hamilton, Joe Guyon, and Billy Shaw. In addition to its players, Techs football program has been noted for its coaches and its, in many cases bizarre traditions and game finishes. Among the teams coaches are John Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy is named, and Bobby Dodd, for whom the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. Heisman led the team to the game in American football history. Dodd also led the Jackets on their longest winning streak against the University of Georgia, Tech began its football program with several students forming a loose-knit troop of footballers called the Blacksmiths. On November 5,1892, Tech played its first football game against Mercer University, the team lost to Mercer 12–6 in Macon, Georgia. Tech played two games during their first season and lost both of them for a season record of 0–3. Discouraged by these results, the Blacksmiths sought a coach to improve their record, leonard Wood, an Army officer and Atlantan, heard of Techs football struggles and volunteered to player-coach the team. Over the span of 1892–1903, Tech only won 8 games, tied in 5, in 1893, Tech played against the University of Georgia for the first time. Tech defeated Georgia 28–6 for the schools first-ever victory, the angry Georgia fans threw stones and other debris at the Tech players during and after the game. The poor treatment of the Blacksmiths by the Georgia faithful gave birth to the now known as Clean. In 1902, Jesse Thrash was the teams first All-Southern selection and he began the season as a sub and closed it as the undisputed star of the Tech team. Oliver Jones Huie was selected by Ga Techs athletic association to coach the team for the 1903 season when the team won 3. A professional coach was desperately needed if Tech wished to build a competitive football program
17.
Rammy Ramsdell
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Ashley Wakefield Rammy Ramsdell was a college football, baseball, and basketball player and track athlete for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida. Ramsdells athletic career was ended when he broke his leg playing baseball at the end of his junior year. He was the first scholarship athlete at the University of Florida, according to one writer the Gators first quarterback of note, he is the oldest player at the position in the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 1971. He was picked for an all-time Florida team at the position in 1927 and he later settled in Plant City and owned a trucking company. After a stroke in 1950, he sold the business, ashley Ramsdell was born on November 6,1895 in Ocala, Florida. He attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa with future Gator teammate Rex Farrior, as an end on the football team, he dropped a pass to tie the state championship game. The basketball team however did win a state title, Ramsdell attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He was a member of UFs first basketball team, on the freshman football team he was coached by former Gator quarterback Bob Shackleford, who taught Ramsdell the position. Then he played for coaches George E. Pyle and C. J. McCoy on the varsity Florida Gators football team from 1913 to 1915, the highlight of his football career was a touchdown run in the rain to defeat Tulane in 1915. Ramsdell also scored four touchdowns in the game with Mercer that year, on the baseball team Ramsdell played centerfield. He broke his leg stepping on George Steed in a game against Auburn in 1915, when running to first base his spikes landed on the first basemans left foot, which pivoted over his leg while he caught the ball, letting out a loud cracking noise. Rammy Ramsdell at Find a Grave
18.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
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Drake Field (stadium)
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Drake Field was an American football, baseball, and track stadium on the campus of Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, United States. From 1911 to 1939, Drake field was the field of the Auburn University Tigers football team. The stadium was home to the Auburn University Tigers baseball team from 1911 through 1949. It had a capacity of 7,550 in 1939, Drake Field was named for John Hodges Drake III, who served as the college physician from 1873 until 1926 and who donated the land for the field. The field was inaugurated on October 7,1911 with the football teams 29-0 win over Mercer. Two months later on the field, Auburn High School played the programs first football game, against Sidney Lanier High School, on November 25,1911. Auburn High School continued to play football at the stadium until moving to their on-campus stadium Ross Field in 1921, both the high school and the college football teams moved to adjacent Auburn Stadium, today Jordan–Hare Stadium, in 1939. The college baseball team continued playing at Drake Field until 1949, the field remained until the construction of the Haley Center in the late 1960s. Drake Field today sits on the site of the Auburn University student union
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Auburn, Alabama
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Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2015 population of 62,059 and it is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. Auburn is a town and is the home of Auburn University. It is Alabamas fastest-growing metropolitan area and the nineteenth fastest-growing metro area in the United States since 1990, U. S. News ranked Auburn among its top ten list of best places to live in the United States for the year 2009. The citys unofficial nickname is “The Loveliest Village On The Plains, ” taken from a line in the poem The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith, inhabited in antiquity by the Creek, the land on which Auburn sits was opened to settlement in 1832 with the Treaty of Cusseta. The first settlers arrived in the winter of 1836 from Harris County and these settlers, led by Judge John J. Harper, intended to build a town that would be the religious and educational center for the area. Auburn was incorporated on February 2,1839, in what was then Macon County, by that time, Methodist and Baptist churches had been established, and a school had been built and had come into operation. In the mid-1840s, separate academies for boys and girls were established in addition to the primary school and this concentration of educational institutions led to a rapid influx of families from the planter class into Auburn in the 1840s and 1850s. By 1858, of the roughly 1,000 free residents of Auburn, in 1856, the state legislature chartered a Methodist college, the East Alabama Male College in Auburn. This college, now Auburn University, opened its doors in 1859, with the advent of the Civil War in 1861, Auburn quickly emptied. All of the closed, and most businesses shuttered. Auburn was the site of a hospital for Texan Confederate soldiers, after the Civil War, Auburn’s economy entered a prolonged depression that would last the remainder of the century. Public schools did not reopen until the mid-1870s, and most businesses remained closed, a series of fires in the 1860s and 1870s gutted the downtown area. Passage of the Hatch Act in 1887 allowed for expansion of research facilities on campus. In 1892, the became the first four-year college in Alabama to admit women. This, combined with increased interest in agriculture and engineering and new funding from business licenses. By 1910, Auburns population had returned to its antebellum level, SIAA Conference championships won by the Auburn college’s football team brought attention and support to Auburn, and helped fill the citys coffers. Fortunes were quickly reversed with the collapse of prices in the early 1920s
21.
Jacksonville, Florida
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Jacksonville is a seaport city and the seat of Duval County, Florida, United States. With an estimated 868,031 residents as of 2015, Jacksonville is the most populous city in both the state of Florida and the southeastern United States. It is estimated to be the 12th most populous city in the United States and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Jacksonville metropolitan area has a population of 1,603,497 and is the 34th largest in the United States and fourth largest in the state of Florida. The city is situated on the banks of the St. Johns River, in the First Coast region of North Florida, prior to European settlement, the Jacksonville area was inhabited by Native American people known as the Timucua. In 1564, the French established the colony of Fort Caroline at the mouth of the St. Johns River. In 1822, a year after the United States gained Florida from Spain, Jacksonville is the cultural, commercial and financial center of North Florida. A major military and civilian deep-water port, the citys riverine location supports two United States Navy bases and the Port of Jacksonville, Floridas third largest seaport. The two US Navy bases, Blount Island Command and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Jacksonville is also home to several colleges and universities, including University of North Florida, Jacksonville University and Florida State College at Jacksonville. The area of the city of Jacksonville has been inhabited for thousands of years. In the 16th century, the beginning of the era, the region was inhabited by the Mocama. At the time of contact with Europeans, all Mocama villages in present-day Jacksonville were part of the powerful chiefdom known as the Saturiwa, centered around the mouth of the St. Johns River. One early map shows a village called Ossachite at the site of what is now downtown Jacksonville, French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault charted the St. Johns River in 1562 calling it the River of May because he discovered it in May. Ribault erected a column near present-day Jacksonville claiming the newly discovered land for France. In 1564, René Goulaine de Laudonnière established the first European settlement, Fort Caroline, philip II of Spain ordered Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to protect the interest of Spain by attacking the French presence at Fort Caroline. On September 20,1565, a Spanish force from the nearby Spanish settlement of St. Augustine attacked Fort Caroline, the Spanish renamed the fort San Mateo, and following the ejection of the French, St. Augustines position as the most important settlement in Florida was solidified. The location of Fort Caroline is subject to debate but a reconstruction of the fort was established on the St. Johns River in 1964. Spain ceded Florida to the British in 1763 after the French and Indian War, the British introduced the cultivation of sugar cane, indigo and fruits as well the export of lumber
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Gainesville, Florida
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Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Gainesville in the 2013 US Census estimates was 127,488, Gainesville is the largest city in the region of North Central Florida. It is also a component of the Gainesville-Lake City Combined Statistical Area, Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the nations ninth-largest university campus by enrollment, as well as to Santa Fe College. The Gainesville MSA was ranked as the No.1 place to live in North America in the 2007 edition of Cities Ranked and Rated, also in 2007, Gainesville was ranked as one of the best places to live and play in the United States by National Geographic Adventure. About 12,000 years ago Paleo-Indians lived in Florida, although it is not known for certain whether any permanent settlements from that period were in the present city limits of Gainesville, archaeological evidence of human presence exists. Eventually more complex social organization and agricultural practices emerged into what archaeologists classify as the Deptford culture, a Deptford culture campsite has been excavated beneath the subsequent Alachua culture Law School Burial Mound on the grounds of the University of Florida. The UF campus burial mound was built about 1000 A. D. by Alachua culture inhabitants who lived along the shore of Lake Alice. In the recorded period, the region was home to the Potano, the remaining Timucua were converted to Roman Catholicism and organized into missions overseen by Franciscan priests. The Mission San Francisco de Potano, the first doctrina in Florida west of the St. Johns River, was founded in 1606 at the edge of present-day San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. Chief Potanos town was relocated in the period to the vicinity of the Devils Millhopper. Spanish colonists began cattle ranching in the Paynes Prairie area using Timucua labor, between 1763 and 1784 what is now Gainesville fell within the jurisdiction of the colony of British East Florida. Gainesville was founded to place the Alachua County seat on the route of the Florida Railroad Companys line stretching from Cedar Key to Fernandina Beach. County residents decided to move the county seat from Newnansville in 1853, a site on Black Oak Ridge where the railroad was expected to cross it was selected in 1854. It is generally accepted that the new settlement was named for General Edmund P. Gaines, the railroad was completed from Fernandina to Gainesville in 1859, passing six blocks south of the courthouse. Hogtown is the village of the adjacent Hogtown Creek, which flows 5.7 miles through Gainesville. Hogtown continued to exist until after Gainesville was founded, as evidenced on a map showing both towns, which was published in 1864 based on surveys from 1855, two residents of Hogtown played a prominent role in establishing Gainesville. William Lewis, who owned a plantation in Hogtown, delivered 20 votes pledged to him to create a new town on the route of the railroad. Tillman Ingram, who owned a plantation and a sawmill in Hogtown
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Mercer Bears football
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For information on all Mercer University sports, see Mercer Bears The Mercer Bears football program is the intercollegiate football team of Mercer University located in Macon, Georgia, United States. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and is a member of the Southern Conference, the team plays its home games at the 10, 200-seat Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex on the universitys Macon campus. The Bears are coached by Bobby Lamb, mercers first football team was fielded in 1892, but the school did not consistently field teams until 1906. The sport was dropped in 1917 and 1918 during U. S. involvement in World War I, until 1924, the Mercer Bears were known as the Mercer Baptists. After the 1941 season, with the beginning of U. S. involvement in World War II, Mercer dropped football again, but did not resume the sport after the war. The program was reinstated after a 72-year hiatus in 2013, the first game was on August 31,2013, Georgia Tech player and later Hall of Fame coach Bill Alexander called Grice the meanest and toughest guy I ever ran across on a gridiron. Brothers Crook Smith and Phoney Smith were both stars for Mercer, famous University of Georgia football coach Wally Butts, who lead UGA to four Southeastern Conference titles and two National Championships, played end for Mercer from 1925-1928. Les Olsson, known around Mercer as Swede, was the only Mercer player from the pre-World War II era to go pro and he was part of the 1937 championship squad. On August 31,2013, Mercer played its first game since 1941 before a crowd of 12,172 spectators. The Bears opponent, Reinhardt University, also revived its football program, in a thrilling game that saw multiple lead changes, Josh Shutter helped Mercer clinch the victory with a 31-yard field goal with three seconds left in the game
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Macon, Georgia
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Macon /ˈmeɪkən/ is a city located in the state of Georgia, United States. Macon lies near the center of the state, approximately 85 miles south of Atlanta. Settled near the line of the Ocmulgee River, Macon is the county seat of Bibb County and had a 2014 estimated population of 153,691. Macon is the city of the Macon metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 231,259 in 2014. In a 2012 referendum, voters approved the consolidation of Macon and Bibb County, the two governments officially merged on January 1,2014. Macon is served by three highways, I-16, I-75, and I-475. The city has several institutions of education, as well as numerous museums. The area is served by the Middle Georgia Regional Airport and the Herbert Smart Downtown Airport, the mayor of Macon is Robert Reichert, a former Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives. Reichert was elected mayor of the consolidated city of Macon–Bibb. Macon lies on the site of the Ocmulgee Old Fields, where the historic Creek Indians lived in the 18th century and their prehistoric predecessors, the Mississippian culture, built a powerful chiefdom based on an agricultural village and constructed earthwork mounds for ceremonial, burial and religious purposes. The areas along the rivers in the Southeast had been inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples for 13,000 years before Europeans arrived. Macon developed at the site of Fort Benjamin Hawkins, built from 1806–1809 at the line of the Ocmulgee River to protect the new frontier. The fort was named in honor of Benjamin Hawkins, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southeast territory south of the Ohio River for more than two decades and he lived among the Creek and had a Creek wife. This was the most inland point of navigation on the river from the Low Country, president Thomas Jefferson forced the Creek to cede their lands east of the Ocmulgee River and ordered the fort built. A gathering point of the Creek and American cultures for trading, it was also a center of state militia, the fort served as a major military distribution point during the War of 1812 against Great Britain and also during the Creek War of 1813. Afterward, the fort was used as a trading post for years and was garrisoned until 1821. It was decommissioned about 1828 and later burned to the ground, a replica of the southeast blockhouse was built in 1938 and stands today on a hill in east Macon. Part of the site is occupied by the Fort Hawkins Grammar School
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Harris G. Cope
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Harris Goodwin Cope was an American football and baseball player and football coach. Cope was a member of the National Football Rules Committee in 1914-15, Cope first played at Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut. In his first year of varsity football, Cope was a quarterback on the undefeated Iron Men of the 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team. He was the captain and the quarter for Sewanees 1901 team. He played third baseman on the Sewanee baseball team, Cope coached at Sewanee, University of the South and Howard College. He worked for a time as a business man in Cartersville before returning to Sewanee to coach in 1909. Cope has the third-most wins of any Sewanee coach, behind Shirley Majors 93 and John Windhams 45 and his continuity came after a period in which Sewanee had much talent but six coaches in seven years. Former Sewanee player Bob Taylor Dobbins assisted Cope at Howard
