Call it the Gator appetizer if you will.
The main course of celebrations is still to come.
On Tuesday afternoon at Flavet Field on the University of Florida campus, thousands of Gator students and fans were on hand to welcome home the Florida men’s basketball team following its third national title (2006, 2007, 2025) in program history.
Florida, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, rallied from a 12-point deficit to stun Midwest Region champion Houston, 65-63, in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday night.
Dozens of media were there on a blue-splashed day to capture and report on the excitement.
The team’s flight was delayed, pushing back the team’s arrival by almost two hours.
The Florida faithful didn’t seem to mind, as they soaked in every moment.
From the UF cheerleaders to the Gator band, plus mascots Albert and Alberta Gator too, there was a buzz in the air until the hoops team arrived.
When they did, they were wearing national championship t-shirts and hats.
Sean Kelley, the “Voice of the Gators” was the first to speak to the orange and blue faithful once the team arrived.
“Hello, Gators,” he said. “My name is Sean Kelley the ‘Voice of the Gators.’ I haven’t even gone to bed yet, how about you? I think we have a new cheer and I want to try it all out with you. I’ll say, ‘Gator boys,’ and you say, ‘stay hot’…last night in the 40th game of the season Florida won for the 36th time, tying the single-season program record for wins.”
Up next was the golden boy, who shared his feelings about winning it all, Florida’s first men’s basketball title in almost two decades.
“Incredible, absolutely amazing,” said Florida coach Todd Golden, who became the youngest head coach at 39 years old to win a national championship since NC State’s 37-year-old Jim Valvano in 1983. “These guys deserve it. They were amazing all year. Thirty-six wins, one of the best teams of all time in college basketball, standing behind me right here.”
The crowd erupted.
Then it was the Final Four MVP’s turn.
“Gator boys stay hot,” said Walter Clayton, Jr. “Man, Florida is back on top and it’s going to continue.”
So is the celebration.
Kelley said that they are tweaking the festivities for this Saturday’s Orange and Blue spring football game, which is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m.
“We’re going to start the day with a real blow-out celebration of this championship,” he said.
Details will be provided in the next 24 hours.
