On Monday, the University of Florida and The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame announced they will jointly honor 2023 College Football Hall of Fame electee and Florida Gators great Tim Tebow with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute.
The Salute is slated for Saturday’s home matchup at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Florida State. The kickoff for the game is 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
In January, Tebow became the 13th overall Gator, including coaches, and the 10th Florida player to be selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Tebow – a consensus First Team All-American in 2007 – claimed the 2007 Heisman Trophy. He repeated as a Heisman finalist in 2008 and 2009 and became only the second player in college football history to repeat as the Maxwell Award winner (2007 and 2008), and he was awarded the 2007 Davey O’Brien Award.
During his tenure with Florida, Tebow led the Gators to two BCS National Championships, earning MVP honors following the 2009 title game. He set five NCAA records during his college career and helped the Gators to a top-three ranking in the final AP Polls in three of his four years. Florida went 48-7 during Tebow’s time in Gainesville, and the Gators became the first FBS team to record back-to-back 13-win seasons in 2008 and 2009.
During Tebow’s time at UF, the Gators appeared in four consecutive bowl games, including victories at the 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game, the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship Game, and the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Tebow was a three-time SEC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-SEC selection (2007-09), while leading the Gators to the SEC title in 2006 and 2008 (MVP of 2008 game) and three SEC East titles (2006, 2008-09). He made the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2006 and was named the 2007 Roy Kramer SEC Male Athlete of the Year. He set 14 conference records during his career and his 48-7 career record made him part of the winningest senior class in SEC history.
The Gator’s two-time team captain set 28 school records at UF that included a school-record 22-game winning streak (2007-09). His statistics include 9,285 yards and 88 touchdowns passing and 2,947 yards and 55 touchdowns rushing. He is also the first player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season.
According to the UF’s University Athletic Association (UAA) press release, Tebow was “a member of the 2009 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, Tebow claimed NFF William V. Campbell Trophy, and he became the fourth Campbell honoree to enter the Hall. The first player to be named Academic All-America of the Year for University Division Football in two consecutive years, he won an NCAA Top VIII Award and was a three-time Academic All-American and SEC Academic Honor Roll selection. For his community work in college, he was awarded the 2008 Wuerffel Trophy and the 2008 Disney Wide World of Sports Spirit Award.”
In 2018, Tebow was added to the Florida Football Ring of Honor and, in 2020, was inducted into the UF Hall of Fame.
Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and played with Denver in 2010-11. He played for the New York Jets in 2012 and then played minor league baseball from 2016-21 with the New York Mets. Tebow resides in Jacksonville and works as a motivational speaker, a broadcaster with ESPN and SEC Network, a philanthropist, an author and a film producer. He is known for his charitable work and the Tim Tebow Foundation which focuses on special needs ministries, orphan care and prevention, children with profound medical needs and anti-human trafficking.
