The University of Florida Gators football program was formed in 1911. The program has enjoyed considerable success since that time, including three national championships.

The Gators began the 1996 season as the No. 4 team in the nation according to the Associated Press (AP). It was the program’s seventh season under head coach Steve Spurrier, who had amassed a 61-13-1 record heading into 1996. The Gators went 12-2 for the second year in a row, finished the season No. 1 in the AP poll, and cemented the program’s first national championship by winning the Sugar Bowl, a 52-20 victory over rivals Florida State.

Unlike the 1996 team, the 2006 Gators were not heralded as potential champions. The team had a combined 16-8 record the previous two seasons, which included a brief run as the No. 5 program in the nation. Urban Meyer’s second season with the Gators proved more memorable than his first. The team won 13 games for the first time in school history, earning the Gators a ticket to the first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game. They defeated Ohio State by a score of 41-14 to secure the program’s second national championship.

The Gators became the first team to win multiple BCS games by defeating Oklahoma in 2008, delivering the university its third national championship. Meyer led the team to a 13-1 record once again that season, a feat the program would repeat in 2009.