Avid Gators fans can add a new decorative plate to their collection of automotive accessories while helping UF raise money to cope with budget losses.
Dan Williams, UF's director of marketing, said new plates went on sale at local Gators shops and the UF Bookstore on Friday.
The plate, which features a Gators logo and the word "CHAMPS," resembles license plates from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The price for a plate at the UF Bookstore is ,19.95, according to the bookstore's Web site.
Williams said proceeds from the sale would go back into the UF branding campaign's budget.
UF's Marketing Communications Web site states that the branding campaign aims to recruit students, staff, faculty and recognition by hurling itself into the public eye with advertising techniques such as The Gator Nation and Florida Tomorrow campaigns.
"Because of our budget challenges, we've been looking for ways to compensate," Williams said.
He said he hopes to have the plates available soon at Gators shops around Florida as well as at Wal-Mart stores in Gainesville, Jacksonville and several other Florida cities. They will also be available for Gators alumni clubs around the state to sell for fundraisers.
Williams said his office had been working on the idea for about eight months.
UF also worked with the DMV to make sure the plates were similar to those from the department, he said.The design changed several times before UF and the DMV were satisfied.
For legal reasons, the plates could not be too similar.
After UF and the department approved the design, Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises Inc., which works with prison inmates in Florida, manufactured the plates.
Williams said the final plate, which is intended for the front of vehicles, complements Gators plates with "National Champs" or "Gator Nation" written on them that are already available for the rear of vehicles.
"It has a very official feel to it," Williams said. "The word 'champs' is something that really represents past, present and future championships, and people can keep it on their vehicles for a long time."
