The Gators' Pink Zone promotion for breast cancer awareness had supposedly already taken place last week against Georgia.
But when the UF women's basketball team donned the pink warm-ups and shoelaces once again Sunday against Mississippi, the reason for doing so was pretty clear.
The Gators were honoring Kay Yow, the longtime North Carolina State coach who died Saturday after a recurrence of breast cancer.
UF's coaching staff wore pink ribbons on its lapels, and there was a moment of silence before the game in Yow's memory for her contributions to the game of women's basketball.
After UF's win Sunday, UF coach Amanda Butler reflected on Yow's legacy.
Butler remembered what it was like being around Yow while Butler was still the coach at UNC-Charlotte.
"I was very fortunate to have personal interaction with coach Yow," Butler said. "It was a privilege to sit next to her in the gym and recruit kids and try to find ways to steal players from N.C. State, although it didn't happen that way very often."
Butler said she admired the way Yow lived and that everyone should aspire to touch lives the way she did.
Butler always preaches one word when describing how her team should play and the way she played: toughness.
But she said that characteristic on the court doesn't compare to what Yow faced.
"You talk about toughness - chemotherapy, traveling, knowing really in your heart that you're probably living your last weeks, your last years, and still going out and coaching basketball and giving your time and your energy to someone else without complaining, setting a positive example day-in and day-out - that's toughness," Butler said.
UF became familiar with Yow throughout the last year.
Yow coached the Wolfpack to an 80-55 win against the Gators in the third round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament last March, ending UF's season.
The teams faced off again in Raleigh earlier this season on Dec. 7, and UF got the better of Yow's team 66-61.
Butler said it was a unique experience for herself and her team facing one of the pioneers of the women's game.
"It's an honor," Butler said. "We talked about it even before we went up there and last year when we went and she whipped our butts to end our season. Very humbling, yet (we) also knew that we had to go up there and be ready to play."
Yow's passing has allowed Butler and her team to step back from basketball for a moment and realize what's truly important.
"We spent a lot of time with the team reflecting on her and what she gave the game, because I think that's important to have that historical perspective," Butler said. "And then really just as an example of leadership, this is how you should live your life every single day, trying to find ways to give back, trying to find ways to help other people up, not looking for excuses."
