Fall is here.
In Gainesville, that typically means a new season of football has arrived.
It also means giddy freshmen will be filing into the Swamp next Saturday for UF’s season opener, and upperclassmen will hit up their friend’s tailgate, get hammered on orange and blue Jell-O shots and fall asleep in the stands by halftime.
But amidst the celebration that is football season, don’t forget one thing: Florida is known for more than its football team.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last three years covering Florida athletics, it’s that UF’s teams — from gymnastics to baseball and everything in between — are some of the best in the country.
So yeah, football games are always fun. But here are a few other Fall sports to keep an eye on.
Coach Mary Wise is pretty much a living legend, having won 21 Southeastern Conference titles in 25 years at the helm of Florida’s volleyball program. She’s the 10th-winningest NCAA coach of all-time, meaning only nine other coaches in any sport throughout the entire recorded history of NCAA collegiate athletics have a higher winning percentage than her. She’s been named the SEC Coach of the Year 14 times and AVCA National Coach of the Year twice.
All she’s missing is a national championship.
AlligatorSports writers Ray Boone and Alejandro López will keep you up to date with all the latest scores, news and analysis from UF’s powerhouse volleyball program as it tries to rebound from a loss in the NCAA Tournament’s quarterfinals last season.
Watch them play in the Gale Lemerand practice facility until the renovated O’Connell Center opens up later this year.
And of course you’ve heard of Abby Wambach, arguably the most celebrated U.S. women’s soccer player of all time.
She’s probably one of the Gators’ most famous athletic alumna, but she left in 2001. Now, the No. 7-ranked Gators have a crop of talented players, headlined by senior forward Savannah Jordan, a three-time All American.
After a 19-4-1 record last season, coach Becky Burleigh and the Gators will try to advance past the NCAA Round of 16, where they fell to Duke in 2015.
Writers Dylan Dixon and Lauren Staff will keep you informed on everything soccer related, and don’t forget to catch a home game at James G. Pressly stadium.
And that’s not all.
Sports writer Matt Brannon will update you on how former Florida football players are faring in the NFL, Skyler Lebron will keep you up to date with the ongoings of the cross country team, Jake Dreilinger has you covered with both men’s and women’s golf, and Ethan Bauer, Jordan McPherson, Patrick Pinak and I will provide you the latest Gators football coverage online and in your nearby newspaper-stand each weekday morning.
So, yes, fall is football time.
But in case you get curious as to how the UF’s other sports are faring, walk out of your dorm room and go watch a game, or flip to the sports section of the Alligator for all our Gators coverage.
Beat that, Jell-O shots.
Ian Cohen is the sports editor. Contact him at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
