Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) They play their home games on Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville campus.

It took on the "Gators" nickname in 1911, began playing in newly constructed Florida Field in 1930, and joined the Southeastern Conference as a founding member in 1932.

On the field, the Gators found intermittent success during the first half of the 20th century, with a highlight being the 1928 squad that went 8–1 and led the nation in scoring.

After having appeared in only two sanctioned bowl games up to that time, Grave's Gators won four during the decade, and quarterback Steve Spurrier became the school's first Heisman Trophy winner in 1966.

The Gators and Seminoles have faced off around Thankgiving since the 1970s, and their emergence as perennial football powers during the 1990s helped build the Florida–Florida State rivalry into a game that often had national-title implications.

[4] The football program first gained national recognition in the late 1920s, prompting UF president John J. Tigert to initiate plans for a modern stadium.

The Gators won their first championship with a conference record of 5–0–1 in 1984, but the title was vacated several months after the season by the SEC university presidents because of NCAA infractions by the Florida coaching staff under Charley Pell.

The 1985 and 1990 teams also finished atop the standings with conference records of 5–1 and 6–1, respectively, but Florida was ineligible for the championship due to its NCAA probation for rule violations by previous coaching staffs.

† The 1912 Bacardi Bowl held in Havana, Cuba was not sanctioned by the NCAA and was intended to be one half of a two-game event which was not completed due to a dispute over the rules of the game.

Florida also scheduled occasional games against teams organized by amateur athletic clubs or nearby military bases during the first half of the 20th century.

[80] When Texas A&M and Missouri joined the conference in 2012, the schedule was changed again; each team played one permanent and one rotating opponent from the opposite division every year.

[82] The new Florida State Seminoles football team began playing small colleges, moving up to the major-college ranks in 1955.

[88] Among these was the Sugar Bowl rematch at the end of the 1996 season, when Florida avenged its only regular-season loss and won its first national championship 52–20.

Both teams have produced significant winning streaks, and the series is nearly tied over the past four decades; Florida State holds a 21–20–1 advantage since 1980.

Previously known as "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," and now most commonly called the "Florida–Georgia game" by Gator fans, this rivalry often decides the SEC East and has national implications.

[106] A contract to renew the annual rivalry in the 1990s fell through when the SEC expanded its schedule again to eight games, and the Florida and Miami did not play again until the 2001 Sugar Bowl.

Although Florida and Tennessee are charter members of the SEC, irregular conference scheduling resulted in the teams meeting infrequently for many years.

[110] Led by coaches Steve Spurrier and Phillip Fulmer and featuring players such as Danny Wuerffel and Peyton Manning, both teams were regularly ranked in the top 10 when they met, giving the rivalry conference and national title implications.

Thirteen people associated with Florida have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, four as head coaches and ten as players.

When expanded video screens were installed in that location a few years later, inductees were each recognized with an 18-foot wide sign perched atop the north endzone grandstand.

[155] To date, the only person who meets the Ring of Honor criteria and has not yet been inducted is two-time national championship winning former head coach Urban Meyer.

[not specific enough to verify] First Team Offense QB – Steve Spurrier RB – Larry Smith RB – Nat Moore WR – Cris Collinsworth WR – Wes Chandler TE – Jim Yarbrough OT – Randy Jackson OT – Mike Williams OG – Burton Lawless OG – Guy Dennis C – Bill Carr PK – David Posey First Team Defense DL – Jack Youngblood DL – Scott Hutchinson DL – David Galloway DL – Charlie LaPradd LB – Ralph Ortega LB – Scot Brantley LB – Wilber Marshall LB – Glenn Cameron DB – Steve Tannen DB – Jackie Simpson DB – Bernie Parrish P – Bobby Joe Green Second Team Offense QB – John Reaves RB – Rick Casares RB – James Jones WR – Carlos Alvarez WR – Charles Casey TE – Chris Faulkner OT – Mac Steen OT – Charlie Mitchell OG – Larry Beckman OG – John Barrow C – Steve DeLaTorre PK – Brian Clark Second Team Defense DL – Robin Fisher DL – Joe D'Agostino DL – Lynn Matthews DL – Vel Heckman LB – David Little LB – Fred Abbott LB – Sammy Green DB – Bruce Bennett DB – Tony Lilly DB – Hagood Clarke P – Don Chandler The Florida Football All-Century Team, chosen by Gator fans, was compiled by The Gainesville Sun in the fall of 1999.

[159] First Team Offense QB – Danny Wuerffel (1993–96) RB – Neal Anderson (1982–85) RB – Emmitt Smith (1987–89) WR – Carlos Alvarez (1969–71) WR – Wes Chandler (1974–77) TE – Jim Yarbrough (1966–68) OT – Lomas Brown (1981–84) OT – David Williams (1985–88) OG – Burton Lawless (1972–74) OG – Donnie Young (1993–96) OC – Jeff Mitchell (1993–96) PK – Judd Davis (1992–94) KR – Jacquez Green (1995–97)

First Team Defense DE – Jack Youngblood (1968–70) DE – Kevin Carter (1991–94) DT – Brad Culpepper (1988–91) DT – Ellis Johnson (1991–94) LB – Wilber Marshall (1980–83) LB – Scot Brantley (1976–79) LB – David Little (1977–80) CB – Steve Tannen (1967–69) CB – Jarvis Williams (1984–87) S – Louis Oliver (1985–88) S – Bruce Bennett (1963–65) P – Bobby Joe Green (1958–59) Second Team Offense QB – Steve Spurrier (1964–66) RB – Rick Casares (1951–53) RB – James Jones (1979–82) WR – Reidel Anthony (1994–96) WR – Ike Hilliard (1994–96) TE – Kirk Kirkpatrick (1987–90) OT – Jason Odom (1992–95) OT – Mike Williams (1973–75) OG – Larry Gagner (1963–65) OG – Jeff Zimmerman (1983–86) OC – Phil Bromley (1981–84) PK – David Posey (1973–76) KR – Jack Jackson (1992–94)

[160] Offense QB – Danny Wuerffel (1993–1996) RB – Errict Rhett (1990–1993) RB – Emmitt Smith (1987–1989) RB – Fred Taylor (1994–1997) WR – Carlos Alvarez (1969–1971) WR – Cris Collinsworth (1977–1980) WR – Chris Doering (1992–1995) WR – Ike Hilliard (1994–1996) OL – Lomas Brown (1981–1984) OL – Mike Degory (2002–2005) OL – Jeff Mitchell (1993–1996) OL – Jason Odom (1992–1995) PK – Jeff Chandler (1998–2001) Defense DL – Trace Armstrong (1988) DL – Alex Brown (1998–2001) DL – Kevin Carter (1991–1994) DL – Brad Culpepper (1988–1991) DL – Jack Youngblood (1968–1970) LB – Scot Brantley (1976–1979) LB – Channing Crowder (2003–2004) LB – Jevon Kearse (1996–1998) LB – Wilber Marshall (1980–1983) DB – Louis Oliver (1985–1988) DB – Lito Sheppard (1999–2001) DB – Fred Weary (1994–1997) P – Shayne Edge (1991–1994) The Florida football team has worn a home uniform of blue jerseys (usually a variation of royal blue) with white pants for most of the program's history.

The most notable exception was a decade-long period from 1979 until 1989, when at the suggestion of coach Charlie Pell, the Gators switched to orange home jerseys.

[165] For the first time in program history, Florida debuted an all black uniform on November 4, 2023 in its contest against the Arkansas Razorbacks to honor members of the armed forces, veterans and local first responders.

Since the end of the leather helmet era, base colors have alternated between orange, white, and (occasionally) blue, and logos have included the “Gators” script font, an interlocking "UF", a simple "F", and the player number.

For the 2019 homecoming game versus Auburn, Florida wore the same mid-1960s throwback uniforms, including the white helmets with the blue "F" logo within an orange circular outline.

The team wore the 1960s throwback uniforms again for their 2021 homecoming game versus Vanderbilt, but with orange helmets including the interlocking "UF" logo.