Are the Florida Gators Really That Dominant? The Numbers Do Not Lie

I never realized just how much of a brand the Florida Gators have become until today.  Much like the Yankees of Major League Baseball and Manchester United of international football, the Gators impose a major presence in the sports world. 

As the clear dominant force in arguably the NCAA's strongest conference, the Gators proudly assumes the role as big brother in the SEC.  In April 2011 the University of Florida took their 200th Southeastern Conference title thanks to the men's golf team.  Before you scoff at the sport wait until you see the lists below.

With anything in life it's tough being at the top of your class.  You tend to become public enemy number one with everyone placing you under a microscope.  The overall feel in Gainesville, FL, though, is to gladly embrace center stage.  "It's a source of pride." Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said.  In his 19 years as AD of the Florida Gators, 102 of the 200 SEC titles have come while he was at the helm. 

In the 2010-11 sports year, Florida has won SEC regular season titles in women's cross country, soccer, volleyball, women's tennis, men's basketball, men's golf, and men's indoor track.  If women's lacrosse was a sanctioned SEC sport, then you'd be able to throw that title in there, too.

You know with success comes critics.  Many of them point out that it is because of UF's financial resources why the titles come with such frequency.  They may be correct as the Florida Gators reported that they had a school budget of $96.4 million this sports calendar year.  That was a school record, by the way.  "There are plenty of programs out there that have money that aren't doing what we do here," Florida track coach Mike Holloway states.  He's partially responsible for leading the men's and women's teams to a total of five SEC titles.

Resources or not, you still cannot purchase championships.  We've seen that before in the Yankees and even the Dallas Cowboys.  The promising thing about this all is the fact that no one athletic program gets "shortchanged," according to Halloway.  "No one is going hungry at the dinner table," he says.  That's the great thing about American capitalism; the sky's the limit and everyone has a fair shot.  Why Gator Nation has the most accurate one is another story.  Take a look at the numbers for yourself...

SEC Championships*

School                     Titles

Florida....................200
Tennessee...............150
Georgia...................134
LSU........................117
Alabama...................75
Arkansas..................75
Auburn.....................70
Kentucky..................66
Miss State.................28
Miss.........................20
Vanderbilt...............10
South Carolina..........8

*Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC in 1991

Gators SEC Titles

Sport                                           Titles

Men's swimming & diving..............33
Women's tennis.............................25
Women's volleyball.......................19
Women's swimming & diving.........17
Men's golf.....................................15
Baseball........................................11
Women's soccer...........................11
Men's tennis..................................9
Football........................................8
Women's golf................................8
Women's gymnastics.....................7
Men's indoor track........................6
Women's indoor track...................6
Men's basketball...........................5
Women's cross country.................5
Women's outdoor track................5
Men's outdoor track.....................4
Men's cross country......................3
Softball.........................................3

SEC Budgets*

Schools                 No.         Budget

Tennessee..............20............$111,670,619
Florida..................21............$105,824,376
LSU.......................19.............$102,326,769
Alabama................20.............$98,961,214
Auburn..................21..............$90,908,902
Kentucky...............23..............$79,002,986
South Carolina......20.............$78,295,030
Georgia.................21.............$77,250,831
Arkansas...............19.............$71,801,905
Mississippi.............18.............$45,737,904
Mississippi St.........16.............$36,265,186

*2009-10 school year. SEC schools with number of sports offered.
(source: USA Today)

Florida Falls to Resilient Butler Bulldogs in OT; Loses 71-74

In New Orleans, the Butler Bulldogs have done it again.  In a battle that had the Florida Gators go up by as much as 11 points, there was just no stopping the fight from those dogs.  The team concept that carried the Gators to their 5th Elite Eight game was absent tonight.  Vernon Macklin got it going early by finishing the first half of the game with 15 points and shooting 8-9 from the field.  The Bulldogs of Indianapolis just couldn't seem to stop the Gators inside attack.

The problem with Gators in this game was their inability to get everyone else going.  The Gator bench finished two points, while the Butler bench chipped in with 23.  SEC Player of the Year, Chandler Parsons was almost invisible, going 2 for 9 on field goals.  Butler did a good job of hanging with the Gators on the glass, which was a glaring difference between this matchup and the previous BYU one.  They beat the Gators in offensive rebound category, 13-5.

Butler made it a point to apply pressure on Earvin Walker from their guards.  The minute Walker crossed the half court, they attacked like he was canned food.  Walker couldn't get into his rhythm in the second half, and was forced to dribble around on the perimeter quite often.  The easy inside passes that were there in the first half were no longer there.  Butler's, Shelvin Mack, stole the show with 27 points and a game high four three pointers.  Teammate Matt Howard played his dirty sidekick.  Howard's an extremely versatile player, chipping in with 14 points and drawing Macklin out on the perimeter to compensate for his shot.


So the season ends for us Gator fans, and I'm not too happy about it.  With three of our starting five being seniors, it will be a surprise to see the Gators reaching this far again in 2012. But that's what makes March Madness so beautiful.  It's nothing short of surprises.  I salute coach Billy Donovan, and the rest of the senior class.  Great season, guys.  Now who's ready for some recruiting?

Top performers:

(Butler) Shelvin Mack: 27 pts, 4 ast, 4 rebs, 1 stl
(Florida) Vernon Macklin: 25 pts, 5 rebs, 1 blk 

Box Score

Florida Gators Needed OT to Make Jimmer Fredette Take His Last Bow; Final 83-74

(Florida Gators Needed OT to Make Jimmer Fredette Take His Last Bow; Final 83-74)
Copyright © Kevin J. Timothy
http://marketingmachine.biz/

It was a game of passion, pride, and poise as your Florida Gators avenged last year's loss to BYU.  It took the Gators overtime, but Jimmer Fredette and his BYU Cougars didn't have enough down the stretch.  The Gators jumped out to a 17-8 lead off a Chandler Parsons three just five minutes into the game.  In the New Orleans southeast regional semi-final, what first appeared to be an early insurmountable lead building, turned out to be a suspenseful game of all sorts.



Tyus, Parsons, Macklin

In a game where Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points on 11-29 shooting from the field (3-15 from the arc), he was the only Cougar scoring in double figures.  The Florida Gators did an excellent job of containing him by making work for each and every shot.  

Fredette missed many shots early, until he discovered that penetrating the lane would help get a rhythm going.  His lone bright spot was going perfect on seven attempts at the stripe.  Gator forward, Alex Tyus was the man of the night, however, scoring 19 points on 8-9 shooting from the field, and grabbing 17 rebounds.

Tyus powered the forced that BYU lacked all season, which was a beast-like inside game in the paint. He made the Cougar shooters alter many shots, and negated all sorts of second chance opportunities.  BYU shot a paltry 35% from the field.  The score was knotted up 36-36 at the half and it looked like BYU had figured out Florida's strategy. 

The Gators appeared to have been trying to match the Cougar's frenentic pace with rare spurts of slowing down into a half court set.  BYU countered by alternating a 2-3 zone defense with a high pressured man defense.  The man defense worked well, forcing the Gators into making 15 turnovers.

Early on, every time the Gators fed the bigs on the inside, the Cougars swatted and created fumbles and steals (11 to 8).  The balance of Billy Donovan's Gators were just to much, though. Four Gator players scored in double figures (Tyus, Parsons, Kenny Boynton, and Earvin Walker), and Vernon Macklin scored nine to go with his three steals. 

Earvin Walker made his usual big shots, and Chandler Parsons played like a rouge warrior with his quiet numbers.  The win proved that it takes a team concept coupled with great guard play to succeed in March.  It's too bad that Jimmer Fredette ended his NCAA career on that note, but who cares?  The Gators move on to face Butler University to try for their 5th ever trip to the Final Four.

The Key Player:

Alex Tyus
19 points, 8-9 FGs, 17 rebounds, 1-1 3PT FGs, 1 block, 1 turnover

Box Score

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