pictured: Bradley Williams, Ph.D. (BSESS ’99) — Health & Human Performance Hall of Fame Member, Albert the Alligator, 1996–2001

Let me teach you a bit of history about the University of Florida. We fielded our first intercollegiate sports team (football) in Fall 1906. It adopted orange and blue as its official colors, combining the orange and black of the former Florida Agriculture in Lake City with the Blue and White of the former East Florida Seminary in Gainesville, the university's two oldest predecessor institutions. The football team did not initially have a nickname or mascot and was often referred to as the “Orange and Blue” or “Pee Wee’s Boys” after the team’s first head coach, Jack “Pee Wee” Forsythe. 

In 1908, a local merchant, Phillip Miller, and his son, Austin, with no official sanction from the university or athletic association, selected the alligator as the official emblem to represent the university and offered pennants for sale in the Millers Gainesville store. With the state of Florida being home to millions of alligators, the “gator” proved a popular choice among student body members, and the Florida Football team began to refer to itself as the “Gators” in the 1911 football season.

A live alligator named Albert first appeared at football games during the 1957 season and served as the mascot of the football team on the field before the costumed version of Albert became the mascot in 1970. He was joined by a female version, Alberta, in 1984, and both often appear as a couple but also alone. Both cheer on the football team, but Albert appears solo at Gator baseball, men’s basketball and at many other games, while Alberta cheers on the women’s sports teams like women’s basketball, gymnastics, softball, etc.

Since 1970, there may have been 60+ mascots for Albert’s entire career at the University Athletic Association and UF. It is said that Albert attends nearly 300 events during a calendar year. That’s a low number by most accounts; multiply that by five years. During my tenure as Albert from 1996 to 2001, I would have made a very low estimate of over tens of thousands of events, traveling nationwide to represent the university.

As Albert, you can lose up to 20 lbs of water weight in a game; you must be strong enough to lift the kids whose parents are beating them away to get a picture with Albert first. Albert represents himself at games and public appearances for the athletic association, university, President's Office, Alumni Association and its member groups across the U.S., hospitals and civic groups. I could go on and on.

One could say that Albert is the greatest student-athlete who ever donned the orange letterman’s F jersey, dating back to our humble beginnings in 1853. Not to mention, when people see Albert, they think of the university instantly. Our trademark and name resonate with people worldwide; that’s why we say the Gator Nation is everywhere, as seen in pictures of people proudly sporting Gator gear traveling the globe.

So, let this sink in deep: we wouldn’t have the term “Go Gators” if we weren’t blessed to be in a state of our beloved reptile that roams the swamps, grasslands, through the plains of Texas, around every other corner of the country knocking off every mascot at every stop, always keeping in the pride of the orange and blue standing tall. We wouldn’t be a world-recognized university without our beloved Albert and Alberta if it wasn’t for the ingenuity of Phillip Miller nearly 110 years ago, picking the very symbol of what and who we are: GATORS.

read more >>