Surrounded by a stadium packed 51,000 strong, the Gators gathered in Atlanta for the 2007 NCAA Championship game, prepared for a face off against Ohio State. Back in Gainesville, fans crowded into the popular bars of the day, anxious to see if the Gators could pull off their second — and consecutive — NCAA championship win, a feat no team had managed to achieve since the early ‘90s.
Most current UF freshmen were infants when the Gators brought home the win 18 years ago. But for alumni, the Gators’ arrival to San Antonio for a chance at another national title had them reminiscent of the 2006 and 2007 back-to-back victories.
Justin Moore, a 38-year-old Class of 2010 alum living in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, said UF’s 2006 championship team was a driving factor in his decision to transfer schools, moving from Syracuse in upstate New York to the Gainesville swamp.
UF had beat out Syracuse in the second round of a non-conference tournament that year.
“I had always said, ‘Ah, Syracuse will beat Florida in basketball,’” Moore said. “Well, Florida ended up beating Syracuse, and I got really drunk and woke up and applied to transfer the next day.”
Moore watched the 2006 game at a friend’s apartment while visiting his best friend and girlfriend, both UF students. When the Gators won, he described it as a moment of “pure joy” watching his eventual alma mater win its first NCAA men's basketball championship title.
Meanwhile, the U.S. inching towards a major economic downturn — The Great Recession — and financial prospects were dire. But Moore said the Gators’ wins in basketball, among other sports like football and softball, alleviated concerns about the country’s financial situation.
“As students, we did not care at all,” he said. “Our teams were winning. It was electric.”
Enthusiasm touched Moore’s romantic life as well, as he credits the celebratory atmosphere for bringing him and his now-wife together.
“I always had a reason to invite her to go do something,” he said.
Mary Lynn Brennan, a 38-year-old Jacksonville resident and 2009 UF alumna, confirmed Moore’s description of Gainesville’s jubilation during back-to-back basketball championships.
“Everyone was kind of just looking forward to the game, not a care in the world,” she said.
Brennan and Moore said they see similarities between the players who won the title 18 years ago and the players who claimed a third national title in San Antonio’s Alamodome.
“Like our 2006-2007 teams, these guys play with true heart, and no one is looking to outshine the other,” Brennan said.
For her, attending games with school honor at stake is an important part of her identity, with her father and grandfather both being UF grads. Coming out to support the Gators reminds her of the good times she had in college, and she said she still has the same feeling returning to Gainesville.
For the 2025 national championship game, Brennan gathered with her family in Jacksonville to watch the game together. And, she noted, she preemptively scheduled a half day for work the next morning.
UF students at the time rode the wave of the 2006 victory straight into the following season. Morgan Hughes, a 38-year-old Gainesville resident and 2010 UF alumna, said the “hype” in 2007 began as soon as the men’s basketball players decided to continue playing for Florida, rather than entering the NBA draft.
“It was just like full-head, double championships — that’s what everybody talked about for the whole year. There was no other option,” Hughes said. “[That] was the theme of 2007.”
At the time, Hughes said, seeing West University Avenue shut down was an unusual sight — an ode to the game’s significance. When it became apparent the Gators had won, Hughes ran out her door towards West University Avenue. Even the police officers meant to be controlling the crowds joined in the celebration, she said.
“The whole city was running,” she said. “We were all together.”
After the Gators’ 2007 win, chaos erupted on Gainesville’s streets. Fires broke out on West University; a police helicopter circled Anderson Hall as jubilant fans launched fireworks at its base; drunken revelers were arrested.
Gainesville was a different city then. In the early 2000s, Gator City Sports Grill stood as a pillar of nightlife. The establishment is now a remnant of the past, and even its successors like The Social at Midtown have also come and gone, with MacDinton’s Irish Pub taking its place.
Other popular game-watching venues from the time have also faded from Gainesville’s cityscape, such as JP Gators, a bar and pool hall. But some local staples like The Swamp Restaurant, which was founded in 1994, have maintained their popular appeal for decades.
One thing is certain — this year’s NCAA championship win will still be in Gator fans’ memories 18 years from now.
When the clock reached zero in the second half of the 2025 championship game, solidifying a 65-63 win for the Gators, celebration broke out across the city.
Students ran from their apartments to join an hourslong celebration on West University Avenue, which carried into the early morning. People waved flags, climbed lampposts, crowd surfed and sprayed beer into the air. The Swamp’s customers — many of whom camped outside the restaurant for a decent seat to watch the championship — cheered, hugged and threw their drinks. At the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, which reached record capacity for its broadcast of the game, fans rushed to the center of the court jumping and cheering over the team’s victory.
Hughes upheld her family’s connection to the Gators by taking her 9-year-old son to the O’Connell center for the first NCAA Gators’ win of his life.
Hughes said this game felt different than the championship victories she’d witnessed as an undergrad.
“Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s having felt the low times more acutely as an adult,” she said. “Mostly I think it’s seeing the shock and joy and awe experienced by my children.”
Hughes, Moore and Brennan all watched the championship game from different places, but before the game had even started, they all agreed: “It’s great to be a Florida Gator.”
Contact Avery Parker at aparker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @AveryParke98398.
Avery Parker is a third-year English and History major covering university affairs for The Alligator. Outside of reporting, Avery spends his time doting on his cats, reading, and listening to music by the Manwolves.
