The Florida Gators men's basketball staff reflects the University of Florida . The Gators compete in NCAA Division I am Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played at the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The University of Florida basketball team took the court but success was rare for several decades. The program did not have a decent gymnasium before the Florida Gymnasium in 1950, didn't hire a full-time basketball trainer until Norm Sloan in 1960, also didn't play in a contemporary stadium until the O'Connell Center started in 1980. Florida made its first postseason tournament appearance from the 1969 National Invitation Tournament and appeared at the NCAA championship in 1987, but constant success was elusive, and the Gators often found themselves in the bottom half of their conference standings.
Consistent success was found by florida's basketball program under head coach Billy Donovan, who had been hired in 1996. In nineteen years as Florida's coach, Donovan led the schedule to seven of its eight Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championships, all four SEC championship championships, fourteen of twenty-two NCAA Tournament appearances, four out of five Final Four appearances, and back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Florida's head coach since 2015 was Mike White, who has led the Gators to three NCAA Tournament bids in his four seasons at the school.
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