UF renaming field to honor Steve Spurrier, O'Dome also renamed

The man who nicknamed Florida’s football stadium “The Swamp” and steered the Gators to national prominence during his 12 seasons at the helm as head coach will see his name honored at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Florida is set to rename Florida Field as “Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium” after the coach who led the Gators to their first ever national title in 1996 and won the Heisman Trophy as a player – the first in UF’s history - in 1966, UF announced Thursday after UF's Board of Trustees approved the name change.

"I am humbled, honored, thankful and very appreciative that my alma mater, the University of Florida, believes that I am worthy and deserving to have my name placed on Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as 'The Swamp,'" Spurrier wrote in a statement released via UF. "I was blessed and fortunate to be recruited and then to play for the original 'Bull Gator' – Coach Ray Graves in the mid-60s. I was fortunate to play with outstanding and talented teammates that allowed our teams to have winning seasons and play in major bowl games and build lasting friendships for a lifetime. A very special thanks to Coach Doug Dickey, who hired me as an assistant coach in 1978, and allowing me to enter the coaching profession. I will always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me.

"As the head coach in 1990, I inherited a team that was loaded with outstanding players, who were poised and ready to start winning SEC Championships. We have had many truly great All-American, All-SEC and solid wonderful team-oriented players at Florida and I can't mention them all. I must say that Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel were not only two of the greatest quarterbacks in school history, but they were outstanding, excellent, courageous leaders who guided their teams to six SEC championships and one national championship in 1996.

"The Swamp is a special place. We coaches and players thoroughly enjoyed playing in front of our fans. We won a bunch of them there and only lost five and they were close ones. I also met my wife, Jerri Starr, at the University of Florida, she has been a tremendous influence on everything I've done since. Again, I say thanks to all of those who made this honor possible and I consider this to be the biggest, most special honor I have ever received."

Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley also explained the importance of honoring the 71-year-old Spurrier, who retired from coaching during the 2015 season, via a school release.

"We feel this was an appropriate way to commemorate one the most legendary figures in Gator athletics history," Foley said. "Coach Spurrier did more than win a Heisman Trophy, a national championship and a bunch of games. Coach Spurrier changed the culture of Florida athletics. We were an institution that always had a mantra of wait until next year and wouldn't it be great to just win one championship.

"Coach changed all of that. The Gators won, won big and won with swagger. As much as he impacted the football program, he changed the vibe in the entire athletic department. He and his wife, Jerri, were big supporters of the entire athletic department – giving advice to different coaches, attending other sporting events and even endowed a scholarship to support women's athletics."

Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees approved another name change Thursday - the O'Dome will now be called "Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center" after a 10-year, $5.9 million pledge with five-year, $3.5 million option at the end of the contract with the company.

"The University of Florida is so fortunate to have a relationship with a quality organization and quality company like Exactech," Foley said of Exactech, a local medical device company. "Their values reflect the university's values and those of the athletic association. We love the fact that it's a local company with roots right here, right up the street from the University of Florida."

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