Billy Napier’s emotional goodbye: A recount of his final moments FIRED
NAPIER SOMBERLY WALKED OUT OF THE HEAVENER FOOTBALL TRAINING CENTER
By Luke Adragna Alligator Staff Writer
Billy Napier emerged from the side entrance of the Heavener Football Training Center. A black duffel bag hung from his right shoulder. His head tilted downward, eyes fixed on the pavement. He stopped briefly to hug a staffer and murmured, “If you ever need anything, let me know.”
About an hour before, Napier entered the facility for a “coaches only meeting.” During the roughly hourlong span he was there, the news broke that Napier’s Florida tenure would end and interim head coach Billy Gonzales would take over.
Napier didn’t turn back. He never glanced back at the place he put countless hours into, the place that became his second home. He somberly hopped into his white Mercedes Maybach SUV alone, shut the door and drove away.
The Gators escaped Mississippi State the day prior with a 23-21 victory, after a late interception spared them a likely defeat. And although it's rare a head coach is fired following a victory, it made all too much sense considering the circumstances.
Napier amassed a 22-23 record across four seasons with the program, the worst from a Florida head coach through 40 games since the 1940s. He failed to build upon an impressive 2024 season that saw UF finish 8-5, and the program looked like it had actually taken a step back in his fourth year after a 3-4 start.
So before Napier jogged off the field one final time donning the Gators logo on his chest, he took additional time to embrace those around him. At midfield, he hugged his wife,
even deciding to stay behind and take photos with his family — an irregular occurrence.
Napier didn’t directly answer questions about his future following the game. But for the first time, it looked like he knew it could be his final hurrah — as if he finally saw the shadow that had been following him all season.
“I love the game of football,” he said, audibly choking up, when asked if he thought his time was up as Florida’s coach. “I love the game.”
Winning can only buy so much time. Losses take that time away. And Napier, the Gators head coach through four turbulent seasons, seemed to realize the inevitable decision that awaited him.
“I chose the coaching profession. I was called to coach,” he said. “The good comes with the bad, the bad comes with the good.”
In the week leading up to his release, there was a sense Napier’s time had run out. The Gators were embarrassed by then-No. 5 Texas A&M Oct. 11, and in the following press conferences leading up to Mississippi State, he and his players were asked several questions about his legacy, what he meant to the program and why he should remain as head coach.
“I'm extremely grateful for Coach Napier and everything that he's done for me and my family,” quarterback DJ Lagway said following his final game. “He's a heck of a head coach, and I'm thankful to be able to play for him.”
Now, Florida will learn to navigate life without Napier. Led by Gonzales, the Gators (3-4, 2-2 SEC) will enter a bye week before heading to EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville to face the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) Nov. 1 at 3:30 p.m.
@lukeadrag ladragna@alligator.org
Sydney Johnson // Alligator Staff
Today’s Weather
UF celebrates 102nd Homecoming with spirit, gators and tradition
FESTIVITIES AND A CAKE-THROWING
DJ
KICKED OFF A
SPIRITED FOOTBALL GAME WEEKEND
Alligator Staff Report
Hundreds of UF alumni, students and families flooded campus and its surrounding streets to celebrate the school’s 102nd annual Homecoming celebration Oct. 17.
Daytime festivities included the 2-mile Gator Gallop race, the Homecoming Festival and the Homecoming Parade. In the evening, DJ Steve Aoki took the stage at the Gator Growl pep rally.
Gator Gallop
Runners of all ages gathered on UF’s Plaza of the Americas, stretching and warming up in anticipation of the Gator Gallop, a two-mile run across campus and 13th Street. It connected students, alumni and the Gainesville running commu-
nity through one shared love: the Gators.
Tony Witts, an alumnus who graduated with a master’s degree in 1982, has been running the Gator Gallop periodically since 1976. He said he is a Gator at heart and is “psychotic about this place.”
“I’m one of those Gators that people talk about in quiet corners, just, you know, bleeds orange and blue,” he said.
Regina Labardini, a 26-year-old UF political campaigning graduate student, was donning orange and blue for the run. She decided to participate in Gator Gallop for the community aspect and to prove to herself that she could complete the run without training.
The way the city of Gainesville joins together to celebrate the Florida Gators is Labardini’s favorite thing about Homecoming. To her, it translates into being part of a community.
“The energy at The Swamp is just unbelievable,” she said. “There’s nothing like it. Happiest place on Earth for me.”
Homecoming Festival
Orange and blue balloons, shouts of children in the bounce house and upbeat music filled the Plaza of the Americas the morning of Oct. 17 for UF’s annual Homecoming Festival.
A chilly fall breeze carried the school spirit of over 100 alumni, students and families attending the event. Children decked in orange and blue crowded the bounce house and gelato truck while parents and alumni explored rows of tables, spinning prize wheels for stickers, water bottles and other Gators merchandise.
The festival featured over 20 tables hosted by student organizations, local businesses and food vendors.
Read the rest online at alligator.org
Angelique Rodriguez, Swasthi Maharaj, Maria Arruda and Madeline Herring contributed to this report.
Bayden Armstrong // Alligator Staff
University of Florida Fightin’ Gator Marching Band marches down 13th Street in Gainesville in the 102nd UF Homecoming Parade. The parade took place on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.
CORRECTION:
From last week’s page 3 story: The headline was unclear about the contents of the story. A UF trustee is named in a lawsuit.
Bookkeeper Cheryl del Rosario, cdelrosario@alligator.org
Administrative Assistant Ellen Light, elight@alligator.org
Gainesville to hold second GRU referendum Nov. 4
NEW BALLOT COMES AFTER MONTHS OF LEGAL BATTLES
By Grace Larson Alligator Staff Writer
The question of who governs Gainesville Regional Utilities will fall on Gainesville ballots for the second time Nov. 4 after last year’s referendum was nullified due to misleading ballot language.
The referendum seeks, once again, to overturn HB 1645, which put power over GRU into the hands of a state authority board rather than the Gainesville City Commission. State Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry, filed the legislation that allowed Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint members to the authority board in 2023.
About 73% of voters sought to return authority to the commission last year. Though a judge struck down the results of that vote, activists continue to fight to return power to the City Commission.
Clemons’ decision to create the authority board was an attempt to punish Democratic voters in Gainesville, said Susan Bottcher, vice president of Gainesville Residents United, an advocacy group that has fought the authority board since the board’s inception in 2023.
For Bottcher, the election is a question of whether Gainesville residents should retain power over their utilities company.
Returning power to the City Commission ensures decisions are made in the interest of residents, Bottcher said. She believes granting power to the commission allows residents to hold GRU accountable.
“The City Commission is elected by you and me and everybody else out there,” she said. “If you don’t like their decisions, you can unelect them.”
Bottcher, who served on the City Commission from 2011 to 2014, said the issue of GRU oversight dates back to her time in office.
“This has been something I’ve been working on for more than a decade now,” she said. “I really want to put this to rest.”
Bottcher hopes this year’s election will finally result in some change.
“This is the consistent voice of the people,” she said. “They really need to listen to it and allow the people’s will to be implemented.”
Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward expressed similar sentiment towards the upcoming election.
For him, the referendum is an opportunity for residents to speak out about who should
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control GRU.
“We have the opportunity, once again, to make our voices heard and to let the powers that be know how we feel about how it should be governed,” Ward said.
Regardless of the outcome, he said “the will of the people should be heard.” Given the heavy voter turnout and decision from the previous election, Ward said he expects this referendum to yield similar results.
Despite the persisting battle over the transfer of power, residents have worked to hold the authority board accountable.
Chuck Ross, a member of Gainesville Residents United, said he feels obligated to attend the GRU authority board’s monthly meetings
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because citizen turnout is low.
“I think it’s important to show that I am concerned, and I’m there, and I’m watching them,” he said.
Ed Bielarski, CEO of GRU, said the company’s recent successes, including lower energy bills, can be attributed to the authority board. Since October 2024, the company has lowered monthly residential electric bills by $20, based on a standard of 1,000 kWh of electricity. It has also paid off $66 million in debt, according to Bielarski.
Returning authority to the City Commission will reverse these achievements, he added.
This month, Bielarski, who was already the highest paid worker in the city of Gainesville, received a 3% salary increase. He will now receive $342,000 a year, up nearly $10,000 from his previously set salary.
In a statement shared by GRU spokesperson David Warm, the company said Bielarski’s strong evaluation from the authority board lent itself to a pay raise. The statement also acknowledged the authority board’s satisfaction with Bielarski’s performance, noting his success in managing expenses and reducing debt.
Bielarski said this success highlights the need for the state-controlled authority board.
“The utility is being run by business people making business decisions to the betterment of the community,” Bielarski said.
He suggests the commission’s political ideologies may interfere with the efficiency with which GRU operates. He also worries the company would be run by individuals without a background in utilities.
Regardless of the referendum’s results, he said the fight over who will have authority over GRU will be resolved in the courts.
@graceellarson glarson@alligator.org
Events Oct. 27-29 are in Reitz Union Grand Ballroom
Dylan Speicher // Alligator Staff
Control of Gainesville Regional Utilities will be on the ballot this November.
The fastest university-owned supercomputer in the country just launched at UF
HIPERGATOR 4.0 BREAKS RECORDS IN EFFICIENCY AND POWER
By Madeline Herring Alligator Staff Writer
From solving basic math equations to diving into the unknown world of artificial intelligence, the HiPerGator 4.0 offers answers to any question — efficiently.
The fourth generation of the fastest university-owned supercomputer in the U.S. was unveiled Oct. 14 during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on UF East Campus. The upgraded supercomputer, representing some of the newest AI technology, lets students compute higher amounts of data more quickly.
Students who have used the old HiPerGator model in research programs showed off their work at the event. Some had used the supercomputer for tasks like running simulations to help build race cars and launching rockets.
Chris Malachowsky, a UF alumnus and the co-founder of computer graphics company Nvidia, gifted the AI supercomputer to the university in early 2020. He helped fit and build the newest version.
AI is a fast-moving technology, Malachowsky said, and HiPerGator 4.0 is tuned for today’s workload with a capacity exceeding its predecessor’s. It demonstrates UF’s commitment to being a leader in the AI space, he said.
“It’s going to help the university attract the best and the brightest in terms of faculty, researchers, students, business collaborations, and it’s going to help the state add value to its citizens,” Malachowsky said.
UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini and Interim President Donald Landry attended the ribbon cutting alongside Malachowsky.
Each spoke about the importance of the HiPerGator to a crowd dominated by UF administration members, with a smattering of students attending as guest presenters.
HiPerGator, without its AI capabilities, was created in 2013. To fund its newest update, the Board of Trustees allocated $24 million in December 2024 toward the supercomputer.
The HiPerGator ranked second on the Green500 list of the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers in June 2021. By June 2024, its ranking plummeted to No. 33.
The latest version of the computer is about seven to 10 times faster than its previous version while using the same amount of energy, its directors say, meaning it will not be any worse for the environment.
The supercomputer is separated into the HiPerGator and HiPerGator AI. Each system has distinct roles. While the HiPerGator supports research and computation, HiPerGator AI focuses on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Recently, UF has used the supercomputer to aid in its efforts to find more efficient ways to create semiconductor chips, which are the foundation for most modern day electronics.
Dr. Azra Bihorac, a UF professor of medicine and senior associate dean of the UF Office of Research, uses the HiPerGator in her research about applying AI to improve medical care.
The HiPerGator helped her build a tool used behind the scenes before surgery, Bihorac said. When a patient comes before surgery, the AI tool automatically understands their preexisting conditions, the vulnerabilities they may have and risks of surgery having complications.
The amount of computation needed for research now is much higher than it was 10 years ago when she started, she said. She add-
Libby Clifton // Alligator Staff
UF Interim President Donald Landry speaks during the unveiling ceremony of the fourth generation of HiPerGator, the most powerful university-owned supercomputer in the U.S., at UF’s East Campus on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.
ed researchers are putting dense data through the computer, such as videos and pictures, which makes it a harder computational task that requires a powerful machine like the HiPerGator 4.0.
“The ingredients are data, computers and people,” Bihorac said. “We have incredible talent, we have incredible computers and we have really incredible data. There is nothing stopping us from being the best, especially for AI.”
The supercomputer is stored at UF’s East
Campus, in an area that spans 25,000 square feet and looks like a normal UF building, with windows and brick.
The building’s interior is not as normal. The computer is monitored 24/7 in case of issues, and visitors must wear protective headphones when inside the facility. The supercomputer produces 115 decibels of white noise — as loud as a jet engine or loud rock concert.
Erik Deumens, the director of the department of research computing in UF Information Technology, said the supercomputer allows faculty and students to access the latest technology.
“[It’s] the thing that’s going to define [us] for the next two or three years,” he said of HiPerGator.
The new version is made of Nvidia’s latest technology, and it has been designed to focus on the next generation of AI training and capabilities, Deumens said. The HiPerGator 4.0 will also be used for simulations and modeling.
Lindsey Blaskowski, a 21-year-old UF mechanical engineering junior and Lucja Stawikowska, a 20-year-old UF mechanical engineering junior, are part of the UF formula team, Gator Motorsports. They use the HiPerGator to help with aerodynamic simulations and computations for car races.
“Without being able to use these kinds of computational services, we wouldn’t be able to get through our year and have the car running right now,” Stawikowska said.
Blaskowski said the team could use HiPerGator 4.0 for even larger simulations than they’ve been able to do in the past.
“It’d be really interesting to see how it helps us to develop our team further,” Blaskowski said.
@m_herring06 mherring@alligator.org
‘4-year nightmare’: UF fans react to Napier’s firing
NAPIER POSTED A 22-23 RECORD AS HEAD COACH OF THE GATORS
By Curan Ahern Alligator Staff Writer
With 38 seconds left on the clock during the Gators’ bout against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, fans weren’t booing the opposing team, but their own coach.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium erupted in “fire Billy” chants multiple times Oct. 18, calling for head coach Billy Napier’s termination.
Less than 24 hours later, their call was answered. Florida parted ways with Napier, temporarily replacing him with wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.
Bad losses under Napier’s tenure led fans to question his leadership. Each season under Napier saw its own shocking defeats, from Vanderbilt in 2022 to Arkansas in 2023. Last year, Napier seemed all but finished after a 4-5 start. Though a four-game winning streak to end 2024 kept his job alive, fans were disappointed again as he began the 2025 season 3-4.
“Underwhelming,” “disappointing,” “chaotic” and “nightmare” were all words fans used to sum up Napier’s tenure at Florida. Although some complimented his recruiting
skills and team culture building, many said the positives ended there.
“He’s done a really good job of keeping the locker room, keeping the players out of trouble,” said 35-year-old Florida alumnus Jared Gaylord. “I don’t have any problem with his personality or his character. I think he’s a good person. My issue is just the results on the field.”
Napier struggled to win big games. Florida went 5-17 against ranked opponents and never beat one on the road. UF’s top recruiting classes didn’t lead to on-field success, and fans quickly became rowdy.
“He’s kind of like a Ron Zook hire,” Gaylord said, referring to the former Florida coach who also struggled to win games. “He can build the car, but he can’t drive it.”
Napier’s controversial stint was marked by questionable play calls. Two prime examples came in Napier’s final game, when UF called a quarterback run on third-and-7 and Lagway was later sacked on a third-and-1 passing play.
The coach should let an offensive coordinator make those decisions, rather than doing it himself, said Justin Hall, a 20-year-old UF accounting major.
“I was happy, I thought it was a good hire,” he said. “Then, I felt like he wasn’t contribut-
ing as much as I expected him to contribute, and then I got disappointed.”
Hall also criticized Napier’s handling of the quarterback situation in his third season as coach. Napier should have started Lagway immediately upon the quarterback’s arrival in Gainesville, rather than continuing to play his teammate, Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz, Hall said.
“If DJ had started earlier, he would have more time to develop and get actual experience,” Hall said. “That would have put us in a better spot.”
Another common theme throughout Napier’s tenure was losing games he shouldn’t have. After a 3-4 start that included a loss to an unranked South Florida team and a tooclose-for-comfort win over Mississippi State, many said Napier didn’t have the passion or tenacity to turn around the program’s slump.
“I wish we saw a little bit more heart from him. Every single time I hear him talk after a game, win or lose, it’s so dead,” said 21-yearold UF biology senior Frankie Ricardo. “Regardless of what our record is, we’re gonna show up every single game day, and I feel like I really can’t say the same for him.”
Napier’s struggles in retaining positive fan sentiment continued through 2025, as his post-game attitude became a point of conten-
tion. After UF’s loss to USF, his comments raised eyebrows and fueled fans’ frustrations over a perceived lack of urgency.
Napier’s disconnect reached a boiling point in his final game. At the Mississippi State game, 17-year-old Orlando resident and Gators fan Shane Mankoff and two of his friends wore brown paper bags over their heads that proudly displayed “FIRE BILLY.”
“It was just a four-year nightmare,” Mankoff said. “He’s got to go.”
Napier didn’t lose all his supporters, though. Some, like 22-year-old UF graduate student Andre Chelle, remained unconvinced Florida’s struggles fell solely on Napier. Florida fans were “a little bit harsh on him,” he said, and Napier has supported his players well.
“I think from a coaching standpoint, he’s doing a good job,” Chelle said. “A lot of the things they are blaming him for are not his fault entirely. … You can’t push people too much where it is affecting them emotionally and can affect them off the field.”
Read the rest online at alligator.org/ section/sports.
@CuranAhern cahern@alligator.org
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue
HOBBIES
By growing plants, students see their own health bloom through therapeutic horticulture
UF STUDENT THERAPEUTIC HORTICULTURE PROGRAM
REDUCES STRESS AND IMPROVES ACADEMIC RESILIENCE
By Isabel Kraby Avenue Staff Writer
A sacred fig tree stands among a sea of flora in the Wilmot Botanical Gardens greenhouse, the kind under which the Buddha is said to have found enlightenment.
It’s adorned with colorful heart-shaped ornaments, each with a message of gratitude from a student whose life was impacted by the greenhouse’s program.
When studying architecture in college, Leah Diehl, the 59-year-old director of the UF Student Therapeutic Horticulture Program, learned greenhouses had the potential to heal people. Her own brother, who suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child, found tending to
FOOD & DRINK
plants meaningful, she said.
Diehl’s brother uses a wheelchair and has lived in a residential facility for adults with developmental and physical disabilities for most of his life, where he frequented the greenhouse where Diehl worked. Up to that point, he and others at the facility had only even been taken care of, not the other way around.
“When we are able to put people with particular disabilities … in the role of caretaking … that’s a great thing,” Diehl said. “We can return that sense of self-value to them.”
The program launched in 2012 to serve veterans who used the greenhouse’s conference space as an art studio. Since then, it’s served around 25 groups of people with unique health conditions or disabilities. And thanks to a million dollars in grants and plenty of plants, the Therapeutic Horticulture Program also works with UF students struggling with mental health.
Students spend an hour immersed in a
calming room of greenery each session, sometimes even stepping out into the gardens to practice yoga. The participants water, trim and propagate the flora, facilitating growth for the plants — and for themselves.
What started as a once-a-week gathering for students expanded into four sessions per week that welcome people of all years and majors. Diehl said college students, who are undergoing a transitional time in their lives, increasingly experience anxiety, depression and academic distress.
On Oct. 9, Diehl and her colleagues published research gathered over the past three semesters demonstrating how horticulture therapy can lessen those symptoms.
Their data found significant improvements in all outcomes measured, including academic resilience and perceived stress. Through connecting with plants and each other, and learning wellness strategies at greenhouse sessions, students acquire self care tools to support their mental wellbeing, Diehl said.
After a semester in the program, students walk away with horticulture knowledge, too — such as the process of transpiration and keeping the environment humid so the plants don’t dry up. They can even take their plants home with them.
Former attendee Nathan Lamm, or the “plant guy”, as his friends call him, has kept some of his plants for almost two years.
The 23-year-old UF mental health counseling graduate student was amazed during his junior year to find such a program existed for free. After spending a semester learning about wellness wheels and making tea from Cuban oregano, he gained insight into his future career, learning new tips for how to best care for his therapy clients.
Read the rest online atalligator.org/ section/the_avenue.
@isabelgkraby ikraby@alligator.org
No need for Tokyo — you can now find omurice and milk tea in downtown Gainesville
NEW RESTAURANTS KYURAMEN AND TBAAR SERVE JAPANESE FARE IN STACKED HEXAGONAL BOOTHS
By Jeffrey Serber Avenue Staff Writer
With a bright wooden interior and honeycomb seating, new Japanese restaurant Kyuramen brings a modern, comfortable twist to downtown Gainesville’s food scene.
On Oct. 10, the restaurant opened its third Florida location in downtown Gainesville at 212 SE First St. Based in New York, the national chain brings a distinct Japanese dining experience, combining the savory satisfaction of fresh ramen with the sweet contrast of boba and mochi ice cream.
The restaurant offers nine ramen entrees, varying in broth, noodles and spice levels, with prices ranging from $16.99 to $19.99. Customers can also choose one of three ramen combos, which include a drink, side dish and dessert, priced from $24.99 to $56.99 on Grubhub.
The restaurant also offers a modern twist on omurice, a runny omelet placed on top of fried rice and sometimes topped with ketchup. The popular Japanese specialty requires constant stirring of the egg in a pan to create a thin, cooked outer layer
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surrounding a runny interior. When cut in half, the omelet falls open over a bed of fried rice.
Instead of traveling to Kyoto, customers can try the social media-viral dish at Kyuramen. An omurice combo with a drink costs $20.99, with the option of adding fried pork on top for an additional cost.
“It being famous on the internet ... that was a thing a lot of people came to try,” 22-year-old hostess Gabriella Hartman said. “I haven’t tried it yet, but that’s the one thing I really do want to try.”
Aside from its dishes, Kyuramen stands out for its variety in seating options.
In addition to typical open tables, the restaurant offers a seating bar for customers to view the kitchen, while curtained wooden booths toward the back offer a private option. Two matcha whisk-inspired areas are at the center of the restaurant, surrounded by wooden pillars.
“It’s one of my favorite things about this place,” Hartman said. “They’ve definitely gone above and beyond here.”
To the right of the entrance, the restaurant’s honeycomb tables are stacked on top of each other in three hexagonal levels. Bianca Wu, the 38-year-old assistant manager, said customers are always eager to sit in those seats. She recalled a party that was willing to wait 30 minutes for a honeycomb table to open, rather than taking other available tables.
“I love it here,” Wu said. “It feels so nice, alive, lively. The decor is nice.”
Next to the hostess area, the light wood planks of the Wishing Tree stretch up to the ceiling. Customers can use markers to write whatever they want on spare slabs, then hang them on the tree for good fortune.
The tree references a practice in Japan where people write prayers on Ema, which are small wooden planks hung on wooden walls outside of temples, Wu said.
“As much as people love the food, they really do love the atmosphere,” said 23-year-old hostess Feliz Holliday.
One struggle the staff has faced so far is a limited menu. Because the company imports a limited number of products from Japan, some items on the menu aren’t yet available. For example, many of the appetizers and the Ramune sodas have yet to arrive.
“I don’t like to let my customers down,” Holliday said. “Unfortunately, it’s just what we have to do. It’s best to be straightforward at the end of the day.”
Read the rest online atalligator.org/section/the_avenue.
@JeffreySerber. Jserber@alligator.org
Where have all the ghosts gone?
UF loves rankings. Best public university, best football program, best this or that. If there’s a category to compete in, UF wants to top it. For all its success, it quietly holds another distinction as one of the most haunted campuses in the country. It isn’t surprising to hear the university has ghosts. All old places do. But what’s striking is how quiet they’ve gotten. The same handful of stories — Old Steve in Thomas Hall, the girl in Beaty Towers, the children in Norman Hall — year after year. It seems the dead stopped enrolling long ago. Students inherit these tales the way they inherit fight songs and campus mottos. Somewhere along the way, the superstition that once brought us new ghosts faded. What shifted them from a living folklore to just old myths? Or maybe the hauntings haven’t stopped at all; they just feel different now.
These tales have been passed down for decades, their details shifting with each retelling. UF Advancement cataloged some of the university’s most persistent legends in a 2021 article, “Campus Haunts.”
The ghosts at UF are as old as brick, and like all good ghost stories, they begin with a building. Norman Hall, built in the 1930s, is home to some of UF’s better-known ghost stories. Rumors say a group of children died in an elevator accident long ago and still wander the halls. Students have reported the sound of laughter and footsteps echoing through the corridors late at night. The ghost of a young girl is said to roam the third floor, leaving an icy chill wherever she goes. During the building’s 2020 renovation, the College of Education took the chance to clarify that there was no evidence an elevator accident ever occurred.
Earlier visitors spoke of a second-floor lounge with a hospital bed said to belong to the school nurse who never left. According to legend, if you made the bed at night and locked the door, the sheets would be rumpled and slept on by morning.
Thomas Hall, the university’s oldest building, opened in 1906 and once held dorms, classrooms and a dining hall. The kitchen belonged to an infamous cook named Old Steve, known for his noise and temper. Students say they can still hear him clanging pots in the basement at sunset. University historians traced the legend to a student prank meant to honor him. The real source of the sound was Thomas Hall’s aging radiator, keeping Old Steve’s racket alive.
Then there’s Beaty Towers, the twin dorms that opened in 1967 as the univer sity’s only high-rises. Legend says that not long after construction, a female stu dent leapt to her death from one of the towers. The rumors contradict on why she jumped. In one, she was a student left heartbroken and pregnant. In anoth er, she was convinced she could fly dur ing an LSD trip.
Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/opinions.
Dylan Santana is a 21-year-old UF media production, management and technology junior.
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Minimalism has no place in Halloween. Put effort into your costumes.
see the streets flooded with people dressed up as
For my first Halloween four years ago, I dressed up as Olaf, my favorite Disney character. I wore a crocheted hat my mom made me as a gift and a white shirt with buttons I added to it. That simple getup sparked my love for DIY Halloween costumes.
Each year, I scroll social media to find inspira tion and ideas for my Halloween costumes, only to be disappointed by costumes consisting of a corset, skirt and hat.
Minimalistic culture has no place in a holiday
be complicated or timeconsuming; the look I’m recreating is simple and cheap. I ordered a $12 white jumpsuit, and I’ll be using some leftover paint and borrowing my friend’s lab goggles. I estimate it’ll take me an hour to make the jumpsuit, and then I’ll have a costume I’m excited to wear.
If you have no clue where to start, I recommend scrolling through Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. There are a lot of different ideas you can find, like funny pun costumes or cute Disney characters. You can find videos and images of deconstructed costumes so you can compile every item you need for your outfit. It’s also fun to ask your friends and get their advice as excite-
It can be really difficult to narrow down what to wear when there’s no limits on who or what you can be. Something that helps me decide is figuring out what my Halloween plans are. If you’re going out to Midtown, your costume will probably be really different from a movie night at
Another factor is how recognizable you want your costume to be. For example, dressing like Superman is definitely going to be more wellknown than a niche costume like Milo from “Atlantis: The Lost Empire.” I also love dressing up with other people and planning your costumes together, whether it be a group costume or cou-
Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/opinions.
Emily Moreno is a 19-year-old UF BFA dance
Emily Moreno opinions@alligator.org
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HOMECOMING MESSAGE
To The Girl With The Beautiful Blue Eyes:
Another year is upon us, with Homecoming just past. It was special to actually be in Gainesville for the Homecoming game against Mississippi State. Although we did not go to Growl, this weekend marks our beginning 45 years ago. It seems like yesterday that we were at The Swamp and the parties. George Burns performed at Growl.
This year, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary! Also, Little Blue Eyes and her husband celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary! Time keeps flowing like a river to the sea (nod to The Alan Parsons Project) and it’s amazing. I’m very lucky.
Every year and every day, my love for you grows stronger.
Here’s to the next 45!
ILY, Liarface
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1. COMICS: What is Thor's home planet?
2. LITERATURE: Which of Charles Dickens' novels has a character named Miss Havisham?
3. ANATOMY: What is the largest muscle in the human body?
4. MOVIES: In the movie "Zombieland," what sweet treat is Woody Harrelson's character searching for?
5. ASTRONOMY: What is the largest moon of Jupiter?
6. TELEVISION: How does George Costanza's fiancee die on "Seinfeld"?
7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a quahog?
8. GEOGRAPHY: How many countries does the Amazon River and its tributaries flow through?
9. ENTERTAINERS: Where is Elvis Presley's home, Graceland?
10. SCIENCE: What is the study of clouds called?
Trivia Test Sports Quiz
1. The length of the original Olympic stadium in ancient Greece was based on the stadion, a unit of measurement said to equal 600 feet of which mythical hero?
2. What boxing tournament, organized by promoter Don King and airing on ABC TV in the 1970s, was canceled midway through after the discovery that fighters' records and rankings were falsified?
3. The Indianapolis Hoosiers (1913-14) and Chicago Whales (1915) were the only champions of what shortlived "third major league" baseball organization?
4. With a capacity of 45,000 spectators, a stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, is the largest facility in the world built for what sport?
5. Name the NFL cornerback who became the first Black sports analyst to work on national TV when he joined CBS in 1971.
6. What figure skater was the lone gold medal winner for the United States at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics?
7. What Nacogdoches, Texas, university's athletic teams are nicknamed the Lumberjacks (men) and Ladyjacks (women)?
Nine (Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana).
Nephology.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/sports
FOOTBALL
Florida ousts Billy Napier as Gators head coach
NAPIER COACHED HIS FINAL GAME WITH UF OCT. 18, BEATING MISSISSIPPI STATE 23-21
By Luke Adragna Sports Writer
Gators football head coach Billy Napier coached his final game with Florida Oct. 18. The Gators fired Napier seven games into UF’s 2025 season Oct. 19, ending a tenure defined by a lack of success and unseen improvements.
In a statement released the afternoon of Oct. 19, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin explained his decision and thanked the former head coach for his contributions to the program.
“As Coach Napier has often said, this is a results-driven business, and while his influence was positive, it ultimately did not translate into the level of success we expect on the field,” Stricklin wrote.
Florida wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Many expected this to be Napier’s best season yet, potentially competing for a conference championship and a playoff spot following an impressive turnaround in 2024.
However, the opposite unfolded.
Here’s who
Napier, 46, ended his Florida career with a 22-23 record, the worst record of any Florida head coach through 30 games since Raymond Wolf, who went 13-24-2 from 1946-49. He never won a road game against a Top 25 opponent, and his loss to South Florida Sept. 6 marked the first time Florida lost to an in-state opponent at home besides Florida State or Miami since 1938.
Napier was hired in 2021 and succeeded former Gators head coach Dan Mullen, who was fired Nov. 20, 2021. Before he arrived at Florida, Napier was the head coach at Louisiana from 2018-21.
There, he coached the Ragin’ Cajuns to three straight seasons with 10-plus wins, a 16-0 mark against Sun Belt West Division opponents, four consecutive West Division titles, a share of the Sun Belt title in 2020 and as the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Champions.
Despite his high degree of success in Louisiana, he never found his footing in Gainesville.
Napier tallied memorable losses year after year as Florida’s head coach. In year one, he went 6-7 with a loss to Kentucky at home and a road loss to Vanderbilt. In his second season, the Gators lost to Arkansas at home, a program that finished the year 4-8 and won just one conference game in 2023. In 2024, Florida was humiliated by Miami and Texas A&M at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, 41-17 and 33-20, respectively.
However, the Gators finished the 2024 sea-
Florida opened the year with a 55-0 win against Long Island but struggled immensely across its next three games, losing to South Florida, Louisiana State and Miami. Despite the Gators beating Mississippi State 23-21 in Napier’s final game as head coach, his tenure seemingly reached its breaking point following a 34-17 loss to Texas A&M the week before.
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier walks to midfield after a NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Gainesville, Fla.
son on a four-game winning streak, picking up impressive wins against No. 21 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss. Florida also won its first bowl game since 2019.
The turnaround marked a stark contrast from the rest of Napier’s tenure — one that seemingly fulfilled the words he often spewed throughout his tenure, regardless of wins or losses.
“Our team is really close,” he said repeatedly, this time following Florida’s loss to Texas A&M Oct. 11. “We have to learn how to finish.”
The Gators collected just two wins against FBS opponents in Napier’s final year. The
Gators beat then-No. 9 Texas Oct. 4 and Mississippi State Oct. 18.
Looking ahead, the Gators will search for their next head coach, one who will look to be the first to survive four or more seasons since Urban Meyer.
“The search will focus on the hiring of an elite football coach who will embody the standard we have at the University of Florida, and we will continue to provide all of the necessary resources for that coach, his staff and the players to be successful,” Stricklin said in his Oct. 19 statement.
UF Interim President Donald Landry and Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini expressed confidence in Stricklin’s coaching search in a statement the pair released following the decision.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the University, we express our full support for Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and his decision to make a change in the leadership of our football program,” they wrote. “We will continue to provide the athletic department with every resource necessary to deliver on that promise.”
Napier is set to receive roughly $20 million as part of his buyout across the next four years. He leaves the program with 85% of his remaining contract and is owed $10.6 million before Nov. 19.
The remaining installments are each worth $2.65 million and will be due on July 15 each year until the contract is fully paid in 2029.
@lukeadrag ladragna@alligator.org
could be the next Gators football head coach
BILLY NAPIER WAS FIRED WITH A 22-23 RECORD AT UF
By Max Bernstein Sports Writer
The Billy Napier era met its end Oct. 19 after UF’s 3-4 start to the 2025 season. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin has more than a few potential hires for the next Gators football coach.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin
Arguably the highest profile option, Lane Kiffin has a prestigious coaching record, but he’s never reached heights like he has the past six years at Ole Miss. The former Tennessee, Southern California and Florida Atlantic head coach has a staggering 112-53 collegiate record, going 50-19 in Oxford, Mississippi.
His Rebels have been top 25 fixtures and in 2025 reached as high as No. 4 in the nation, their best in a decade. Kiffin has consistently been rumored to take the Florida job, with ESPN’s Ryan McGee saying UF boosters were going after Kiffin in 2024.
If Kiffin were to step up, it would mark one of Stricklin’s
our newsletter
biggest possible hires and one the fanbase has repeatedly called for.
South Florida head coach Alex Golesh
Alex Golesh made headlines Sept. 6 when his South Florida Bulls shocked the then-No. 13 Gators 18-16 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The USF head coach has transformed his program, boosting it into the Top 25 rankings for the first time in seven years while establishing it as a Group of Five favorite to make the College Football Playoff this season.
Golesh served as the offensive coordinator for Central Florida in 2020, leading an offense that ranked second in FBS in total offense. He followed former UCF head coach Josh Heupel to Tennessee, where he served as offensive coordinator from 2021-22. At Tennessee, his offense earned back-toback top seven finishes in the country, including the No. 1 ranked offense in 2022.
Since taking the USF coaching job in late 2022, Golesh has compiled a 20-13 record, turning around a Bulls’ program that went 2-10 before his arrival into consecutive seven win seasons. South Florida currently holds a 6-1 record and is ranked No. 18 in the nation.
Washington head coach Jedd Fisch
Florida alumnus Jedd Fisch started his career in
Gainesville, so it would be almost poetic if he returned to where it all started. A coach who has worked as assistants for multiple NFL teams, Fisch returned to the college game in 2021.
He holds a 28-31 record over five years as head coach of Arizona and Washington. In 2023, he led Arizona to a 10-3 record and an Alamo Bowl victory. In 2025, his Washington Huskies have been solid with a 5-2 record.
Former Penn State head coach James Franklin
The last high-profile college coach dismissed before Napier, James Franklin’s tenure at Penn State was plagued by his failure to win “big games.” However, Franklin seemingly won all his other games.
Franklin went 104-45 in his time at Penn State, including a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024. He was fired Oct. 12 during a 3-3 start to the season after Penn State ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Poll. His buyout was worth over $49 million.
Read the rest online at alligator.org/ section/sports.
@maxbernstein23 mbernstein@alligator.org
Follow us for updates For updates on UF athletics, follow us on Twitter at @alligatorSports or online at www.alligator.org/section/sports.
Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
FOOTBALL
Who is Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales?
FLORIDA HEAD COACH
BILLY NAPIER WAS FIRED SUNDAY AFTERNOON
By Max Bernstein Sports Writer
Midway through his fourth season, Billy Napier was fired as Florida’s head coach on Oct. 19. The Gators started the season 3-4 and barely beat Mississippi State on Oct. 18.
As the Gators begin looking for their next head coach, wide receiver coach Billy Gonzales will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the season.
"Coach Gonzales has been a valued member of our program for many years, including being a part of multiple championship teams,” UF athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. “He is a Gator through and through. His deep understanding of our culture, our student-athletes and what it means to represent the University of Florida makes him well-suited to lead our team.”
Gonzales has established himself as one of the more seasoned coaches in the country, serving as a wide receivers coach for nine different collegiate programs.
After playing wide receiver at Colorado State from 1989-92, Gonzales began his coaching career as the
wide receivers coach at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois. He then served in the same position at both Kent State and Bowling Green. During his time at Bowling Green, he coached under former Florida head coach Urban Meyer and
alongside former Florida head coach Dan Mullen and former Florida run game coordinator John Hevesy. Gonzales followed Meyer to Utah in 2003 and later to Florida in 2005, when Meyer was hired as head coach. After three years serving as
UF’s wide receivers coach, he was promoted to recruiting coordinator in 2008.
He departed from Florida in 2010, joining Louisiana State as its wide receiver coach until 2012, when he became co-offensive coordinator at Il-
linois. He then returned to the SEC in 2013 as wide receivers coach under Mullen at Mississippi State, becoming co-offensive coordinator in 2014. When Florida poached Mullen in 2018, Gonzales joined the staff alongside him as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. However, when Mullen was dismissed in late 2021, Gonzales left UF to be Florida Atlantic’s wide receivers coach in 2022. He then returned to Florida in 2023 to serve under Napier.
Gonzales has coached 30 NFL draft selections during his collegiate career. That list includes standouts like former LSU wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, former Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott.
Most recently, Gonzales has led a talented Florida wide receiver room in 2025 that features two of the top freshmen in the country, Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown III.
"Billy G. has been an absolute professional since the day he arrived,” Napier said in 2023. “He's a good man. He's got character, I think he cares about the players, and he's certainly an expert at what he does."
His first game as interim coach will be against No. 9 Georgia on Nov. 1.
@maxbernstein23 mbernstein@alligator.org
Bugs, Bones and Brews
Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
Florida Gators wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales during warmups before an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Gainesville, Fla. Gonzales was selected as the interim head coach, replacing Billy Napier, on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025..
