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THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

VOLUME 121 - ISSUE 1 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

‘Excellence is going to be our North Star’: Stuart Bell lays out his vision for UF UF’S NEW PRESIDENT DISCUSSED LEADERSHIP STABILITY, RISING COSTS AND PREPARING STUDENTS FOR A CHANGING WORLD

By Swasthi Maharaj Alligator Staff Writer

Bayden Armstrong // Alligator Staff

UF President Dr. Stuart Bell speaks during an interview in the Presidential Conference Room at Tigert Hall, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

Five weeks into his presidency, Stuart Bell has spent his time getting to know the university he now leads — touring colleges, meeting with faculty, visiting labs and mapping the best route from his house to Publix.

On July 1, Bell arrived at the university seeking to maintain its status as one of the nation’s top public universities after a long period of leadership turnover. His answer to how UF gets there is simple, he said, even if achieving it is not.

“Excellence is going to be our North Star,” Bell said in an Aug. 13 interview with The Alligator.

For Bell, that excellence extends beyond university rankings. He described a university that prepares students for rapidly changing careers and conducts future-shaping research.

Reaching that standard will require filling vacant leadership positions, building trust with faculty and staff, developing strategic plans with students and faculty and

seeking resources to support UF’s ambitions, he said.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. You’ve been here for about five weeks now. What has surprised you most since arriving at UF? Just the size of our campus and everything that we’re doing on campus. Not just physical size but all the activities that are going on.

One of the things I’m really enjoying is visiting with each of the schools. I get to go around and visit with the dean of the school, along with his leadership council, and just learn about all the breadth of the activities that we do.

Yesterday, I was at the medical school. You guys would be so proud. It’s really great with the things our faculty are involved in.

Walking into classrooms and laboratories and seeing some of the activities that are ongoing is really cool.

One of the areas I went into is where they are trying to develop new cures for diseases that are very difficult to control.

There’s so many of our students in the labs. We’re translating research that is timely and important

SEE BELL, PAGE 4

Alachua County, Gainesville primaries see big wins for newcomers

Gainesville and Alachua County each elected one new commissioner

By Logan McBride Alligator Staff Writer

Alachua County and Gainesville voters headed to the polls Aug. 18 for the 2026 midterm primary elections, which featured statewide and local races, including the election of Gainesville’s mayor and new city and county commissioners.

Election day included nonpartisan races including the mayoral and commission races and the election of a new Alachua County judge.

Here are the results.

Gainesville mayoral race The Gainesville mayoral race saw incumbent Harvey Ward, who was first elected in 2022, retain his seat as mayor after a faceoff against Evan Moon. Ward will serve his sec-

ond and final term as mayor.

Ward received 79% of the vote, the largest margin in Gainesville mayoral history.

At a Democratic forum July 15, Ward said he hoped to get reelected so he could continue to build on the progress of his first term.

Ward said Gainesville has seen decreased crime and the construction of hundreds of affordable homes since the start of his term, along with increasing investment in East Gainesville with projects like the recently completed multi-use trail along the north side of Northeast 31st Avenue.

The city also recently built an urgent care center on Hawthorne Road and completed large-scale renovations on Citizens Field.

Construction near Northeast Eighth Avenue and Waldo Road is pending completion.

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

Grief in media

Catch pg# up on stories you missed while you were gone. Read more on pg. 8-9.

NCAA eligibility

Summer recap finish with comma, Story description

Gainesville City Commission District 2 race Former Gainesville Sun journalist Nathan Crabbe won the three-candidate nonpartisan race for Gainesville City Commission’s District 2 seat. The position was previously held

by Ed Book, who will step down this fall.

Crabbe received 62% of the vote, beating housing advocate Nelida Jean-Baptiste Pellot and Marine veteran Wyatt Zintiz.

The former journalist campaigned on affordable cost of living, the environment and infrastructure.

“I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore,” Crabbe said. “I felt like running for office was my opportunity to play a greater part in addressing these issues.”

Crabbe, who was the The Sun’s opinions editor for over a decade, said he felt his experience as a reporter gave him a grasp of the issues residents face and inspired him to

The Avenue reviews new album, pg. 11 Court case ruffles feathers for college basketball players and coaches, pg. 13

pursue a career in politics.

He also helped launch the Gainesville for All Initiative, which he said showed him working directly with local residents is the best way to address issues in the community.

Crabbe, who said he knocked on over 3,000 doors during the campaigning process, said affordability was the most common concern voters voiced.

He believes the commission can play a larger role in expanding access to affordable housing for workers like teachers, firefighters and nurses, he added.

Gainesville City Commission District 3 race Incumbent Casey Willits, who was first elected to the Gainesville City Commission in 2022, has just claimed a second term as the District 3 commissioner.

SEE PRIMARY, PAGE 4

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2 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

Kick off the new school year with The Alligator As we get ready to enter a new school year, we wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you all back to campus. Whether you spent the past few months hunched over classwork in Marston, building your resume at a coveted internship or lathering on sunscreen to avoid a sunburn by the beach, we hope your summer was everything you hoped it would be. And, hey, if you find yourself missing the heat, don’t worry — there’s plenty more sweltering humidity to be found right here in Gainesville.

They don’t call it “The Swamp” for no reason.

Before we dive into the Fall semester, we wanted to spotlight some of our coverage from the past few months.

This Summer, we followed a tumultuous presidential search that ultimately appointed UF’s first non-interim leader since former president Ben Sasse resigned in 2024.

Our reporters kept an eye on state and national policies approved during the 2026 legislative session, following up on bills related to Second Amendment rights and the ongoing clash between the state and Gainesville Regional Utilities. All the while, our staff worked on colorful profiles, covered important local events and shared stories of eclectic arts, culture and music around the area.

So, what can you expect from us this coming semester? To answer in just two words: a lot.

These next few months are slated to be as busy as ever. We’ll be on top of election coverage, following both the upcoming November election — which will decide positions like governor and county commissioners — and UF’s Student Government elections to determine leadership on campus.

As you’ve likely already seen on many of our front pages this Summer, we’ll continue to follow Stuart Bell’s presidency at UF as the former University of Alabama administrator begins his first academic year in The Swamp.

We are also excited to announce we will be distributing special tailgate editions at several of the Gators’ home football games this semester. Featuring exclusive coverage of football and other sports, they will be printed before home games, handed out at tailgates and accessible online.

You can expect plenty of other unique issues, too.

Our annual homecoming edition, coinciding with UF’s Homecoming and Gator Growl, will cover the week’s festivities, including Nikki Glaser’s stand-up performance in the O’Connell Center.

Not sure where to grab a print copy of The Alligator?

Well, if you’re reading this, that means you’ve found at least one place to pick it up. But if you ever find yourself looking to switch up your routine, our Alligator pickup locations map, found at alligator.org/page/ufapickup, can guide you to the nearest orange box or rack.

These are restocked every Monday morning.

You should probably grab one — you never know what they’ll be worth one day.

Alternatively, for those who prefer blue light and high screen time, our webpage, alligator.org, is updated every day to reflect our latest stories, expanded coverage, multimedia and other breaking news. You might even find a crossword there from time to time. Take a few minutes to challenge yourself!

Just like everything else at our paper, our social media platforms are managed by a team of dedicated students. They showcase our content on Instagram, X, Facebook and TikTok. Drop a follow to validate their work.

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To get our coverage sent straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter. We’re trying new things this semester and really hope you’ll enjoy it.

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Thank you so much for your readership, and we look forward to providing you with your Gainesville news this year. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to editor@alligator.org.

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VOLUME 121 - ISSUE 1

ISSN 0889-2423

Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications Inc., of Gainesville, Florida

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4 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

Q&A with Stuart Bell BELL, from pg. 1

in a very dynamic field, and we’re doing that involving our students.

Besides all the things that we’re getting involved in, it’s a beautiful campus. And it’s hot.

Q. You talked a lot during your confirmation about making UF a top public university. What does that mean to you? What constitutes a top public university?

I think I probably shared this at that time: Excellence. I probably said excellence is going to be our North Star. We’ll follow that in everything that we do. It will be excellence.

If you go back to our mission statement, what do we do?

Then you think about excellence among that. That’s how I define a top public university.

Number one, you guys are undergraduate students. We are going to do an excellent job preparing you within your field.

Your areas are going to be very dynamic. And so, the second component that comes with that is research and scholarship.

We not only have to teach our political science students and our film and media students how to think about today, but we also have to tell you how you’re going to think about tomorrow.

The best universities, particularly public universities, are going to be those that also blend what we do with excellence in research and scholarship with whatever we do with those undergraduates.

When I see students in the labs doing that, I’m like, “These kids are not just ready for what’s happening today. These kids are ready for what’s going to be happening five, 10 years from now.”

And that’s what we want to turn out.

Then, our third piece of our mission is making sure that we’re serving the state. In everything we do, we want to make sure we’re serving our state, serving our nation.

If you do an excellent job in research, you’re going to be the best at the public institution.

Q. UF has gone through significant leadership turnover in recent years, including presidents, interim presidents, deans and provosts. How are you planning to build stability and trust among faculty and staff?

Stability is really important. Trust is all important. And trust takes time.

I think you have to be open. I’m a little bit humorous at times, but I think that helps as well. We don’t want to take all of ourselves too seriously in the world that we live in today, otherwise you won’t enjoy life.

But we’ve already started that process.

We’ve named a new dean for the College of Medicine, Brian Hoh. He was there yesterday kind of showing me around and bragging on all the great things that are happening, which are many.

Mark Tehranipoor is the new dean of engineering. I was very excited to talk with him and name him from among the candidates that have been interviewed.

Seriously, we have a lot underway now. Many dean

searches are underway. I think by the end of this semester, maybe a little bit into the Spring semester, I’m hoping that we will fill most of those key positions that are open.

We’ve announced the provost search and the search committee. Dr. Glover — Joe — has done such an amazing job. Kudos. If you all see him, thank him, because he has been here for decades leading that academic mission.

It is really important to have those positions filled. We’re a big institution.

But I do think the leadership is helpful in making sure that we don’t just stay the course — because we’re in a very dynamic world today — but that we refine our course.

I’ll be spending the next several months, probably two to three months, listening, doing what I’ve been doing, but also engaging in strategic planning initiatives.

It’s one thing to have a strategic plan. But what I want is, at the end of the day, for you to be able to say, “This is my strategic plan,” because students have been involved in it, faculty have been involved in it.

Because if it’s your plan, it means more than if it’s just, “Oh, the university has a plan, and I wonder what will be in it.”

Q. UF has raised costs for out-of-state and international students several times in recent years. The university has also limited some out-of-state transfer enrollment. What role do you want international, transfer and out-of-state students to play at UF? Certainly, it brings such great flavor into all of us.

I’ll just start off by saying, I think as an institution, we would love to have no tuition. And truly, we love our fields, and we love our students.

The thing that I’ve enjoyed the most, I think, is just the diversity of culture that you have.

Certainly, in the field that I’m in, in engineering, I’m with a lot of international students, a lot of different cultures.

I think as an institution, one of the values that we bring is that we have students from 70 countries here on our campus.

We have students from all of our states who are on our campus. So, great value.

I’ll also touch on tuition. We are the lowest in-state tuition in the nation. And as much as out-of-state tuition is, we’re still low in the out-of-state rate.

For us to deliver our education, there are two buckets that you look at: It’s what we get support from the state and then what we get from tuition.

So what has to happen is those two pieces come together, and then you have excellence by using those resources to have great labs.

The faculty that are in your classes, I hope you like most of them. I had my favorites when I was in school. But those faculty, it is a very competitive field for having the best.

You guys are here at Florida because you want the best.

You’re at one of the best public universities in the nation.

For out-of-state students, we don’t have state appropriation.

So we charge a higher rate to be fair to our in-state families.

Excellence is our North Star, remember, and how we balance those two is really important to you. The value of your degree, the value of your education is going to be with you for the rest of your life.

Willits faced two challengers, Dejeon Cain and James Gardner, who received 28% and 17% of votes, respectively.

During a Democratic forum in July, Willits said he hopes to use Gainesville’s tree mitigation fund for more projects to promote environment protection in his district.

The tree mitigation fund, which was created in 2013, collects money from developers who cut down trees in the city and reallocates the funds to environmental projects.

The three commission winners will be joined by Commissioner Bryan Eastman, who was the only candidate to qualify for the District 4 seat. The four winners will be sworn into their four-year terms in January 2027.

contract outlines ambitious goals as well. What do you think is going to be the biggest obstacle to achieving all of them?

Whenever you’re at the very top and you’re trying to get that next level, the work is really hard.

I think our facilities are going to be important. Our students that we have here — engaging with them, that’s the thing I love. That’s the reason I came back to higher education: to see where all the young people are.

And our faculty, the people that we engage with, think about excellence.

So we have to have excellent faculty, excellent facilities, excellent students. To do that in a very competitive world that we have in higher education is going to be a lot of hard work.

There are going to be financial obstacles out there. We will work hard on those.

We also have very generous donors that we’re engaging with that make so much of what’s possible on our campus, whether it’s scholarships, facilities or support funds.

All of those will be part of making sure we have the resources.

As Bell’s presidency swings into full gear, several pieces of UF’s leadership structure are still taking shape. Searches for a provost and several deans are underway, and Bell said he expects to spend his first months listening to faculty, staff and students before setting the university’s next strategic direction. @s_maharaj1611 smaharaj@alligator.org

Q. You’ve set a lot of ambitious goals for UF, and your

Results of city and county races PRIMARY, from pg. 1

Bayden Armstrong // Alligator Staff

UF President Dr. Stuart Bell holds a mug during an interview in the Presidential Conference Room at Tigert Hall, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

Alachua County judge race Longtime public defender and UF law graduate Eric Atria will fill the judicial bench after receiving over 61% of the vote in his race against AuBroncee Starlin Martin, another public defender.

County judges preside over civil cases under $50,000 and criminal misdemeanors.

Juan Osorio, a 21-year-old campaign manager for Nathan Crabbe, Hunter Miller and Eric Atria, said Atria stuck out to him because he wanted to be more connected to local residents, which isn’t common among county judges.

“It’s always the race that people might ignore, but he wanted to make it known — he cared enough to do that,” Osorio said. “He caught me right away.”

The position deals directly with cases in the community. Most citizens may not appear in family court, but many appear in civil courts for issues as small as traffic stops.

Alachua County Commission District 2 race Tina Certain, the current vice chair of the Alachua County School Board, edged out Donna Bradbrook in the race for the District 2 seat on the Alachua County Commission.

Certain captured 39% of the vote over Bradbrook's 31%.

Two other candidates, U.S. Army veteran Charlie Jackson and former High Springs Mayor Byran Williams, received 18% and 12% of the vote, respectively.

Certain fell into controversy last year when her comments on Charlie Kirk’s death drew criticism from conservative advocates.

"How a 31yr old uneducated white boy has been glorified,” Certain wrote in a sincedeleted Facebook post. “To see the feds &

state elevate him angers me."

The Florida Board of Education summoned Certain and questioned her about the incident at a Nov. 15 meeting. Certain could not seek reelection to the school board, having served the limit of two consecutive terms.

Her school board term ends in November.

Soorya Lindberg, a 44-year-old Alachua County resident who voted in the county elections, said the voting process was quick and easy.

Lindberg heavily researched candidates in this election cycle, she said, and while many campaigns were similar, she came away impressed with several of the candidates.

“Watching this election, I realize how much grit it takes to be a candidate and how much work it takes,” Lindberg said. “So, hats off to all the candidates.” @logandmcbride lmcbride@alligator.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 ALLIGATOR 5

Which statewide candidates will you see on Alachua County ballots in November?

BIGGEST PRIMARY RACE UPSETS, CANDIDATE POLICIES

By Christian Haas Alligator Staff Writer

Florida’s 2026 primary election results are in, with just over 25% of Florida’s registered voters turning out to vote in Aug. 18’s election.

Because Florida is a closed primary state, only registered members of political parties could vote in the primary election. The state has about 5.6 million registered Republicans, 4 million registered Democrats and 3.3 million registered with no party affiliation.

The Florida House and Senate voted April 29 to approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new Congressional maps after a mid-decade redistricting push.

Before the new lines were drawn, Republicans represented 20 of the state’s 28 congressional districts. Alachua County was not significantly impacted by redistricting, and it continues to be represented by Congressional District 3.

Carol Weissert, a former Florida State University political science professor, said Republicans will likely win three or four additional districts in the midterm elections with the new maps, leaving Democrats to represent only four or five.

Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment, which forbids drawing lines with the intent to favor or disfavor one political party, was approved by 63% of voters in 2010.

Weissert said the Nov. 3 general election will reveal the effects.

“The League of Women Voters and a bunch of other groups did try to oppose the redistricting, but the judge said it was too close to the election, so we had to go forward with the election,” Weissert said.

Florida governor race results Amassing more than 800,000 votes, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds won the Republican nomination for governor. Donalds beat Lt. Gov. Jay Collins by 22.6 percentage points.

Donalds was elected to the Florida House of Representatives’ District 80 in 2016.

In 2020, he was elected to federal office serving Florida’s 19th Congressional district in Southwest Florida.

Donald’s campaign primarily focuses on enacting Trump’s agenda by fighting illegal immigration and promoting affordability, economic opportunity, conservative values, infrastructure and environmental protection.

Former Republican Rep. David Jolly won the Democratic nomination for governor, collecting nearly 762,000 votes and beating competitor Dayna Foster by 45.9 percentage points.

After serving Florida’s 13th Congressional District from 2014 to 2017, Jolly left the Republican party, registered with no party affiliation, then registered as a Democrat before running for governor.

Jolly’s campaign website lists affordability, education, reproductive freedom, climate and veteran services as his priorities.

Who will represent Florida i n the U.S. Senate?

Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon won the Democratic nomination for Florida Senate with 705,192 votes. In July, she told Tampa Bay Times she recently joined the Democratic Socialists of America, whose candidates have seen upset wins across the country in primaries this year.

Nixon protested Florida’s redistricting efforts in May by shouting through a megaphone during a hearing.

Nixon’s campaign website lists medicare, public education, affordable housing, workers’ rights and tax reforms as some of her policy priorities.

Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody won the Republican nomination for Florida Senate with more than 1 million votes.

On Jan. 21, 2025, Moody was sworn into the U.S. Senate after she was appointed by DeSantis to fill the seat left vacant by Marco Rubio, who resigned to become the secretary of state under Trump.

Since then, Moody has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee; the Senate Aging Committee; the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Com-

Juleidi Machuca // Alligator Staff

Primary election day voting took place at the Doyle Connor Building for Alachua County Precinct 39, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla. mittee; and the Congress Joint Economic Committee.

She was also Florida’s attorney general from 2019 to 2025.

es issues such as social security, healthcare, childcare, homeownership, mental health, student loans, veteran services and environmental protection.

U.S. House District 3 results Republican incumbent Rep. Kat Cammack was the only candidate running for the party’s nomination, so she advanced to the November general election automatically.

She currently serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.

According to Cammack’s website, she supports healthcare reform, limiting inflation, Florida farmers and national security.

She also chairs the Emerging Tech Task Force, where she leads House Republicans on issues like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotechnology.

Seth Harp, a seventh grade civics teacher in Gainesville, won the Democratic nomination with more than 20,000 votes.

According to Harp’s website, he prioritiz-

State Senate District 6 results Both the Democratic and Republican primaries were canceled because only one candidate was vying for each party’s nomination. Democratic nominee and political newcomer Jason Bellamy-Fults and Republican nominee and incumbent State Sen. Jennifer Bradley will face each other in the November election.

“I’m a big proponent of local control,” Bellamy-Fults said, “as opposed to Jennifer Bradley, who has been more than happy to overrule the votes and wishes of her constituents.”

According to his campaign website, Bellamy-Fults’ policies confront data centers, elder care, energy and healthcare.

Read the rest online at alligator.org. @ChristianH58745

Election results: Who won the Alachua County School Board seats?

THE BOARD WILL RECEIVE A NEW BOARD MEMBER, RETAIN AN INCUMBENT AND MOVE INTO A RUNOFF ELECTION

By Grace Larson Alligator Staff Writer

As the polls close and ballots are counted, here is everything you need to know about the results of the school board election.

With two board members running for reelection, only one has managed to defend their seat so far.

Incumbent Sarah Rockwell will continue her time on the board while Hunter Miller and incumbent Janine Plavac face off in a November election. Jancie Vinson, who secured her seat in June, looks to make an impact on the board.

District 1 The District 1 seat, which encompasses Newberry, remains up for grabs in the November general election as all three candidates failed to secure more than 50% of votes.

The top two candidates, Hunter Miller (45.87% of votes) and Janine Plavac (35.50% of votes), will go

head to head Nov. 4.

Miller was interviewed by The Alligator in June.

The 27-year-old Bishop Middle School teacher ran in hopes of improving administrative support for educators.

“Many teachers are feeling a lack of support coming from the district — and in some cases, administration,” Miller said.

His goals include making teacher training more effective and teacher disciplinary actions more reasonable. Miller also said he hopes to give teachers more control over instructional techniques, allowing them to choose between online and pen-and-paper teaching methods.

He also hopes to increase student support and safety, he said.

Miller teaches at a Title 1 school, which receives additional federal funding due to high concentrations of low-income students.

He wants to help find a permanent superintendent, he said, who can lessen the district’s achievement gap, manage a large budget and support teachers.

Miller will face Plavac, who holds the District 5 seat after she was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April 2025 to fill a vacancy on

the board.

Plavac was interviewed by The Alligator in February.

Plavac, a 73-year-old teacher at Saint Francis Catholic Academy, said the rigorous application process strengthened her commitment to the board.

“When I did that, I was committed to making sure that all parties and all stakeholders in this community have an equal serve and a voice in what goes on,” she said.

Plavac describes her stance as conservative but open-minded.

School board positions are nonpartisan, meaning candidates run without party affiliations listed on the ballot.

Her goals include finding a permanent superintendent, improving student performance and literacy rates, and adjusting student behavior and disciplinary actions to retain teachers.

District 3 Incumbent Sarah Rockwell reclaimed her District 3 seat after facing Gregory Pelham at the polls. District 3 serves Alachua and some of northwest Gainesville.

Rockwell secured 57.3% of votes with all 63 precincts reporting.

Rockwell was interviewed by The Alligator in January.

Rockwell, a 44-year-old who studied and taught special education throughout Florida, has served on the board since 2022.

Her goals include continuing to improve school grades, improving transportation and better managing the district’s budget.

“We need people on the board who are willing to ask … ‘Where is the money for this coming from?’” she said. “I understand the desire to implement all the good ideas in the world, but we have to be able to pay for those.”

District 5 Based out of southwest Alachua County, Jancie Vinson secured the District 5 school board seat in June as the only candidate to qualify.

Vinson, a 67-year-old retired correctional probation specialist at the Florida Department of Corrections, was interviewed by The Alligator for an article published in July.

She ran for the position twice before — in 2010 and 2014 — and this is her first time securing the spot.

Vinson said she knows how important education is to the community.

“I understand how you have to work hard,” she said. “My parents instilled that in me. They instilled the importance of education, too.”

Vinson grew up in southwest Gainesville during the civil rights era and witnessed desegregation firsthand.

This experience, combined with her time at UF, inspired her to join lifelong organizations committed to equality.

Vinson is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, a Divine Nine sorority she joined during her time at UF to empower Black women. She has also been involved in the American Association of University Women and the Gainesville Woman’s Club, which seek to promote equity and support for women.

Vinson has also been a member of the Alachua County branch of the NAACP, the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the United States.

The newly elected board members will take their seats behind the podium following a swearing-in ceremony in November. @graceellarson glarson@alligator.org

6 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

Former Baby Gator gives back with new lending libraries A LOCAL TEENAGER OPENED A NEW CHAPTER FOR UF CHILDCARE CENTERS TO PROMOTE EARLY LITERACY

By Hailey Kon Alligator Staff Writer

When Kaayana Sharma was a preschooler at Baby Gator, she discovered her love of reading — a love so deep she self-published a book in elementary school.

Almost a decade later, she’s returning to the UF Early Childhood Collaboratory. This time, she’s there to inspire the next generation to pick up a book as early in life as she did.

The 16-year-old Eastside High School student recently completed her Eagle Scout service project by installing two lending libraries outside Baby Gator’s Lake Alice and Diamond Village locations, giving children and families free access to books they can borrow, keep and

replace.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouting America program, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America.

“I thought, ‘What better place to put a lending library and a project that means so much to me than the place where I started?’” Sharma said.

The project took months of planning. After her proposal was approved, Sharma coordinated volunteers, gathered book donations and organized workdays where members of Scouting America’s Troop 21 painted the libraries before installing them into concretefilled planters.

Each library features an array of hand-painted designs including trees, owls, dragonflies and mushrooms meant to reflect the natural scenery surrounding the preschools.

A lending library is a book exchange system where readers can take books and leave the ones they no longer want. Unlike traditional

libraries, lending libraries typically don’t have required return dates, operating on a simple “take a book, leave a book” model.

“The whole concept is that the books just keep changing because people sometimes bring their own books, and it soon begins to take the shape of the community that it’s serving,” Sharma said.

The biggest challenge, she said, was determining a sturdy installation method and coordinating construction logistics, but the process made her a stronger delegator.

For Nitya Rao, another 16-yearold Troop 21 member, volunteering for the project was part of the tradition of supporting fellow scouts as they complete the final requirements toward Eagle rank.

Rao spent two workdays painting the libraries and decorative rocks to be placed around the facilities.

“Volunteering for an Eagle Scout project is always a big thing in our troop because it means that the scout is almost close to Eagle,”

she said.

Rao is in the process of executing her own Eagle Scout project: building step stools for the Payne’s Prairie Visitor Center so children can reach the center’s telescopes.

The projects mean a lot to the scouts, she added.

“It’s genuinely the very last thing that we do, and it has a lot of significance,” Rao said.

Read the rest online at alligator.org. hkon@alligator.org

Grace Sands // Alligator Staff

Dawne Morison (left), Eagle Scout Kaayana Sharma (middle), and Scouts Master Kim Lovelady (right) stand with Baby Gators in front of the newly installed lending library, Thursday, July 30, 2026, at UF’s Early Childhood Collaboratory in Diamond Village, in Gainesville, Fla.

Newberry Community School Board celebrates opening, looks to expand THE BOARD HOSTED ITS FIRST MEETING SINCE THE SCHOOL OPENED LAST WEEK

By Grace Larson Alligator Staff Writer

On Aug. 17, the Newberry Community School Board voted to expand the charter school to include fifth grade and approved a school improvement plan.

The decisions come just a week after Newberry Community School opened its doors to students.

Expansion The board voted to expand Newberry Community School, a kindergarten through fourth grade school, to include fifth grade at the start of the 2027-2028 school year.

The initial charter application said the school will serve kindergarten through fourth

grade students for three years before expanding to fifth graders due to capacity constraints.

However, the school currently serves 344 students and has the budget to enroll up to 520, principal Lacy Roberts said.

The decision to expand Newberry Community School allows Roberts to begin hiring additional instructional staff, promoting the school’s expansion and enrolling fifth grade students for the next school year.

School improvement plan The board also approved a school improvement plan during Monday’s meeting.

The plan expands upon the Title I plan passed during a July meeting.

The decision stems from the charter school’s inheritance of Newberry Elementary School’s grade for the 2025-2026 school year.

The school dropped from a B to a C grade last school year, prompting Roberts to create an improvement plan that aims to get the charter school to an A grade for the 2026-2027

school year.

The plan entails implementing teacher trainings to ensure educators and class material adhere to state standards. It also involves maintaining smaller class sizes.

According to a presentation, kindergarten through third grade classes at Newberry Community School average about 18 students.

Fourth grade classrooms have roughly 22.

The presentation also asserts that fourth grade classes at Newberry Elementary School had roughly 36 students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Newberry Elementary School classes during the 2024-2025 school year averaged 17 students.

Other goals include implementing high expectations for student behavior and participation, professional development for teachers and small support groups for underperforming students.

The school will monitor student data after every assessment.

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires state governments to assess subgroups of students with lower performance levels. At Newberry Elementary School, Roberts said, that subgroup was identified as African American students.

The school will be required to periodically report the subgroup’s performance to the state.

Plans to improve and expand Newberry Community School come just a week after its Aug. 10 opening. Several teachers attended Monday’s meeting to celebrate the milestone.

School staff said the charter school has managed to foster a positive environment for students, teachers and parents.

“Families are happy, and teachers are happy to be there,” Roberts said. “We are off to an amazing start.” @gracellarson glarson@alligator.org

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8 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

SUMMER RECAP

Florida’s Stop WOKE Act was blocked. Here’s what experts, faculty and students have to say The act was blocked by a U.S. Court of Appeals, but several voices say it still defined academic freedom

By Swasthi Maharaj Alligator Staff Writer

This story was originally printed July 27.

Amna Khalid came to the United States from Pakistan in 2011 with the expectation that American universities represented the freedom to think.

When Florida lawmakers passed legislation restricting how certain concepts could be taught in public universities, she said she was shocked.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected Florida’s attempt to revive the higher education provisions of the Stop WOKE Act. The Court rejected the state’s argument that professors’ classroom instruction constituted government speech, instead deciding the speech is protected under the First Amendment.

The Stop WOKE Act, also known as the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, was a 2022 Florida state law that prevented schools and businesses from promoting concepts related to race, gender and social privilege while still allowing discussion of them.

The law was blocked by a federal judge shortly after it passed, preventing it from being enforced at UF and other public universities. The state decided to appeal the decision.

“That’s not the kind of thing that should happen in a democracy, particularly not the U.S.,” Khalid said. “That’s the kind of stuff that happens in authoritarian states, and having grown up under military dictatorships, I’m incredibly attuned to where this goes. It starts like this.”

Khalid, a historian and associate profes-

sor of history at Carleton College in Minnesota, submitted an amicus curiae brief with her colleague Jeffrey Snyder against the act.

She said it threatened the freedom to think and, after seeing similar laws introduced across various states, believed it was important to speak up.

Before submitting the brief, the two conducted research by interviewing various faculty members. Faculty were concerned the act would affect their ability to teach topics in the classroom, Khalid said.

One professor described it as “educational malpractice,” she said, a term that refers to the censorship of topics or limitation of viewpoints within an area of study.

“When the autonomy of higher education is undermined, essentially we’re going to do away with the capacity of the next generation to think independently and to understand and engage with the world as it is, accurately,” Khalid said.

While the law never took effect because of the injunction, faculty leaders at UF said the possibility of its enforcement shaped conversations about academic freedom.

Nearly a century of case law on academic freedom in the classroom at public institutions could have been upended if the state had won the appeal, wrote Meera Sitharam, a co-president of the United Faculty of Florida at UF, in an email statement to The Alligator.

The ruling reaffirmed faculty members are hired to freely exercise their expertise and academic freedom to speak in the classroom and outside of it as an expert in the public interest, Sitharam wrote.

Still, she said other laws may offer broader implications for the campus climate for teaching and learning.

Florida’s Senate Bill 266, which restricts majors and general education courses heavily related to DEI, has removed sociology as a general education class, she said.

“The injury from that is effectively a chilling of speech of faculty in an entire department,” she wrote. “It cuts off a significant portion of the tuition revenue that would be necessary for them to continue.”

Greg Gruebel, a senior attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, wrote in an email statement to The Alligator the law forced professors to ask legal questions before they could do their jobs.

“The chilling effect from Florida’s Stop WOKE Act was real,” Gruebel wrote. “I heard from many professors who were trying to figure out how to follow the law without abandoning the standards of their fields.”

Had the court ruled in favor of the act, Gruebel said, it would have resulted in a quieter classroom where professors avoided topics the state labeled too risky to teach.

Similar laws, like Alabama’s Senate Bill 129, which restricts DEI efforts and bans the promotion of “divisive concepts” in school boards, public universities and state agencies, have put faculty in similarly difficult positions, he added.

“These laws send a clear message that some ideas are dangerous to teach,” he wrote.

Gruebel said the court’s ruling protects what college is supposed to be.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which represents professors and students challenging the law, argued throughout the case the Stop WOKE Act violated the First Amendment by restricting

what could be taught in public university classrooms.

Carrie McNamara, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU, said the court decision affirmed the importance of an open exchange of ideas.

“Teaching our complex history is not discrimination,” McNamara wrote in an email statement to The Alligator. “It is necessary to the education of a free and democratic society.”

Aidan Tran, an 18-year-old UF environmental engineering sophomore, said he believes sharing and understanding different — and often divisive — opinions is important in the classroom.

Tran said in his class, American Civil Discourse in the Political Order, he learned the importance of embracing different opinions because it’s how society functions.

He doesn’t believe professors should remain entirely neutral on issues, he added.

Instead, he said students benefit from instructors who are transparent about their own perspectives while making space for differing viewpoints — as long as those viewpoints are not harmful or threatening to others.

Exposure to different ideas and viewpoints is important in higher education, he said, where students are at an age where they should be able to distinguish between what information is true, false or harmful.

“At the end of the day, the university is like a forum for discussion,” Tran said. “If we close off the discussion for professors or students, it just harms the overall value and quality of our education.” @s_maharaj1611 smaharaj@alligator.org

‘Bigger, better, louder’: UF announces $1.45 billion stadium renovations IT IS EXPECTED TO BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE STADIUM RENOVATION IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL HISTORY

By Jeffrey Serber Sports Writer

This story was originally printed June 15.

The UF Athletic Association announced in a promotional video June 11 that it had received the green light to plan and develop a $1.45 billion renovation of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“We are The Swamp, and now it’s our time to carry it forward,” said Laura Rutledge, an ESPN, ABC and SEC Network reporter and UF graduate who narrated the video. “To preserve what makes The Swamp unlike any other. This is The Swamp: Bigger, better, louder.”

Construction for the project — which is set to be the most expensive stadium renovation in college football history — is scheduled to begin following the 2026 season and is expected to be completed ahead of the 2030 campaign, just in time for the venue’s 100th anniversary. Florida is still set to host its home foot-

ball games in the stadium during the project, with some sections closed off during specific phases.

Mori Hosseini, the UF Board of Trustees chair, released a statement June 11 with a price tag for the renovations. The total budget is an increase from the $400 million that was previously proposed.

“The UF Board of Trustees will be taking the first important steps today toward launching the long-awaited and much-anticipated renovation of our beloved Ben Hill Griffin Stadium,” Hosseini wrote. “This $1.45 billion project will breathe new life into one of the nation’s most iconic college football venues and elevate it into the premier collegiate athletic destination that sets the standard for everyone else.”

According to the project website, the renovations will be funded by capital reserves, private giving, project-generated revenues and financial mechanisms, including long-term debt, with approval from the Florida Board of Governors.

Since its opening in 1930, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has served as the home of Gators football. It was last renovated in 2003, adding 2,900 club seats and luxury suites. The upcoming renovation is expected to include wider concourses throughout the stadium, enhanced concession spac-

es, an upgraded sound system and scoreboard, and more restrooms.

Despite the changes, a handful of elements will be preserved, such as the capacity, orange wing walls at each corner of the stadium, the venue’s bowl design and fan seating close to the action to maintain the noisy home-field advantage.

In April, UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said the Gators would maintain the stadium’s capacity of 88,548, making The Swamp the largest stadium in Florida. The renovations were previously expected to reduce capacity to 84,399 to comply with updated Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.

Therefore, to avoid a loss of capacity, Florida is spending more on renovations and adding sections throughout the stadium, such as premium seating areas.

“This project represents an incredible opportunity to modernize and elevate the experience at one of the most iconic venues in sports while protecting the traditions that make it special,” Stricklin said. “We are excited about the momentum surrounding this project and what it will ultimately mean for our fans, student-athletes, and the future of Florida Athletics. The Swamp will be bigger, better and louder.”

The University Athletic Associa-

tion said it will select Legends Global to serve as the Owner’s Representative, where it will guide strategic planning and project execution throughout the four-year project.

This American venue management group represents over 450 venues worldwide and hosts 20,000 events annually. Manhattan Construction Group and Hunt Construction Group will partner as the construction management team for the renovations.

According to the Associated Press, Stricklin said Florida began looking to upgrade the venue in 2018, but the process was delayed by COVID-19, turning the project from a short-term fix into a long-term one.

UF generates $75 million annually from the stadium through ticket sales, concessions, parking and contributions, Stricklin said, making it the athletic department’s most important asset. The remodeling is expected to add $65 million in annual revenue, bringing the total to $140 million.

“We can be really aggressive, and this will generate a lot of excitement, not only among fans but also among businesses that want to figure out how to be a part of it,” Stricklin said.

“We can leverage that to not only help pay for the stadium, but we can also leverage that for NIL opportunities.”

Stricklin said projects within Florida’s scope include Texas A&M’s $450 million renovations to Kyle Field from 2013 to 2014 and Penn State’s $750 million overhaul of Beaver Stadium, scheduled for completion in 2027.

According to the Associated Press, Florida officials toured Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Lambeau Field for inspiration to maintain the history of the venue while modernizing it for the future. The design ended up most resembling the renovations at Lambeau Field from 2012 to 2013, where the Green Bay Packers kept the lower bowl intact while making changes above it.

Season ticket holders will receive priority seating in the renovated stadium, with details of the priority seating system to be announced closer to the project’s completion. Fans who are not season ticket holders will have the chance to express interest, join priority lists and explore future seating opportunities as inventory becomes available. Overall, the seat selection order will be announced by the Florida Gators Ticket Office at a future date. @JeffreySerber Jserber@alligator.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 ALLIGATOR 9

SUMMER RECAP

18- to 20-year-olds can now openly carry a firearm in Florida A Florida court ruling made the change to comply with Second Amendment rights

By Teia Williams Alligator Staff Writer

This story was originally printed July 6.

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of gun violence and suicide.

Adults under 21 can now legally carry a firearm after a June 17 Florida court ruling.

The ruling stated the previous age limit unconstitutionally infringed upon the Second Amendment rights of young adults ages 18 to 20. This is not the first time Florida courts have ruled in favor of expanding Second Amendment rights.

In September 2025, Florida’s 38-year-old open carry ban was lifted. Law-abiding citizens can now openly carry firearms inside businesses unless they choose to prohibit firearms on their property.

The latest ruling clarified 18- to 20-yearolds hold the same rights.

Florida law prohibits those under 21 from purchasing a firearm, but they can still legally obtain one. Eighteen- to 20-year-olds can possess guns through inheritance or gifts from relatives.

Gainesville Police Department spokesperson Art Forgey said the department hasn’t experienced any issues related to

open carry since it became legal in September. GPD doesn’t anticipate any changes with the new court ruling, he added.

“The same legal principles and enforcement considerations that have applied since the open carry law took effect will continue to apply under this ruling,” Forgey wrote in an email to The Alligator.

Under these court rulings, adults don’t need to be certified to openly carry a firearm.

Taylor Slayton, a 24-year-old staff member at Shoot Gainesville Target Range, openly carries his firearm when he stops at gas stations before hunting.

“When it comes into people under the age of 21, it gets a little more sketchy, in a sense,” Slayton said, “especially since they’re still in that maturing stage.”

People 21 and over are required to take a training course for a concealed weapons license, he said, and it would be safer if 18- to 20-year-olds also had to do a training course for open carry.

“If they brought something into that [open carry] that says, ‘Hey, I’ve been through a specific class, I have this training and I’m allowed to do this,’ I don’t think there would be a problem with it,” Slayton said.

A 2023 bill ruled all gun owners must meet the same requirements as those who have a concealed weapons license in order

to conceal carry, but the concealed carry permit itself is no longer a requirement.

Within the ruling, 18- to 20-year-olds have also gained the right to apply for a concealed weapons license, though it is not required to conceal carry in Florida.

The ruling extending the right to open carry was made during Gun Violence Awareness Month.

Impact GNV, the city’s gun violence prevention program, spent the month of June hosting events to bring awareness to its mission.

Program manager Brittany Coleman said Impact GNV isn’t involved with legislation like open carry, but the program advocates for young adults to learn about being responsible gun owners.

“One of the things we want to do is encourage parents, adults, caregivers to have conversations with their young people about responsible gun ownership,” Coleman said.

It’s important for adults to find available training to ensure they know how to properly use a firearm, she said.

Another organization, the League of Women Voters of Alachua County, aims to encourage people to vote. Its Gun Violence Prevention and Safety Committee advocates for secure storage of firearms.

The committee’s main concern is the risk of suicide. Gwendolyn Saffo, the vice president of the league and committee chair, said

she’s worried the new ruling will bring an increase in injuries for young adults.

Suicide is the most common cause of death by firearm in Alachua County, according to a 2025 study by the local League of Women Voters.

Nationwide, suicide is the leading cause of death among individuals ages 15 to 34, according to a 2026 study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The risk is why the committee emphasizes proper storage, Saffo said.

If a weapon is secured in locked storage, she said, the seconds it would take to unlock and access it could make a difference.

In those seconds, another person could stop them, or they could change their mind.

Saffo said allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to openly carry a firearm is a safety risk because of their age.

Last year, a 20-year-old opened fire in Florida State University’s student union, killing two and injuring others.

To Saffo, the risk of suicide and events like these bring up the question: Are 18- to 20-year-olds at the right maturity level to carry a firearm?

“If I’m not mistaken, you have to be 21 years old to purchase a gun,” she said. “So, when we talk about open carry between the age of 18 and 20, that seems a little counterintuitive.” @teia_williams twilliams@alligator.org

Gainesville cuts ribbon on Tom Petty UF ranked No. 1 bestPark after $2.6 million renovation project THE 22.5-ACRE PARK RECEIVED NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS, LIGHTING, TRAILS AND FACILITIES

By Logan McBride Alligator Staff Writer

This story was originally printed June 8.

On a warm, partly cloudy June 6, Gainesville residents sang along through the Florida heat to Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down.” But it wasn’t a gameday in the Swamp stirring the song.

Roughly 100 people gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the newly renovated Tom Petty Park.

The $2.6 million project was funded through Gainesville’s Wild Spaces and Public Places half-cent sales tax, which goes toward recreational improvements in the city.

The 22.5-acre park’s renovations were completed by Gainesville-based Scorpio construction, with the project separated into two phases.

The first included eight pickleball courts, a pedestrian entrance from Northeast 16th Avenue, a multi-purpose trail, a new stormwater pond and lighting improvements.

The second phase was focused on bathroom renovations.

As ‘70s and ‘80s music echoed through the park, several attendees sang along to the classics of the eras. Rick Chin, a 65-year-old Gainesville resident, was among those singing along in celebration of the park’s opening.

“I’m a big fan,” Chin said. “I’m often concerned about what the city spends money on and how they tend to use it. This is one of the better investments I’ve seen them do with our money. As a citizen, this is the kind of thing I want to see.”

Chin was proud the city was honoring Tom Petty; with the mural on Southwest 34th Street, Tom Petty weekend at Heartwood Soundstage and, now, the recent improvements to the park renamed after Petty in 2018. He’s happy to see the musician celebrated in his hometown.

Petty is honored throughout the park with benches

and fences engraved with his name.

Chin recently moved to the northeast side of Gainesville, and he said he’s already seen the park draw in the community. He believes it’ll continue to bring people to northeast Gainesville and improve business in the area, he added.

Chin also said he was happy with the pickleball courts, where games began almost immediately after the ribbon was cut. Chin has played the sport for around four years, participating in tournaments around Gainesville. Going forward, he said Tom Petty Park will be a popular playing spot for him.

“These courts are exceptional,” Chin said. “You see some of my friends playing here right now; they’re all from the west side of town. We come here often, usually every Saturday.”

The courts feature permanent nets, smooth blue surfaces and tall black fences to prevent interruptions during play. Chin said the lighting at night is “extremely good,” too, illuminating the courts without disturbing the neighborhood.

These additions were taken into careful consideration during the renovation process, said Andrew Persons, Gainesville’s city manager.

“Design can improve the way people experience a place,” Persons said. “Every element you see around us today serves a purpose.”

Persons said the pedestrian connections improve accessibility, making it safer and easier for visitors to navigate the park while still maintaining its natural character.

The park was a unique renovation, remaining open during the construction process. Now, the city is officially recognizing the end of the project, something Mayor Harvey Ward says he hopes impacts future generations in Gainesville.

“I hope families make memories here for decades to come,” Ward said. @LoganDMcBride lmcbride@alligator.org

value public university

By Hailey Kon Alligator Staff Writer

This story was originally printed Aug. 3.

UF was named the No.1 bestvalue public university in the nation by financial technology company SmartAsset last month. The ranking placed UF above many other renowned schools like Purdue University and Baruch College.

The ranking evaluated public institutions based on affordability, graduation rates and median earnings upon graduation, emphasizing return on investment for undergraduate students.

Unlike many college ranking metrics that weigh prestige and selectivity, SmartAsset’s methodology primarily focused on whether students receive a high-quality education at a manageable cost.

Toby Nelson, a senior economic analyst at SmartAsset, said the ranking was designed to identify universities that combine affordability with strong long-term outcomes for students.

“We start by filtering for schools whose cost of attendance [is] below the national median,”

Nelson said. “From that group, we then score each school on two basic metrics. The first is undergraduate graduation rate and the second is the median earnings of alumni 10 years after they first enroll.”

SmartAsset’s objective is not to provide a comprehensive ranking, he said, but to identify public universities that offer “exceptional value to undergraduate students.”

According to SmartAsset’s analysis, UF distinguished itself across every metric. The university posted a 91% graduation rate, higher than any other ranked school. It also maintained belowmedian cost of attendance while positing strong alumni earnings.

While UF narrowly edged out Purdue University, which ranked second, Nelson said competition among the top-ranked schools was close, as many institutions reflected similarly strong alumni earnings. Ultimately, UF’s notably high graduation rate separated it from other universities.

Read the rest online at alligator.org. kon@alligator.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 www.alligator.org/section/the-avenue

ART

Samm Wehman Epstein’s pizza shop paintings are the epitome of Gainesville art THE LOCAL ARTIST’S EXHIBIT AT SATCHEL’S PIZZA IS ONE OF THE MANY ART SHOWS IN THE AREA

By Mackenzie Haas Avenue Staff Writer

Gainesville is a hotspot for artists.

Something about the town seems to draw in the creatives. From The Repurpose Project to Satchel’s Pizza to the Gainesville Fine Arts Association, there are many resources and homemade museums that allow artists to showcase their work and be a part of Gainesville history.

Samm Wehman Epstein is one Gainesville-based artist whose work can be found scattered across the entire town. She’s a prime example of how artists can be seen and enjoyed by the local community.

Epstein, a 36-year-old full-time artist, has worked in Gainesville since 2014. Her style is characterized by bright colors and a focus on animals.

Her work at Satchel’s varies from prints of her paintings to acrylic on canvas. One piece in the exhibit depicts a fox with bright orange fur and dark eyes.

Epstein loves being an artist in the Gainesville area and thrives off seeing the positive, jaw-dropping reactions to her work as it scatters the walls of many different businesses

and vendorships. She has always been an artist in some capacity and working full-time has been a dream come true.

“I think most artists struggle a lot,” she said. “Because putting our art out there is truly an outpouring of our heart and soul, because our art comes from within.”

She has collaborated with Satchel’s for the past nine years. The pizza shop’s quirky and unique atmosphere complements Epstein’s work, blending them to create a kaleidoscope of originality. “[Satchel’s has] a very funky, very Gainesvillian vibe with a lot of repurposed stuff all over their whole restaurant,” Epstein said.

“It’s pretty much just always a work in progress for Satchel’s and staff that they’re just adding onto it constantly.”

Driving through Gainesville, whether it be around The Swamp or near The Oaks Mall, you’ll probably see a large bumper sticker with text along the lines of “Satchel would let me merge” or “I’d rather be eating Satchel’s.”

The restaurant is a staple of Gainesville culture and artistry. It features a rotating selection of artists, where each month highlights a new artist’s display in the main dining room area. Epstein’s art is typically featured during the summer.

Satchel Raye, the 58-year-old owner of Satchel’s Pizza, is an artist himself. He loves to bring in new artists to his restaurant and show

Isabel Kraby // Alligator Staff

Samm Wehman’s artwork will be displayed in Satchel’s Pizza’s dining area until the end of August. them off as much as possible. From art pieces hanging on the wall to different genres of music tuning the night, every facet of Satchel’s is covered in different forms of art.

Epstein is just one of the standout artists that adds to the Satchel’s experience.

“Samm in particular is so prolific,” Raye said. “Usually an artist will come in and show 10 or 15 pieces of paintings or drawings or photogra-

phy on the wall, and they’re all spread out. And Sam comes in and just packs the walls, and you just can’t stop looking around.”

Raye knows he is just one of the people who support artwork in the Gainesville area, and many different spaces uplift artistry.

There’s the Alachua County Farmers Market, Gainesville Fine Arts Association, Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival, Dad’s Bar, Top

Secret Event Space, Artisans’ Guild Gallery and Black C Art Gallery, just to name a few places that people can attend.

Malia Homus, a 27-year-old Gainesville resident, commissioned Epstein after falling in love with her artwork at the Alachua County Farmers Market and seeing her again at the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival.

“We walked by the booth, and I had seen her art before, but never really approached her,” she said.

“So I finally approached her, and I was like, ‘What can I do to get a personal piece of my beautiful dog?’

And I just told her I loved her art, and I was so excited. I got a personal piece done, and I literally love it, and I want a bigger one. I was like ‘I should have went bigger.’”

Epstein is only one of the many talented artists in the Gainesville area. Her art is consistently loved and supported by the community and can be found all around the area as her art makes its way through the eyes and hearts of locals.

Local artistry can be found in many places around Gainesville.

Everywhere your eyes can see, your feet can walk or your car can drive, there is bound to be a local artist’s work somewhere hoping to be enjoyed.

Epstein’s artwork will be on display at Satchel’s Pizza until the end of August. mhaas@alligator.org

Football

Previewing the team’s defense. Read more on page 18.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 ALLIGATOR 11

MUSIC

Phoebe Bridgers explores grief, love and growth in ‘Lost Weekend’ BRIDGERS’ THIRD ALBUM BRINGS FRESH SOUNDS AND AESTHETIC TO THE ARTIST’S DISCOGRAPHY

By Brandy Sumner Avenue Staff Writer

Buried in the sickly blue-green light and haunting chords of Phoebe Bridgers’ new album “Lost Weekend” is a story of perseverance and growth in the face of heartbreak.

“Lost Weekend” is the artist’s first solo album release since “Punisher” in 2020. After the release of boygenius’ “the record” in 2023, Bridgers toured and released music as part of the indie-rock trio. She’s now circling back to a solo career.

The new album will feel familiar to Bridgers fans. Many of the songs feature the same acoustic indie and folk sounds her other records are known for.

However, the new era of her music is marked by sound experimentation, including vocal distortion, echoing harmonies and long instrumental segments that weren’t present in Bridgers’ past releases.

The album opens with “The Outside,” which I found to be the clearest example of Bridgers’ experimental style. The track utilizes a vocoder, a speech coding tool, to distort Bridgers’ voice into a strange, almost

robotic sound.

The same electronic sound was also used at the beginning of the album’s second track, “Lost Boys,” which was released as a single in June.

Each song on the album feels distinct from the others; some are folksy while others feel more classically indie-pop. Like many of Bridgers’ past releases, the album has a solid mix of upbeat and slow tracks.

Throughout all the tracks — including the happier ones — are strange, eerie chord progressions and ghostly vocals almost reminiscent of a horror movie soundtrack.

“The Governor’s Waltz,” my personal favorite from the album, is about a happy relationship and the underlying anxieties that accompany it.

The song starts with a positive, fairytale feeling. But as it nears the end, the background vocals grow louder and more ominous, mirroring the feeling of being “too happy to feel at home” that the song conveys.

Much of the album is also about Bridgers’ experience as a musician and her relationships throughout it.

Between laments about lost friendships and calling off a past engagement in the album’s title track, “Lost Weekend,” Bridgers refers to life as a musician as “surviving [her] gift until [she] gets shot,” a very bleak outlook on a life spent on the

Daniela Ortiz // Alligator Staff

“Lost Weekend” is the third studio album from indie rock artist Phoebe Bridgers. road and performing.

But the album conveys a much more hopeful feeling by the end.

“Lost Weekend Reprise,” the album’s closing track, finishes the al-

bum off with the line “But we’re gonna be alright, me and you,” showing growth and hope that wasn’t present in the original song.

With the album’s release comes a

new aesthetic for Bridgers, consisting of both fantasy and sci-fi elements, complete with blue-greens and purples, stars and medieval script. This has been carried through the music and lyric videos for the album and will continue in her “Lost Tour,” which begins next month.

Despite the album’s otherworldly aesthetics, it still manages to feel very human, which is what Bridgers is known for.

The music video for “I Can’t Wait” places the viewer in the eye of a fly exploring a city, showing glimpses of human life and interaction. This echoes the theme of the album, which explores the human condition and personal relationships through an unconventional lens.

Similarly, the otherwise haunting background vocals of the songs are often sung by Bridgers’ friends, and many of them are also collaborators on various tracks. Even Bridgers’ partner, musician Bo Burnham, is involved in the album as a songwriter, singer and inspiration for the song “Bobby.”

The sense of love and hopefulness speaks the loudest throughout the album, making it stand out from some of Bridgers’ work as both a solo musician and member of boygenius. bsumner@alligator.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 www.alligator.org/section/opinions

Column

Mayor Ward welcomes you back

W

elcome back to Fall in Gainesville! Yes, I know it’s technically still summer, and I know it’s still hot. It’s going to be this way for a bit, but I promise you there’s no better place to be right now than right here in the capital of The Gator Nation.

Gainesville is always a great place to be, but for me, the time between now and the end of the calendar year is magical. New neighbors come to town, everyone refocuses on what’s important and, yes, it’s football season. Speaking of which, let me wish a warm Gator welcome to Coach Sumrall!

I’m also happy to welcome UF’s new president, Stuart Bell, to our community. I appreciate the hard work the university’s Board of Trustees has put in to bring stability back to UF, and I look forward to working closely with Bell for the good of not only Gainesville, but all of Florida.

The most important thing I hope you’ll take away from reading this column is I’m glad you’re here. No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter the hue of your skin or the accent of your voice,

no matter whose hand you hold or the clothes you wear, no matter how (or if) you vote, your mayor is glad you’ve chosen to be a part of Florida’s “Cultural Capital.”

Here at City Hall, we’re excited about partnerships we’ve been developing with Alachua County and UF Health. The Gainesville City Commission and I are bullish on East Gainesville, and we’re seeing our combined public investments begin to directly serve our neighbors who live there.

If you’re registered to vote in Gainesville — and I urge you to register if you haven’t already — I hope you’ll educate yourself on the candidates and issues and show up to cast your ballot. We’ll be choosing a U.S. senator and congressional representative and filling seats in the Florida House and Florida Senate this year.

The city of Gainesville team and many neighborhood and community groups have made great strides in lowering crime in our community. Crime — particularly violent crime — is down across the board in Gainesville.

Further, through city partnerships with UF,

the Florida Department of Transportation and Alachua County, our streets are markedly safer for pedestrians and cyclists. We are on track to have the fewest traffic injuries in many years.

If you’re downtown this Fall, please seek out the “Downtown Ambassadors” in yellow vests and ask them for help if you’re having trouble with, well, anything downtown-related. From directions to parking to security, they’re downtown to help you and everyone else have a great experience.

An important ask I have for you is if you find yourself as a driver or passenger on a city street and someone approaches you for a personal cash donation in traffic, please do not make that donation.

Instead, please make a donation online to a local nonprofit that serves their needs. Asking for donations in traffic is dangerous for everyone involved, and we are trying to make it safer for everyone. Your help in this situation makes a big difference.

As always, we all have a great deal of hard work to do for ourselves and our neighbors.

As previous UF president Kent Fuchs said,

“Hard work and joy are not mutually exclusive.” Frankly, if we can’t provide the opportunity for joyful experiences to accompany the Harvey Ward hard work, we’ve opinions@alligator.org failed as leaders.

To that end, I hope you will take part in all this city has to offer, from homecoming festivities to the city’s fourth annual holiday parade, from our outstanding parks, recreation and cultural affairs facilities and programming to our libraries.

They’re all yours, because no matter how long you’ve been here or how long you’re staying, you’re our neighbor. It’s important to me that you know you belong in this community.

Whether you’ve been here in Gainesville for a few days or a few decades, whether you’re already looking for the exits or trying to put down roots, whether you’re a casual bystander or hip deep in local culture, you are a part of Gainesville’s story, and Gainesville is a part of yours.

And, once again, I’m glad you’re here.

Harvey Ward is the mayor of Gainesville.

Henry A. Moore // Alligator Staff

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Alligator.

The Alligator encourages comments from readers. Letters to the editor should not exceed 600 words (about one letter-sized page). They must be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, classification and phone number.

Names will be withheld if the writer shows just cause. We reserve the right to edit for length, grammar, style and libel. Send letters to opinions@alligator.org, bring them to 2700 SW 13th St., or send them to P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32604-2257.Columns of about 450 words about original topics and editorial cartoons are also welcome. Questions? Call 352-376-4458.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 www.alligator.org/section/sports

MEN'S BASKETBALL

NCAA, U.S. District Court clash poses major implications for Florida men’s basketball ALL COLLEGE ATHLETES WHO WERE SENIORS LAST SEASON RECEIVED A FIFTH YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY

By Jeffrey Serber Sports Writer

As colleges across the country prepare for the 2026-27 school year and its athletics, the NCAA faces a major issue: increased uncertainty about its eligibility rules.

On July 31, Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado ordered the NCAA to declare eligible all high school Class of 2022 athletes who finished their fourth season in college athletics this spring, opening the door for hundreds of undrafted athletes to return to college

athletics.

The NCAA struck back and said it would appeal the decision on Aug.1.

Now, as teams and athletes await the NCAA’s eligibility rules for the upcoming athletic season, many programs are forced to question what players they may be able to roster in 2026. For example, Florida is looking to transfer guard Denzel Aberdeen to get his waiver for a fifth year approved.

With Aberdeen, who is expected to be the Gators’ starting shooting guard, UF is the early favorite for the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press’ preseason poll. Without Aberdeen, head coach Todd Golden would have to rely on another piece to fill the starting role.

The decision could affect whether former Gators Micah Handlogten and Xaivian Lee could return to college

hoops.

NCAA eligibility issues

The NCAA’s eligibility uncertainties started June 2, when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced the Protect College Sports Act of 2026.

The legislation would allow college athletes one undergraduate transfer without losing athletic eligibility and sets a five-year eligibility window for athletes once they graduate high school or turn 19, whichever comes first.

Although the Commerce, Science and Transportation committee met June 18 to discuss the bill, the legislation has yet to be passed by Congress.

The NCAA Division I Cabinet unanimously approved the five-forfive legislation June 23.

This age-based legislation model

grants student-athletes a continuous five-year window to compete across five seasons. But the model wasn’t set to take effect until fall 2027, leaving many college athletes entering their fifth year this fall out of the equation and sparking uproar among players and coaches.

Numerous players received injunctions this week against the NCAA, granting them a fifth year and allowing them to play in the 2026-27 campaign.

As players obtained approval from the NCAA to return to college for a fifth year, Judge Sweeney’s Wisne v.

NCAA ruling on July 31 granted all Division I athletes who were seniors last season a fifth year of eligibility, including Aberdeen.

“All persons in the United States who began to play in collegiate sports in the 2022-2023 season, com-

peted in NCAA Division I sports, and completed four years of eligibility as defined by the NCAA’s prior rules by the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season, and are therefore barred from playing a fifth season due to the NCAA’s adoption and immediate implementation of the Five-Year Eligibility Rule,” the class certification of the Colorado case read.

Hours before the Colorado decision, a Tennessee court granted 19 basketball players a fifth year of eligibility.

Seeing the turmoil over Judge Sweeney’s decision and other rulings that granted injunctions to 2026 seniors, the NCAA was quick to respond.

“It is long past time leaders across college sports call for the immediate

SEE NCAA, PAGE 14

FOOTBALL

Florida football offense preview: Mix of returners and fresh faces contribute to new-look attack THE UNCERTAINTY OF WHO WILL TAKE THE FIRST SNAP OF THE SEASON HEADLINES THE LIST OF QUESTION MARKS

By Ava DiCecca & Riley Orovitz Sports Writers

For UF students, the Fall semester marks more than just the start of a new school year: It stamps the beginning of another football season in The Swamp. While the excitement is overwhelming, it can be hard for students to keep track of exactly who they will be cheering for on Saturdays and what kind of season they should expect the Gators to have.

This uncertainty is more apparent than ever this year, with new head coach Jon Sumrall at the helm of the program, new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner calling the shots and Florida football seeing 34 players hit the transfer portal and book their ticket out of Gainesville.

Still, a plethora of new faces, with some key returners in the backfield and the wide receiver corps, are gearing up to give Gator fans plenty to celebrate this season. A new-look offense is at the forefront of it all as Florida looks to rebound from last season’s struggling scoring unit.

Quarterbacks

Last season, sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway secured the starting spot well before the final snap of the 2024-25 season. But this year, a true 180 is in store for the Gators, who face a tight quarterback battle.

The now-Baylor signal-caller closed out his

second campaign in Gainesville with 14 interceptions thrown, which trailed Florida Atlantic’s Caden Veltkamp for most in the country (17).

With little time to go before Florida’s season opener, the competition between redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. and redshirt sophomore Aaron Philo hasn’t seen a winner. However, Philo seems to be the more likely option for the first start.

The redshirt sophomore got the start in the spring game and has the edge with experience.

He started one contest for Georgia Tech last season, and he played in five games during his freshman campaign.

With Faulkner also coming from Georgia Tech and Philo’s familiarity with the offensive coordinator’s system, Philo gets another leg up on Jones that may be the deciding factor Sept.

5.

Philo, a former three-star prospect from Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia, made a name for himself before the hourlong drive to GT. The 6-foot-1 quarterback led the state in high school all-time passing yards with 13,922, passing 2021 NFL No. 1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence.

If Jones were to start against FAU, it would be the first start — and only the third contest — of his collegiate career. He had the chance to take over for the second half of Florida’s matchup with Kentucky last season with Lagway benched, and he threw for 60 yards on 9-of-17 passing.

“I constantly take it head-on with them,” Sumrall said of the quarterback competition Aug. 10. “I'm a firm believer where there's a lack of communication, negativity fills that void always. … Every year I've been a head coach, there's been a quarterback competi-

tion.”

Running backs

When Jadan Baugh decided to return to Gainesville, Florida’s running back room instantly transformed into a top-10 unit.

Baugh is undoubtedly one of the premier running backs in college football. The junior shouldered the workload in 2025, recording 220 carries for 1,170 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He’s also become a strong passing option, posting 210 receiving yards on 33 receptions.

Just this month, he was selected as a preseason first-team All-American and named to both the Maxwell and Doak Walker Award Watch Lists.

But what makes this room so strong is the depth behind Baugh. Seasoned transfer Evan Pryor comes off two solid seasons at Cincinnati, and he started six games last year, rushing for 522 yards on 76 carries. Redshirt junior London Montgomery is also a veteran option behind Baugh. He was a standout at East Carolina last season and emerged during the spring game as the primary kick returner.

Redshirt freshmen Duke Clark and Byron Louis are also crucial depth pieces despite their relative inexperience. Louis is a solid receiver, and Clark’s advantage is his elite quickness.

The former saw action in just one contest while Clark nabbed six carries across four games.

Wide receivers

While the running back crew boasts impressive depth, Florida’s wide receiver group is arguably its most talented on either side of the ball.

Headlining the group are the Gators’ elite

returners, sophomore Vernell Brown III and redshirt freshman Dallas Wilson. Despite battling injury throughout the season, Wilson’s freshman campaign was a successful one.

In his first collegiate season, Wilson started every game he was available (four) and set the UF record for yards (111), catches (six) and touchdowns (two) by a true freshman in their first career start. Wilson was sidelined for the spring due to injury, but Sumrall said he’s “fired up” about the youngster nonetheless.

Brown also had a standout freshman year, becoming the first true freshman Gator to lead the team in catches (40) and receiving yards (512). He also served as the primary punt and kick returner. His performance earned him 2025 Freshman All-SEC Honors, and he will see a majority — if not all — of the starts this season. The unit's other main returner, redshirt sophomore TJ Abrams, will also likely see plenty of action again this season after playing in 10 games and making one start last year.

Georgia Tech transfer Bailey Stockton and Auburn transfer Eric Singleton Jr. were also key additions whose familiarity with Faulkner and Philo raises their stocks. After a 12-start, 534-yard 2025 season for Singleton, the senior will likely emerge as a starter for the Gators this year while Stockton, a redshirt junior, takes on a backup role. The Georgia native’s ties with Philo go back to their high school days. The pair won two state championships with the Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines before suiting up for the Yellow Jackets and now the Gators.

But if there’s one name every Gator fan who attended the Orange & Blue Game now knows, it’s Micah Mays Jr. The redshirt junior transfer

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SEE OFFENSE, PAGE 15

14 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

Judges debate basketball eligibility NCAA, from pg. 13

passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act — a bill supported by student-athlete leaders, Democrats, Republicans and NCAA schools from all three divisions,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a July 31 statement. “Today's rulings and the chaos they bring to college sports are exactly why it's time to pass this bill.”

The NCAA released a statement Aug. 1 saying it will appeal the Colorado order.

Each school can make its own independent decision, it wrote, but the association intends for the injunction to be short-lived as it appeals the decision on an expedited basis.

“The District Court of Colorado’s decision (Wisne v. NCAA) is egregiously wrong,” the statement read. “The court's decision to certify a nationwide class and grant sweeping injunctive relief with virtually no evidence, and without witness testimony or even so much as a hearing, invites further chaos in college sports and irreparably harms thousands of student-athletes already on campus.”

NCAA Chief Legal Officer Scott Bearby released a statement Aug. 11, which said the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered expedited briefing on the NCAA’s request for a stay pending appeal. Bearby said the NCAA's Division I Cabinet considered having the five-for-five apply to the class of 2026 seniors but decided “it would not be in the best interest of all current and future college athletes.”

“We stand behind and will continue to fully defend the membership's decision,” Bearby wrote. “The injunction should never have been granted, and we have asked the Tenth Circuit to permanently reverse.”

Dozens of athletes seeking a fifth year have already sued the NCAA over its eligibility rules, including Florida State men’s

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basketball’s Alex Steen, who did so Aug. 17.

However, the NCAA received a major courtroom victory the same day when the Ohio Court of Appeals agreed to pause enforcement on the Borovicanin v. NCAA suit, which allowed 15 college athletes a fifth year of eligibility while the lawsuit moves forward.

“We appreciate the court's recognition of the harm caused by the injunction and the substantial arguments we have presented in favor of reversal, and we look forward to fully arguing the merits of the case in the future," the NCAA wrote in an Aug. 17 statement.

Despite ongoing pressure from courts across the country granting 2026 seniors eligibility for a fifth year, the college athletic governing body has continued to affirm its stance since the legislation was approved June 23.

Aberdeen’s situation

As things stand, Aberdeen’s waiver for a fifth year is set to be approved, and many other high school Class of 2022 members have benefited from the Colorado ruling.

Aberdeen, who transferred to Kentucky following the 2024-25 national championship run, announced on April 10 that he will return to the Gators for the 2026-27 season.

The Orlando native requested a waiver for a fifth year after playing just 41 minutes as a freshman. Aberdeen announced his plans to finish his undergraduate degree in education sciences at Florida via an Instagram post.

“It’s just a common-sense situation,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said April 22. “This isn't a 27-year-old trying to play his eighth year in college at his sixth different school; this is a 22-year-old within his fifth year clock coming back to get his degree. It would be a really weird stance to try to fight him from playing.”

Now that Aberdeen’s return has legal

backing, the shooting guard is set to suit up for the Gators unless the NCAA successfully appeals Judge Sweeney’s decision.

Aberdeen was quick to share his reaction to the Colorado ruling on social media, posting a photo of himself in a Gators jersey during a previous game on his Instagram story.

Other players and coaching staff joined the celebrations. Thomas Haugh shared a photo of Aberdeen on his Instagram story, and UF associate head coach Carlin Hartman posted the guard’s Florida player profile photo on his X account.

Former Gators affected

The Colorado decision doesn’t just open the door for Aberdeen to play at UF. Former Gators Lee and Handlogten could also return to college basketball after finishing their senior seasons and going undrafted.

Following the conclusion of the 202526 season, Lee agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom he represented at the 2026 NBA Summer League, averaging 6.4 points, 2.4 assists and two rebounds per game across his five appearances. He shot 40% from the field and 21% from beyond the arc.

Lee spent his senior year at Florida after playing his first three years at Princeton.

During his 2025-26 campaign, Lee was the starting shooting guard and averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 4.2 assists per game.

Lee recorded a season-high 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting against George Washington on Dec. 13 in Sunrise, Florida, earning him the Orange Bowl Classic MVP. On Feb. 16, he was named SEC Player of the Week following an 18-point outing against Georgia and a 22-point performance against then-No. 25 Kentucky.

With Judge Sweeney’s ruling, Lee would receive an extra year of eligibility. As a result, he announced plans to enter the transfer portal Aug. 18.

Handlogten, who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Utah Jazz June 26, can now

return to college basketball and explore the transfer portal, which he entered April 6.

On Aug. 10, Handlogten identified his three potential landing spots: NC State, Ole Miss and Southern California.

Last season, Handlogten averaged 4.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game off Florida’s bench. He started the campaign with back-to-back double-doubles against Arizona and North Florida. He also recorded two starts last season, the second of which came on Florida’s Senior Day against Mississippi State.

The Lake Norman, North Carolina, native’s most productive season with Florida came during the 2023-24 campaign, when he averaged 5.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game across 33 games, 32 of which he started. During that season, he grabbed 108 offensive rebounds – the second-highest for a single season in program history at the time.

However, his season was cut short in the SEC Tournament Championship against Auburn when he fractured his lower left leg.

Because of the intense recovery required for the injury, Handlogten planned to redshirt his junior season. But on Feb. 14, 2025, he decided to return to the court, forgoing his redshirt. The move eventually proved fruitful. Handlogten averaged 4.2 rebounds and provided valuable minutes off the bench during the Gators’ championship run.

After a college career filled with ups and downs, Handlogten, just like many college athletes seeking a fifth year, will now have the opportunity to further prove himself before returning to the pros.

Just as the Colorado ruling reshaped eligibility for the 2026–27 season overnight, a successful NCAA appeal could spark chaos, leaving Aberdeen’s future uncertain and robbing Lee and Handlogten of a fifth collegiate season. @JeffreySerber Jserber@alligator.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 ALLIGATOR 15

Florida football’s front line OFFENSE, from pg. 13

from Wake Forest commanded The Swamp in his first outing in orange and blue, posting 122 yards and two touchdowns, and he has been noted as a continued standout through training camp. While he likely won’t be a regular starter, he is arguably the most promising depth piece in Florida’s receiver room.

Tight ends

The tight end unit is brimming with potential but remains unnervingly unproven as it stands.

Hayden Hansen and Tony Livingston headlined the Gators’ 2025 tight end room. The pair combined for 373 receiving yards before transferring out of Gainesville. Hansen appeared on the 2025 Mackey Award Watch List and started 25 consecutive games for Florida before trading in the orange and blue for the Oklahoma crimson and cream.

Livingston also took his talents elsewhere and will be on the receiving end of Lagway’s passes once more at Baylor.

Florida’s room currently holds

eight tight ends, five of whom are underclassmen. Amir Jackson, a redshirt sophomore, will be one of UF’s primary options. He appeared in the Orange & Blue Game, logging three receptions for 44 yards, including a 33-yarder.

Jackson originally planned to enter the NCAA transfer portal following his four games in 2025, but he’s chosen to return. He now joins redshirt freshman Micah Jones as the only familiar faces in Florida’s tight end room.

Jones made his collegiate debut Oct. 18 against Mississippi State, but he logged just one snap. He came out of Madison Central High School ranked the No. 14 player in Mississippi.

Lakota Dippre, Luke Harping and Evan Chieca all joined Florida’s roster by way of the transfer portal.

Harping adds another name to the list of former GT athletes; he was featured in all 13 games for the Yellow Jackets last season. Harping logged 158 yards on 13 receptions and three catches for 43 yards in 2024.

Heze Kent, Tripp Brown Jr. and Jaylen Jordon round out the tight

Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff

Florida wide receiver Vernell Brown III (8) runs with the ball during a football game against Texas, Saturday, Oct. 4th, 2025, in Gainesville, Fla. end room, but one stands above the others. Kent, a freshman from Brunswick, Georgia, is slated at 6-foot-6 and 288 pounds — 34 pounds greater than the second-heaviest tight end (Jones). Kent’s immense size should bolster the room, even though he lost roughly 35 pounds since arriving in Gainesville.

Offensive line

The Gators' offensive line had a lot of catching up to do ahead of this season and rivals the tight end

unit as the season’s most concerning. The group started spring ball the weakest of any unit, and visions of an offensive line struggling to protect two relatively inexperienced quarterbacks became all too real for UF. In the offseason and throughout camp, Sumrall said the squad has made strides, but UF’s new coach still didn’t seem completely comfortable with the unit.

“Some guys are elevating,” Sumrall said Aug. 17. “The challenge there has been consistency. We have

to be dialed in. We have to be detailed in assignment, fundamentals and technique.”

Florida’s offensive line is anchored by center Harrison Moore. The junior has big shoes to fill, replacing AllAmerican center Jake Slaughter. But the GT transfer has plenty of experience leading a successful offensive line.

Veteran Knijeah Harris will return to his post as starting left guard, and TJ Shanahan Jr. will likely take on the other starting guard role. However, Sumrall said Shanahan and redshirt junior Bryce Lovett are still competing for right guard.

Meanwhile, another competition stands at tackle, with Eagan Boyer, TJ Dice Jr., Caden Jones, Fletcher Westphal and Emeka Ugorji all in the mix.

Boyer, a 6-foot-8 redshirt sophomore, transferred from Penn State, and Ugorji comes from Stanford, while the rest are returning players. The Gators have six offensive linemen who stand at 6-foot-6 or taller, and the unit’s size should prove to be a major advantage in the trench-dominated SEC. @avadicecca24 adicecca@alligator.org @rileyorovitz rorovitz@alligator.org

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J UMB L E

by David L. Hoyt 1

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8-20-26

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ACROSS CLUE 1. Eight-pint amount 5. Small indentation 6. Small coastal bay 7. Capitol Hill chamber DOWN CLUE

ANSWER LLGONA NTHOC ELITN NAEEST ANSWER

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solution below

2. What barrier did Bernice Gera break at a minor league baseball game between the Geneva Senators and the Auburn Phillies in June 1972?

3. Name the St. Louis Blues player who had the tip of his left index finger severed from blocking a slapshot in a December 1990 game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

4. Reilly the Bona Wolf is the mascot of which New York university's athletic teams?

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5. CBS Television City studio complex in Los Angeles was built on the site of which stadium that was demolished in 1952?

6. Name the Hungarian brothers who both became placekickers in the NFL in the 1960s.

7. In 1981, which boxer was mugged outside a Detroit bar and had $45,000 in clothes, jewelry and gold teeth stolen from him?

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Trivia Test answers

Sports Quiz answers

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18 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026

FOOTBALL

Florida football defense preview: Returning linebackers, revamped secondary shape defensive identity Florida’s new-look defense under Brad White blends versatility, experience and emerging talent

By Max Bernstein & Curan Ahern Sports Writers

While the Gators defense will be welcomed back with an ear-popping roar from fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium when it faces Florida Atlantic and quarterback Caden Veltkamp in the Sept. 5 season opener, this holistic review examines Florida’s defensive unit entering a much-anticipated 2026 season.

Here is a breakdown of Florida’s defensive personnel, including the defensive line, linebackers, secondary and special teams unit.

Defensive linemen Just one month after head coach Jon Sumrall assumed the reins in Gainesville, he singled out one unit on his roster in need of a revamp: the defensive line. “[We] probably could have added another piece or two on the D-line in particular,” Sumrall said Feb. 4.

But the play of returning defensive line coach Gerald Chatman’s unit has completely changed his tune.

“I’m excited about that group,” Sumrall said after the 2026 Orange & Blue Spring Game April 11. “There’s a lot of guys in that room that I think can play winning football … That group is what’s really giving me hope.”

And it’s not hard to see why Sumrall has high hopes for the unit. Over half a dozen players bring either experience or high pedigree. In defensive coordinator Brad White’s threeman defensive front, those players will all have the chance to prove they belong on the field.

Clogging up the middle, redshirt junior Brendan Bett returns as a projected starter fresh off the heels of a breakout 2025 campaign. In 346 snaps, Bett posted a 72.9 run defense grade and 16 defensive stops per Pro Football Focus.

Bett, who has bulked up to 319 pounds this summer, has not only emerged as one of the most talented players on Florida’s defense but also as one of its most crucial leaders.

“Brendan Bett up front is that guy I think that D-line is going to really lean on,” White said Aug. 4.

Another leader in the room is re-

turning senior Kamran James, who has recorded nine quarterback hurries and 5.5 sacks over the last two seasons. James, who played through a torn right labrum last season, is finally working his way back to full strength after his surgery.

If healthy, James is expected to start at the defensive end as part of a three-man rotation with talented redshirt senior transfer Emmanuel Oyebadejo and redshirt sophomore LJ McCray.

Oyebadejo spent the 2025 season at Jacksonville State, where he earned First Team All-CUSA honors with a 4.5-sack, 6.5-tackle-for-loss season. The performance earned him an 80.6 defensive grade per PFF, placing him 48th best among EDGE defenders nationally.

McCray, meanwhile, has yet to live up to the five-star pedigree he brought to Gainesville but looks destined to explode into a major role as a disruptive defensive force.

At 6-foot-6, 277 pounds, he gained 21 pounds of lean muscle and added almost 2 mph to his top speed mark.

That earned him the No. 34 spot on the annual Freaks List from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

“I definitely feel way different, way stronger, more sturdy, more agile,” McCray said. “I think that’s just a testament to the work I’ve been putting in … Now it’s time for people to see it.”

At the other defensive line spot, returning sophomores Joseph Mbatchou and Jeramiah McCloud, as well as Baylor redshirt junior transfer DK Kalu, are all competing for a big role in the center of the line. No matter which of those three gets the starting gig Sept. 5, they all project as great fits within White’s defensive scheme.

Linebackers Heading into the offseason, the defensive unit with the fewest questions was the linebacker core. Nine months later, that sentiment has not shifted.

And at the center of it all sits junior Myles Graham. The Gainesville native stuffed the stat sheet in 2025, recording eight quarterback hurries, 76 tackles, 36 defensive stops and four pass breakups. Graham was named to the Butkus Award pre-

season watch list Aug. 13.

“Myles has been fantastic,” inside linebackers coach Greg Gasparato said. “He’s a leader … Everything he does, he goes 100 miles per hour. He tries to be the first of what he does.

First one in the building. He’s unbelievably smart.”

Opposite Graham, the duo of senior Jaden Robinson and junior Aaron Chiles brings experience and steady play to the table. Robinson has been a fixture on the Gators’ defense for the past two seasons, racking up 103 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Chiles, meanwhile, emerged as a starter in 2025 and recorded 52 tackles, half a sack and a pass deflection.

The returning trio has given Gasparato and White plenty of options to fill the MIKE (inside linebacker), SAM (strongside linebacker) and WILL (weakside linebacker) positions.

“You might see Myles playing a little bit of MIKE … playing a little bit of SAM at times. You might see Aaron playing some WILL at times. You might see Jaden playing some SAM and some WILL at times,” Gasparato said. “You’ll see a lot of guys moving around.”

A new element of White’s aggressive defensive look is the JACK rusher position. Intended to blend the talent of an outside linebacker and defensive end, it’s set to be manned by sophomore Jayden Woods.

As a true freshman, Woods led the Florida defensive line in snaps played (448) and tied for the teamlead in sacks (3.5). After testing the waters of the transfer portal, Woods chose to return to Florida, claiming his key role in the new defensive system.

One of the most physically gifted players in the nation regardless of position, Woods ranked No. 5 on Feldman’s Freaks List thanks, in part, to power cleaning 405 pounds, bench pressing 385 pounds and running at a top speed of 20.6 mph. Even more impressive is that Woods is putting up those numbers at a listed 6-foot-3, 245 pounds.

“He’s an elite athlete, and that clean at his body weight is just outstanding,” Florida Director of Football Performance Rusty Whitt said.

“It’s an indicator of just all the work he’s put into it.”

With that physical improvement, Woods has set a lofty goal of 12.5 sacks this season, almost four times his total from last season. However, the Shawnee, Kansas, native knows he has more fuel in the tank heading into 2026.

“For me personally, I feel like I showed flashes of myself last year,” Woods said. “So my biggest thing is building off of that and not taking any steps backwards.”

Behind Woods, the pair of redshirt senior Kofi Asare and true freshman KJ Ford have made strides throughout camp. White said they would be capable of plugging into the lineup and playing “winning football.”

Defensive backs Despite the losses of Sharif Denson, Jordan Castell and Aaron Gates to the transfer portal, Florida’s secondary remains largely intact due to a slew of rising young returners and seasoned transfers.

Redshirt junior Dijon Johnson is poised to serve as a cornerstone of the unit entering his fourth season as a Gator. He started UF’s first four games in 2025 before suffering a season-ending knee injury that earned him a redshirt.

Now coming off surgery and beginning to step into a leadership role as a veteran defensive back, Johnson will play a pivotal role as a battletested defender looking to expand on an injury-shortened season in which he logged eight tackles and one interception.

Though he has yet to participate in a fall scrimmage, Johnson is now “full go,” said Sumrall, who expressed confidence in his recovery.

“He’s looked really good,” Sumrall said Aug. 17. “He’s had a great attitude, played a lot of snaps, veteran. [I] like where he’s at mentally.

He’s in a good spot.”

Like Johnson, redshirt junior Cormani McClain is expected to step up as a top coverage corner for the Gators. Last season, McClain saw action in 10 games, started in six and finished with a PFF defense grade of 67, a run defense grade of 74.4 and a tackle grade of 79.4. He also logged 18 tackles and an interception, attesting to his growth from a three-game, five-tackle 2024 season.

Redshirt freshman Ben Hanks III is another defensive back in a favorable position to receive major playing time this year. He appeared in just three games as a true freshman in 2025 but made the most of his opportunities with eight tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.

Since then, the resounding message from the program is that Hanks has grown not just physically, but as a vocal defensive leader. On Aug. 4, fellow redshirt freshman Dallas Wilson said he’s not only seen Hanks put on weight and grow stronger, but he has stepped up as a leader, too.

Though White said Hanks will have to show consistency every down, he has all the necessary skills to play as a lock-down corner in the SEC. “He’s got elite-level ball skills, he’s got a trait that allows him to track the ball in the air, he’s got soft hands,” White said Aug. 4. “We expect him to take a major step from where he was last year.”

Sophomore J’vari Flowers is another back who flashed as a true freshman. He saw action in all 12 games in 2025 and has emerged as an option to return kicks and punts in 2026.

Redshirt senior Javion Toombs has also been a consistent special teams player across Florida’s last three seasons and can be expected to see the field in kick coverage and punt return schemes.

Redshirt junior Kanye Clark was brought in from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is expected to contribute in a STAR defensive back role. As a versatile back who can cover, blitz and stop the run, Clark is expected to mesh well with White’s multifaceted defensive scheme.

He logged 22 tackles, two pass breakups and forced a fumble at UCLA last season, even branching into a nickel role. At Florida, Clark has greatly improved his lifting metrics under Whitt – power cleaning 315 pounds at just a 186-pound bodyweight – and is prepared to dive into a new role in White’s defense.

“I like that it shows my versatility as a player, being able to guard people one-on-one in the slot and also being able to show up in the box and blitz off the edge,” Clark said of the STAR position Aug. 11.

Redshirt senior Jordy Lowery en-

Who’s guarding the Gators DEFENSE, from pg. 18 ters his first season at Florida with his final season of college eligibility. However, the promising veteran back suffered a soft-tissue injury in the Gators’ first scrimmage of fall camp.

While Sumrall said Lowery’s injury won’t be “a terribly long-term deal,” the redshirt senior is expected to be kept off the field for the foreseeable future.

Redshirt freshman Onis Konanbanny, redshirt junior Vincent Brown Jr., redshirt sophomore Javier Jones, sophomore Elijah Owens and freshmen Dylan Purter, CJ Bronaugh and CJ Hester are all expected to provide valuable depth as defensive backs through a grueling nine-game conference schedule.

Safeties Offering further protection from the deep ball and covering the middle of the field, Florida’s safety room provides a blend of returning talent and new ball hawks to bolster a defense that allowed 24 points per game in 2025.

Headlining Florida’s secondary is senior Bryce Thornton, who led the team in pass breakups in 2025 and logged 56 tackles – three for loss – a sack and an interception. Now entering his fourth season as a Gator, Thornton is taking on a leadership role as a veteran who has been tested by a plethora of in-game scenarios. The experience under his belt and the leadership he exudes are likely to make Thornton a weekly starter in the secondary.

“You talk [about] Bryce, a guy that’s just got so many reps under his belt in this league, which is huge. It’s hard to imitate experience,” White said Aug. 4. “He’s always sort of got this smile on his face, so it’s really easy. You don’t ever feel like he’s stressed, which I think is a real comfort to our guys.”

Thornton’s extensive experience also gives him the ability to shift positions in White’s versatile scheme and make space for other flexible backs, like senior DJ Coleman, to work into the secondary.

Coleman, a Baylor transfer, totaled 46 tackles – 6.5 for loss – four pass breakups, two interceptions and one forced fumble with the Bears in 2025. He also nabbed an interception during UF’s Orange & Blue Spring Game April 11 and is expected to be an immediate contributor to Florida’s defense. He has also become more of a vocal leader as he’s learned where he fits within the team and what’s expected of him, White said.

Coleman’s versatility lets him bounce from boundary safety to strong safety to nickel, providing depth and flexibility in the secondary and allowing White to work different schemes.

“What I like about this defense is that it allows you to play very versatile, and coach White will put you in positions to show your skill set,” Coleman said April 7. “He finds the way to put you in the position to highlight your strengths, and then there’s a lot of vision, and he allows us to play very free and make plays on the ball.”

Like Coleman, junior Cam Dooley also grabbed an interception in Florida’s spring game after being brought in from the portal to bolster UF’s secondary. Dooley followed White from Kentucky and has the ability to work his way into a heavy workload with his strong blanket coverage and preexisting understanding of White’s scheme.

Dooley allowed just 80 yards across 212 coverage snaps as a Wildcat in 2025 and did not allow a touchdown in coverage, attesting to his playmaking ability and comfortability under White.

Sophomore Lagonza Hayward posted a promising 12-tackle season with the Gators

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 ALLIGATOR 19 in 2025, appearing in 11 games and logging a sack. Though Hayward didn’t see many snaps last year, he’s shown he has the tools necessary to establish himself in Florida’s secondary.

Redshirt senior Alfonzo Allen Jr. provides another veteran presence in the secondary entering his third season at Florida. In his first start at UF – a 23-21 win over Mississippi State in 2025 – Allen made the most of the opportunity, becoming the first Gator since 2021 to record 15 tackles in a single game.

Though he hasn’t been showered with opportunity, Allen has proven his ability to provide a spark off the bench and is more than capable of running Florida’s defense when his number is called.

“You have another guy in that room like Alfonzo Allen, who’s just really steady as well, kind of complements the top guys in that room,” Sumrall said Aug. 17. “He just does the right thing a lot and does it really well.”

Sophomore Drake Stubbs, redshirt junior Brayden Slade and freshmen Kaiden Hall and Eric Parks have also been working in White’s secondary and could see the field if injury strikes or a special teams role becomes available. Most notably, Stubbs saw action in seven games during the 2025 season, largely serving on special teams. He also tallied three tackles across the Gators’ final two games, providing a late-season glimpse into his ability as a defender.

Special teams Even with an almost completely fresh group heading into the 2026 season, Florida’s special teams still projects as one of the top units nationally. That’s thanks to the addition of former Tulane special teams coordinator Johnathan Galante, whose Green Wave unit ranked 20th on the FEI Special Teams Ratings last season, just six spots behind a Gator unit that saw its kicker and punter both be drafted to the NFL and its long snapper signed as an undrafted free agent.

Following Galante from Tulane, redshirt sophomore kicker Patrick Durkin and redshirt junior punter Alec Clark are expected to seamlessly fill the shoes of their predecessors.

Durkin hit 25 of 28 field goal attempts last season, including four makes from 50-plus yards, which tied him for third in the nation from beyond that distance. He also nailed 41 of 42 extra-point tries en route to earning American Conference Special Team Player of the Year honors.

Clark, meanwhile, earned First-Team AllAAC honors after recording 46.5 yards per punt and placing 16 punts that were inside the 20yard line, 50-plus yards and fair catches.

With Durkin out of action due to bone bruises during UF’s scrimmage Aug. 15, redshirt sophomore kicker Liam Padron stepped up and made the most of his opportunity. Sumrall said he nailed 9 of 10 throughout the day and 3 of 4 during the scrimmage, including a 50-yarder.

That performance has inspired confidence from the head coach in case Durkin deals with any setbacks.

“To know that we’ve got another guy that’s capable, that maybe hadn’t kicked in a bunch of games or anything, but he’s got the ability,” Sumrall said. “That’s encouraging.”

Experienced redshirt senior transfer Carter Milliron is expected to start at long snapper, with fellow transfer redshirt freshman Hunter Solwold serving as his backup.

On the return game front, sophomore wide receiver Vernell Brown III is likely to be UF’s primary option for the second consecutive year after recording a combined 262 yards on 20 returns last season. Galante also mentioned redshirt junior London Montgomery and Flowers as potential options to also return kicks and punts.

Florida edge rusher Jayden Woods (15) runs during a football game against Miami, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla.

@maxbernstein23 mbernstein@alligator.org @CuranAhern cahern@alligator.org

Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff

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