Gator Growl, produced by Florida Blue Key with artists funded by Student Government Productions,[1] is a student-run pep rally at the University of Florida that was founded in 1924.[2] It marks the culmination of Homecoming Week at the university.
Since 2021, the show has been held annually at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center at the University of Florida. Until 2013, it was held at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the on-campus football stadium. From 2014 to 2019, the rally was held on Flavet Field. There was no show held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gator Growl is credited with inspiring Orange Peel, a similar event held annually at Oklahoma State University, after a group of students, faculty and alumni traveled to Gainesville in 1995 to witness the event.
Gator Growl has been a University of Florida tradition for almost 100 years. Gator Growl has its roots in the tradition of "Dad's Day," a turn-of-the-century tradition in which fathers of the then all-male student body were invited to visit the new campus. In 1916, a pep rally replaced Dad's Day and "Gator Growl" was born.,[3] known as "firing up" enthusiasm for the next day's football game. In 1923, the tradition grew as skits, musical performances and guest speakers expanded the rally into a variety show. Students & alumni continued to express their Gator spirit by participating in cheers and enjoying performances by UF's Marching Band, Cheerleaders, and Dazzlers.
Over time, the Gator Growl production grew with the advancement of technology to its current scale. Today, it is a showcase of athletic talent and spirited tradition; a spectacle of fireworks, light displays, live music, and comedy. More than 500 student volunteers work for thousands of hours to coordinate the night of festivities for the University of Florida community. Producers, directors, assistant directors, and staff members are in charge of the production, execution, promotion, and dismantling of the show. These student volunteers earn Gator Growl its beloved nickname, "the world's largest student-run pep rally!"
The majority of the manual labor associated with this major production, however, is provided by University of Florida students who work at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, the University of Florida's indoor sports arena. The event takes more than a week to physically set up and requires more than 200 student employees to do so. Because Gator Growl is always held the night before a home football game, these students must work all night to remove every trace of the event by the following morning. Like all aspects of Gator Growl, the physical construction is also student-run with primary responsibility falling on the Production Lead—the student technician charged with coordinating and supervising all of the other student employees. The Production Lead and the Head Electrician (also a student) will typically serve as an apprentice to the position the year prior.
As a longstanding tradition at the University of Florida, Gator Growl is a show produced by students for students and alumni. With a vision to reinvent the spectacle into a more interactive, exciting and intimate show while still remaining true to its origins, the event was moved from the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to Flavet Field in 2014, which offers an environment conducive to executing this vision. The venue change also reduces the need for an extensive single-stage setup, thus making the event tremendously more cost-effective.
In its long history, Gator Growl has been recognized by Good Morning America, Comedy Central, Entertainment Tonight and was even featured as an answer on Jeopardy!.
Official Website of University of Florida Homecoming
Stephen C. O'Connell Center
January 07, 2023
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This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view May 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Gator Growl produced by Florida Blue Key with artists funded by Student Government Productions 1 is a student run pep rally at the University of Florida that was founded in 1924 2 It marks the culmination of Homecoming Week at the university Gator GrowlThe logo for Gator Growl 2012PredecessorDad s DayFormation1923 100 years ago 1923 TypePep rallyHeadquartersGainesville FloridaLocationUnited StatesProducerBrady AlexanderGeneral ChairmanAnnika KatareParent organizationFlorida Blue KeyAffiliationsUniversity of FloridaWebsiteOfficial websiteSince 2021 the show has been held annually at the Stephen C O Connell Center at the University of Florida Until 2013 it was held at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the on campus football stadium From 2014 to 2019 the rally was held on Flavet Field There was no show held in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic Gator Growl is credited with inspiring Orange Peel a similar event held annually at Oklahoma State University after a group of students faculty and alumni traveled to Gainesville in 1995 to witness the event Contents 1 History 2 Content 3 List of comedians and performers 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditGator Growl has been a University of Florida tradition for almost 100 years Gator Growl has its roots in the tradition of Dad s Day a turn of the century tradition in which fathers of the then all male student body were invited to visit the new campus In 1916 a pep rally replaced Dad s Day and Gator Growl was born 3 known as firing up enthusiasm for the next day s football game In 1923 the tradition grew as skits musical performances and guest speakers expanded the rally into a variety show Students amp alumni continued to express their Gator spirit by participating in cheers and enjoying performances by UF s Marching Band Cheerleaders and Dazzlers Over time the Gator Growl production grew with the advancement of technology to its current scale Today it is a showcase of athletic talent and spirited tradition a spectacle of fireworks light displays live music and comedy More than 500 student volunteers work for thousands of hours to coordinate the night of festivities for the University of Florida community Producers directors assistant directors and staff members are in charge of the production execution promotion and dismantling of the show These student volunteers earn Gator Growl its beloved nickname the world s largest student run pep rally The majority of the manual labor associated with this major production however is provided by University of Florida students who work at the Stephen C O Connell Center the University of Florida s indoor sports arena The event takes more than a week to physically set up and requires more than 200 student employees to do so Because Gator Growl is always held the night before a home football game these students must work all night to remove every trace of the event by the following morning Like all aspects of Gator Growl the physical construction is also student run with primary responsibility falling on the Production Lead the student technician charged with coordinating and supervising all of the other student employees The Production Lead and the Head Electrician also a student will typically serve as an apprentice to the position the year prior As a longstanding tradition at the University of Florida Gator Growl is a show produced by students for students and alumni With a vision to reinvent the spectacle into a more interactive exciting and intimate show while still remaining true to its origins the event was moved from the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to Flavet Field in 2014 which offers an environment conducive to executing this vision The venue change also reduces the need for an extensive single stage setup thus making the event tremendously more cost effective In its long history Gator Growl has been recognized by Good Morning America Comedy Central Entertainment Tonight and was even featured as an answer on Jeopardy Content EditThe main purpose of the pep rally is to motivate the Florida Gators to victory in their Homecoming football game The show features performances from the UF Dazzlers the University of Florida cheerleaders and The Pride of the Sunshine marching band In addition to the cheers there are performances from guest comedians musicians and entertainers who perform for the assembled students and alumni A special portion of the show is reserved for celebrity cameo appearances In the past cameo appearances have included countless entertainment icons such as David Letterman Katie Couric Nature Boy Ric Flair Jonah Hill and B o B List of comedians and performers Edit Helen Reddy Bob Hope Jay Leno Dave Chappelle Dana Carvey Carlos Mencia Billy Crystal Harland Williams Dane Cook Frank CaliendoYear Comedian s and Performers1977 Gabe Kaplan1978 Helen Reddy1979 Bob Hope1980 George Burns1981 Rodney Dangerfield1982 Robin Williams1983 Bob Hope Irene Cara1984 Bill Cosby Herbie Hancock1985 The Smothers Brothers1986 Billy Crystal1987 Jay Leno1988 Steven Wright Jerry Seinfeld1989 Richard Jeni Paula Poundstone1990 Paul Provenza Jeff Foxworthy1991 Brian Regan Tom Parks1992 David Alan Grier Larry Miller1993 Garry Shandling Dennis Miller1994 Sinbad Bobby Slayton1995 Kevin Pollak Anthony Clark1996 Paul Rodriguez Craig Shoemaker1997 Howie Mandel Jeremy Hotz Michael Buffer Sister Hazel1998 Ray Romano Dave Chappelle Carlos Mencia Larry the Cable Guy1999 Pablo Francisco Carrot Top Craig Shoemaker2000 Mitch Hedberg John Pinette D L Hughley2001 Daniel Tosh Dave Attell Jim Breuer2002 Bill Cosby Harland Williams2003 Sugar Ray Christopher Titus Arnez J2004 Bill Engvall Dane Cook2005 Greg Giraldo Wayne Brady2006 Jim Gaffigan Gabriel Iglesias2007 Frank Caliendo Lynyrd Skynyrd2008 Jon Reep Steve Miller Band2009 Dana Carvey O A R JabbaWockeeZ2010 Aziz Ansari Kevin Hart Dan Levy2011 Joel McHale Goo Goo Dolls2012 Tracy Morgan Josh Turner Dara Torres2013 The Fray Sister Hazel New Directions Veterans Choir2014 Brooks Wheelan Foster the People Ludacris 4 2015 Jana Kramer 5 Echosmith T I 2016 Passion Pit Timeflies Maddie and Tae Waka Flocka Flame 6 2017 Snoop Dogg Daya 7 2018 Walk the Moon Ty Dolla ign2019 Chase Rice Lanco Blanco Brown2021 Titus O Neil Gunna Neon Trees2022 Flo Rida Fletcher Danny WuerffelReferences Edit Chairman SGP Student Government Productions sg ufl edu Founding of Gator Growl Archived from the original on 2008 09 22 Retrieved 2009 03 07 At the original pep rally legend has it that freshmen contributed their weight in wood to a giant bonfire University of Florida Homecoming amp Gator Growl Announces 2014 Entertainment Lineup News University of Florida Archived from the original on 2014 07 28 Retrieved 2014 07 22 The University of Florida Gator Growl 1999 Archived from the original on 1999 11 04 Gator Growl 2016 Information Archived from the original on 2017 07 17 Gator Growl 2017 Historical voice of Gator Growl Karl Kaufmann a 39 year tradition continues with his daughter Kelli Kaufmann https www youtube com watch v tDzer WI5ecExternal links EditOfficial Website of Gator Growl Florida Blue Key Alligator article about Gator Growl Official Website of University of Florida Homecoming Stephen C O Connell Center Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gator Growl amp oldid 1120026843, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,