Florida Gators use military core values on nameplates of black jerseys
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Don’t adjust your television set when you see the Florida Gators take the field this Saturday. For the first time in school history, the Gators will take the football field wearing black jerseys. The idea was first brought up by head coach Billy Napier back in May at a spring speaking event before he ever coached a game.
“We’re all hyped about it,” Gators redshirt freshman tight end Hayden Hansen said on Monday. “There’s a bunch of hype. New cleats we’re wearing, new gloves. I think the fans will like it. Napier’s big message is don’t forget why. It’s very important to know why we’re wearing it.”
Saturday that vision comes to life. Florida is calling this the ‘Saluting Those Who Serve’ game, honoring the military and first responders. Part of the initiative will be replacing the last names of the players on the field with core values picked by first responders and members of the military, all of whom spoke with the team this week.
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“We’re going to wear black uniforms for the first time in school history. I know everybody is excited about the uniform. I do think it’s important, I don’t want to lose sight of the intent here relative to what we’re trying to do. Each player on the team’s jersey will display one of the five core values on the back of the nameplate,” Billy Napier said. “We worked with the military branches and the state and here locally, allowed them to select the core value that they wanted to use. Those five core values are: honor, courage, commitment, excellence, and integrity. You’ll see that this week when we play.”
The Gators are auctioning off a limited number of team-issued jerseys. Below are the corresponding core values with their jersey number. The live auction is open here and will close Monday, Nov. 6 at 9 a.m.
Florida Gators jersey number with corresponding Core Value
Integrity
1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 16, 19, 20, 26, 32, 33, 38, 39, 49, 57, 60, 61, 64, 78, 81, 94
Honor
2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 26, 35, 44, 47, 54, 66, 71, 79, 85, 87, 88, 90
Commitment
0, 3, 9, 14, 18, 25, 27, 28, 29, 34, 38, 42, 52, 59, 66, 75, 88, 91
Courage
6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 33, 34, 36, 37, 40, 41, 56, 65, 74, 77, 93, 95, 99
Excellence
0, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 24, 27, 29, 37, 42, 43, 53, 58, 73, 74, 80, 82, 86, 89
