Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
The Florida–Tennessee football rivalry, sometimes referred to as the "Third Saturday in September", is an American college football rivalry between the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida and Tennessee Volunteers football team of the University of Tennessee, who first met on the football field in 1916. The Gators and Vols have competed in the same athletic conference since Florida joined the now-defunct Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1910, and the schools were founding members of the Southeastern Conference in 1932. Despite this long conference association, a true rivalry did not develop until the early 1990s due to the infrequency of earlier meetings; in the first seventy-six years (1916–91) of the series, the two teams met just twenty-one times. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) expanded to twelve universities and split into two divisions in 1992. Florida and Tennessee were placed in the SEC's East Division and have met on a home-and-home basis every season since. Their rivalry quickly blossomed in intensity and importance in the 1990s and early 2000s as both programs regularly fielded national championship contending teams under coaches Phil Fulmer of Tennessee and Steve Spurrier at Florida.
Florida–Florida State football rivalry
One of the stipulations in the first contract was that all games be played in the Gators' home stadium, Florida Field in Gainesville, because the Seminoles' home field at Doak Campbell Stadium had a capacity of under 20,000. The first six games in the series were all played in Gainesville. Florida State initiated a series of expansions to Doak Campbell Stadium, and beginning in 1964, the game site has alternated on an annual home-and-away basis between Gainesville and Tallahassee. The Gators hold a 20–11–1 series advantage in games held in Gainesville, and have a one-game edge for those played in Tallahassee, 13–12–1. The Gators and Seminoles have split two neutral-site games—both Sugar Bowls played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans (1994 and 1997). Since alternating the game site, the Gators hold a 29–23–1 edge over the Seminoles. Since Bobby Bowden became the head coach at Florida State in 1976, the Seminoles hold a 21–19–1 advantage over the Gators.