Thursday, Florida announced that it will rename Florida Field to Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in honor of its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and national championship-winning coach. A couple of days later, The Ol’ Ball Coach publicly expressed his gratitude for the honor.
“I’m humbled, honored, thankful and very appreciative that my alma mater... believes that I’m worthy and deserving to have my name placed on Ben Hill Griffin Stadium,” a statement from Spurrier on Twitter began, adding, “I say thanks to all those who made this honor possible and I consider this to be the biggest, most special honor I have ever received.”
Below is the full statement from Spurrier.Thank you #GatorNation pic.twitter.com/akydoP4ZZ6
— Coach Steve Spurrier (@SC_HBC) June 12, 2016
Spurrier played at Florida from 1963-66, becoming the first player in Gators history to win the Heisman Trophy. He returned to Gainesville as the Head Ball Coach in 1990, going 122-27-1 in his 12 seasons with eight SEC East titles, six SEC championships, 10 top-10 finishes and a national championship in 1996.