Florida brings back ‘Gator Bait’ cheer 6 years after ban
By Andrew Olson
Published:
For the first time since the 2019 season, the Florida band had The Swamp crowd chanting “Gator Bait.”
Saturday marked the return of the cheer. In June 2020, then-University of Florida President Kent Fuchs announced that the university and Florida athletics would no longer use “Gator Bait.” Six years later, the chant was back.
In his 2020 statement, Fuchs said that while Florida had never used “Gator Bait” as a racist term, he noted “horrific historic racist imagery associated with the phrase.”
Fuchs was full-time UF president from 2015-23. He was succeeded by Ben Sasse, but served again in an interim capacity from August 2024 to August 2025 after Sasse’s departure. Donald Landry followed as interim president from September 2025 to June 2026.
The return of the chant coincides with a change in UF leadership. Stuart Bell became UF president on July 1. The Associated Press notes that Bell indicated in June he was open to bringing back the chant. He was quoted as saying “traditions matter” and that the cheer is “meaningful to the Gator family.”
The Gator Bait cheer is officially back at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
— Noah Ram (@Noah_ram1) September 6, 2026
The UF marching band performed the cheer at the start of FAU’s second drive in the #Gators season opener
The cheer had been banned in June 2020 due to the “historical racist imagery associated with the phrase”… pic.twitter.com/w6d8FsBg0C
Florida defeated Florida Atlantic 66-21 on Saturday night in Jon Sumrall‘s debut. The Gators are home again in Week 2 as they host Campbell.
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Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
