Florida Gators football , 1980 – 1989 The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football . The University of Florida fielded its first official varsity football team in the fall of 1906 , and has fielded a team every season since then , with the exception of 1943 . During the 1980s , the Gators competed in Division I - A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) , and played their home games at Florida Field on the university ' s Gainesville , Florida campus . This article includes a game - by - game list of the Florida Gators ' ten football seasons from 1980 to 1989 . During the 1980s , the Gators were coached by Charles B . " Charley " Pell ( 1979 – 1984 ) , Galen S . Hall ( 1984 – 1989 ) and Gary B . Darnell ( 1989 ) . Pell , Hall and Darnell compiled an overall record of 76 – 38 – 3 ( . 662 ) during the decade . 1980 . Season overview . The 1980 college football season was the Florida Gators football team ' s second season under new head coach Charles B . " Charley " Pell , and marked a remarkable one - year turnaround for the Gators from their 0 – 10 – 1 record in 1979 . The winless 1979 season was the worst season in Gators history , and it was Pell ' s first campaign as the new head coach of the Gators , after the Gators ' previous head coach , Doug Dickey , was fired in the aftermath of a 4 – 7 season in 1978 . Pell ' s 1980 Florida Gators posted an 8 – 4 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 4 – 2 , tying for fourth place in the ten - team SEC . The Gators capped their season with a 35 – 20 bowl victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the Tangerine Bowl , marking the first time in the history of major college football that a winless team received a bowl bid the following season . 1981 . Season overview . The 1981 college football season was Charley Pell ' s third year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Pell ' s 1981 Florida Gators posted an overall record of 7 – 5 and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 3 – 3 , and tying for fourth place among ten SEC teams . 1982 . Season overview . The 1982 college football season was the fourth for Charley Pell as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Pell ' s 1982 Florida Gators posted an 8 – 4 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 3 – 3 , tying for sixth place in the ten - team SEC . 1983 . Season overview . The 1983 college football season was Charley Pell ' s fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Pell ' s 1983 Florida Gators posted a 9 – 2 – 1 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 4 – 2 , placing third among ten SEC teams . The 1983 season was the first in which Florida was ranked among the top ten teams in the final Associated Press ( AP ) poll and was only the second time that the Gators were ranked in every weekly AP Poll throughout the season ( 1975 being the first ) . 1984 . Season overview . The 1984 college football season was Charley Pell ' s sixth and last as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team ; after the third game of the season , Pell was replaced as the Gators ' head coach by his new offensive coordinator , Galen Hall . After the Gators began the season as a 1 – 1 – 1 team under Pell , Hall ' s 1984 Florida Gators posted a 9 – 1 – 1 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 5 – 0 – 1 ( 8 – 0 – 0 and 4 – 0 – 0 , respectively , under Hall ) , finishing first among ten SEC teams , and were recognized as the SEC champions . The Gators finished third in both the Associated Press Poll and Coaches Poll , and were also named national champions by twenty - two publications including " The New York Times " and " The Sporting News " . On May 30 , 1985 , the presidents of the ten SEC - member universities voted 6 – 4 to vacate the Gators ' 1984 SEC title and declared the team ineligible for the SEC championship during the upcoming 1985 and 1986 seasons because of the rule violations committed under Pell . The retroactive vacating of the 1984 championship , six months after the 1984 football season ended , drew an angry response from University of Florida president Marshall Criser , as well as Gators coaches , players and fans due to the retroactive nature of the decision and its perceived unfairness . 1985 . Season overview . The 1985 college football season was the second for Galen Hall as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team , having coached the 1984 Gators ' final eight games as their interim coach . Hall ' s 1985 Florida Gators , while ineligible to win the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) title or receive a bowl bid because of NCAA probation , finished with a 9 – 1 – 1 overall record and an SEC record of 5 – 1 , tying for first place in the ten - team SEC . 1986 . Season overview . The 1986 college football season was Galen Hall ' s third as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Hall ' s 1986 Florida Gators compiled a 6 – 5 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 2 – 4 , tying for seventh place among the ten SEC teams . 1987 . Season overview . The 1987 college football season was the fourth for Galen Hall as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Hall ' s 1987 Florida Gators posted a 6 – 6 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 3 – 3 , placing sixth among ten SEC teams . 1988 . Season overview . The 1988 college football season was Galen Hall ' s fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Hall ' s 1988 Florida Gators finished with a 7 – 5 overall record and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 4 – 3 , tying for fourth place among the ten SEC teams . 1989 . Season overview . The 1989 college football season was Galen Hall ' s sixth and final season as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team ; Hall was replaced as the Gators head coach after five games by his defensive coordinator , Gary Darnell . Hall and Darnell ' s 1989 Florida Gators posted an overall record of 7 – 5 and a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) record of 4 – 3 , tying for fourth place in the ten - team SEC .