Florida Gators women's basketball
The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at the O'Connell Center located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Kelly Rae Finley, following the resignation of Cameron Newbauer. The Gators have appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments, with a record of 12-15. History. Women's basketball was approved as a sport by University of  Florida in March 1972, and began play in 1973 as a club team. In 1975, the Gators debuted as a varsity program under head coach Paula Welch. They made local headlines in 1976 by winning the "state championship" by beating the other three women's teams in the state at that time. While historically overshadowed by divisional (and national) basketball powers Tennessee and Georgia, the Gators have made several NCAA Tournament appearances and sent players to the WNBA, such as DeLisha Milton-Jones. The winningest coach at Florida is Carol Ross, who guided the team for twelve seasons but left  Florida to coach the women's basketball team at her alma mater, Ole Miss. Florida's women's team was coached by Carolyn Peck, a former WNBA coach who won a national title with Purdue, from 2002 to 2007. Peck was fired midway through the 2006–2007 season (though she was allowed to finish out the season), after enduring the worst losing streak of any Gator sports program. Former University of Florida player and previous Charlotte coach Amanda Butler was named the new women's basketball coach on April 13, 2007, and remained in that position until 2017. On March 27 , 2017, Cameron Newbauer was announced as the 10th head coach of the University of Florida women's basketball program. Year by year results. Conference tournament winners noted with # Source WNBA basketball players. Florida has produced a number of players for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).