GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Gators head coach
Dan Mullen stopped by to say hello to the sold-out crowd at Exactech Arena on Saturday night prior to Florida's loss to No. 3-ranked Tennessee.
He also made sure to say thanks.
"I want to first of all thank all of you,'' Mullen told the enthusiastic crowd that gave him a huge ovation. "Because I challenged everybody here. It wasn't just about the coaches, or the players, or Coach [Nick] Savage and the strength staff, or the administration. It was about all of us working together. You all bought into that."
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Two weeks after capping his first season as UF's head coach with a 41-15 win over Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Mullen spent Saturday hosting recruits and walking across Gale Lemerand Drive to speak at the basketball game.
The Gators finished 10-3, an impressive turnaround from the 4-8 record the previous season. Florida finished sixth in the final Amway Coaches Poll and seventh in the final AP Top 25.
They should open next season ranked in the top 10 based on early projections. That's the direction Mullen wants to go.
"I know the 'Gator Standard' is not being the second-best team in the SEC — it's about being the first-best team in the SEC,'' he said. "That means it's a challenge for all of us, a challenge for our players and coaches and everyone in the Gator Nation. Next year we're going to take it to a whole 'nother level."
Mullen wasn't the only member of the Gators football program on Saturday's game. Running back
Lamical Perine and receiver
Tyrie Cleveland tossed T-shirts into the stands as part of the in-game presentation.
Perine and Cleveland both announced last week that they are returning for their senior seasons.
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