Alumni, state leaders, famous fans react to Florida Gators’ national championship victory

With a maxed-out crowd watching from the O’Connell Center and fans across the country glued to their televisions, the Florida Gators brought home the team’s third national title with a 65-63 victory over Houston on Monday night.

Here’s some reaction from state leaders, Gators alums and famous fans.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made the trip to San Antonio to watch the championship game:

University of Florida alum and former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is now the Secretary of State, reposted this from the Florida Gators Men’s Basketball account on X:

Even the Empire State Building got in on the celebration:

Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who played on both the 2006 and 2008 Gators national championship football teams, also shared his Gators pride:

Sen. Rick Scott shared a post on X showing where he was watching the game in Washington Monday night:

Former President Barack Obama, a well-known basketball fan, shared his congratulations for the team, calling them fun to watch.

Former Gators basketball star Al Horford, who was the starting center on the team’s back-to-back national championship teams in 2006 and 2007, was in San Antonio to watch the game:

Former Gators star Corey Brewer reshared a Florida Gators post from inside the O’Connell Center during the game:

Longtime sports commentator Erin Andrews shared:

Former Jaguars star Fred Taylor, a UF alum, shared a post from OnlyGators.com:

Former Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, a national title winner with the Gators football team, shared: