<p>Famed sports writer Dan Jenkins said back in the 1980s that Gators fans had "the arrogance of Notre Dame and the history of Wake Forest." </p>
<p>Whether UF fans have bloated egos is a matter of opinion, but even the biggest Gator haters can't deny the trophy cases in Gainesville are getting mighty full. On Jan. 8, when the football team decimated Ohio State 41-14, the Gators became the first school to simultaneously hold titles in football and basketball. </p>
<p>After defeating Ohio State 84-75 on Monday, UF became the first school in history to win a title in both sports in the same academic year. </p>
<p>"The success we're having now is something Gator fans everywhere can have pride in," UF athletics director Jeremy Foley said. "You should enjoy it. It's hard to do, and you can never take it for granted. Coach (Steve) Spurrier used to say, 'You get tradition by replicating success year after year after year.' That's what we're trying to do." </p>
<p>Foley should get the majority of the credit for the juggernaut status. </p>
<p>In 1987, he took the job for a program mired in probation and mediocrity. Galen Hall was cleaning up a football program that a few years earlier had its first Southeastern Conference title stripped after a hailstorm of NCAA violations. The men's basketball team made a few inspired postseason runs, but they were mostly of the NIT -- not NCAA Tournament -- variety. </p>
<p>"A lot of our younger fans think we should be 35-3 in basketball and win the title in football every year," said 52-year-old Gary Morgan, former president of Volusia County's Gator Club and a UF fan since the late 1970s. "I remember when 6-4 was a good season in football. To win a (SEC) title back then was unbelievable. The direction it has turned to is unfathomable." </p>
<p>Amid the problems, Foley still recognized the potential for greatness. Gainesville was always an avid college town. The university had government dollars, a rabid fan base and The Swamp, though it had yet to be dubbed as such by Spurrier. In 1989, Foley hired Spurrier away from Duke, and he led the Gators to their first six SEC titles and a national championship in 1996. Urban Meyer added another SEC and national title last season. </p>
<p>In '96, Foley hired basketball coach Billy Donovan away from Marshall after Lon Kruger left. Donovan has coached UF to three straight conference championships and two consecutive national titles. </p>
<p>"This why you get up to go to work every morning -- to win championships," Foley said. "But we know it's not going to be like this forever. So you enjoy every single minute of it." </p>
<p>In March of 2005, UF sprinter Kerron Clement broke Michael Johnson's world record in the 400-meter dash. UF's baseball team made it to the College World Series the following summer. </p>
<p>Last year, Ryan Lochte graduated as an Olympic gold medalist swimmer. </p>
<p>And last Saturday night, while the UF hoops team eliminated UCLA from the Final Four, the Gators gymnastics team won its first SEC championship since 1989. </p>
<p>"They have 21 or 22 sports and they seem to be great in all of them," Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel said. </p>
<p>Foley strives to hire driven coaches like Donovan and Meyer, and does everything in his power to provide them with pristine facilities. </p>
<p>In 2001, the Gators opened a $10 million basketball facility that is still one of the country's finest. The Swamp, considered the rowdiest college football stadium in existence, is undergoing a $25 million-plus addition at Gate 1. </p>
<p>"If your ice machine is broken, we fix it," Foley said. "If you need a new one, we get you a new one." </p>
<p>Which makes being involved with Gators sports more enjoyable. Two weeks ago, a sleepless forward Joakim Noah ran into safety Tony Joiner on campus at 3 a.m. </p>
<p>"We ended up talking till 6 in the morning about so many things that we will remember," Noah said. "I will remember Chris Leak being booed in our stadium, and then winning the national championship and shutting everybody up. It's unbelievable." </p>