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‘In enemy territory’: Former Gator James Bates’ historic battles against Georgia

Posted on by Nargang
‘In enemy territory’: Former Gator James Bates’ historic battles against Georgia

One of the oldest and oldest rivalries in college football history has been played at a neutral site for nearly 30 years. However, former UF linebacker James Bates has experienced every rabid atmosphere the two passionate fan bases have to offer when the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs meet on the gridiron.

Growing up in Texas, Bates wasn’t very well versed in the Florida-Georgia matchup, he said. However, it didn’t take long for Bates to realize how much the decades-long rivalry meant during Florida’s run in the 1990s with former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier at the helm.

“You learn where the rivalries are in a hurry,” Bates said. “Especially with coach Spurrier. I mean, Coach Spurrier, if he ever showed more emotion leading up to a game, it was the Georgia game. He loved beating the Bulldogs.”

Spurrier has built perhaps the most illustrious coaching career in UF program history. His 122 wins in 12 years are the most in Florida history. Spurrier’s coaching resume also includes a dominant 11-1 record against Georgia.

Bates’ roots at UF run deeper than his playing days. His father was Spurrier’s first defensive coordinator with the Gators, though he wasn’t a coach until Bates arrived on campus as a redshirt freshman.

Late in the third quarter of a Florida-Georgia matchup at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in 1994, Bates intercepted a pass thrown by former UGA quarterback Eric Zeier and returned it for a touchdown.

“It was pretty neat because my dad, he was coaching in the NFL at the time and he rarely got to see me play,” Bates said. “But whenever he came to our games, we always had an interception.”

Bates had the unique experience of being one of the only players in UF history to compete in the Florida-Georgia rivalry games in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Athens, Georgia.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is Bates’ favorite place in the world, he said. He noted how some of his fondest memories in life came from his time under the lights there.

Along with his passion for playing in front of Florida fans, Bates was no stranger to taking his skills and mentality into a different gear when facing an opponent on the road.

“I used to load it up and get on the bus with my teammates and go into enemy territory,” Bates said. “It’s kind of that gladiator feeling where you’ve got 100,000 people around, wanting you to go down, but you and your guys are back to back.”

Bates helped lead Florida’s 1996 team to a national championship against Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. He appeared in 34 of UF’s games from 1994-96, a stretch in which the Gators posted a 34-4 record against their opponents.

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However, as Bates takes a walk down memory lane, he fondly remembers traveling to Athens, where Georgia fans were hoping to see the Gators crumble in brutal crowd conditions. Instead, the Bulldogs were on the receiving end of a 52-17 loss at the hands of Florida in 1995.

“Being how big the rivalry is, the fact that we could go between the hedge, a place so steeped in history, such an incredible stadium in itself, and go and not just beat them, just put them on well, that was something I’ll never forget,” Bates said.

Today, you’ll find Bates roaming the halls of UF’s Weimer Hall on his way to teach his play-by-play broadcasting class as an adjunct professor. Yet right across from Weimer, he routinely sacked quarterbacks, tackled running backs and returned interceptions for touchdowns, sending the then-packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium into pandemonium.

Bates wants nothing more than for the program to return to the place of prominence it was in during his playing career. He knows as well as anyone how special a place Gainesville can be when the Gators are playing at elite status.

“We’re playing a little bit better (right now) and that’s fun,” Bates said. “But I just, man, I teach a class at UF and I tell them all the time, I just want them to be here when we nod, because it’s so magical.”
Contact Max Tucker at [email protected]. Follow X @Max_Tuckr1.

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Max Tucker

Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After earning her AA in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, she chose to continue her education at the Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his BA in Journalism with a major in Sports and Media. He likes to play golf and go to the beach with his friends in his spare time.