Come celebrate Tom Petty Day in the Swamp on Sept. 23 with 90,000 other fans of the rock ’n’ roll and Gainesville music scene legend

by Barbara Drake (MFA ’04)

Gators have two great reasons — and extra incentives — to return to Gainesville on Saturday, Sept. 23. The Gators play the Charlotte 49ers that day in the first-ever meeting between the schools. The game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The University of Florida Athletic Association will celebrate the second annual “Tom Petty Day at The Swamp,” presented by UF Health, that game.

This season marks the sixth anniversary of Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down” being played at the end of the third quarter, and UF will be celebrating the Gainesville native all day. The song was first played on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, against the LSU Tigers, in which 90,000 fans sang along.

Among the gameday highlights that Gators can enjoy this year are:

• Limited-edition Tom Petty Day giveaways at Chomp the Block at Celebration Pointe (the official block party of the Gators), 6-10 p.m., and outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium prior to the game;
• Songs, custom mixes and tribute performances from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee featured throughout pregame and during breaks in the action;
• High school students from throughout Florida joining the Gator Band on the field at halftime for a performance as part of High School Band Day;
• Exclusive merchandise from the Tom Petty Day x Florida Collection available online at the Gator Sportshop and UF Bookstore as well as in-store on campus.

Petty died Oct. 2, 2017, but his influence and legacy at the university have grown since then. The rock icon was honored with a posthumous honorary doctorate from UF in May 2023, and his family launched an innovative music endowment at the School of Music.