We have officially crossed over into the new year, leaving behind a tumultuous 2021 while heading into a hopefully more optimistic 2022. While the sports world bounced back from the effects of COVID the year prior, the pandemic still continued to plague many aspects of life, hardly giving any sense of a return to normalcy.
It was a pretty tough year for the University of Florida as well, as I laid out in an opinion column back in early November. Aside from all of the political issues the institution dealt with, the athletic program saw the loss of the legendary soccer coach Becky Burleigh to the pros, the dismissal of its women’s basketball head coach Cam Newbauer amidst accusations of abuse from his players, and of course, the grand finale of head football coach Dan Mullen getting sacked.
But it was not all bad.
Florida still remains the preeminent school for collegiate athletics and had plenty of memories to celebrate as well. Here is a look at the Gators Wire staff’s favorite moments from 2021.