Of those thirteen games, seven were played in Knoxville, two were played in Gainesville, and four were played in other locations in Florida. The SEC became a 10-member league in the late-1960s, and a new scheduling system had the Gators and Vols play seven times over the next 21 seasons. The SEC became a 12-member league in 1992 and split into two divisions. Both Florida and Tennessee were placed in the SEC's Eastern Division, and they have met annually ever since. Florida and Tennessee have played on the third Saturday of September almost every year since 1992, giving the rivalry its nickname. In many seasons, it has been the first significant challenge of the season for one or both teams and has given the winner a head start in the race for a berth in the SEC Championship Game. Notable exceptions to the usual scheduling came in 2001, when the game was postponed until December 1 due to the September 11 terrorist attacks, and in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the season and shifted the Florida–Tennessee game to December 5. Other sports As long-time members of the same conference, Tennessee and Florida have long competed in many other sports besides football. Men's basketball in particular became a heated rivalry for a time in the mid- to late-2000s, when coach Bruce Pearl's Volunteer squads challenged coach Billy Donovan's national championship-winning Gator teams for supremacy in the SEC's Eastern Division. However, the basketball rivalry cooled after Pearl was fired in 2011 and Donovan left Florida for the NBA in 2015. In general, it has been the schools' football rivalry which has consistently received more attention from fans and media over the years. Series history Early history Tennessee dominated the early series, winning their first 10 meetings with Florida over a span of 37 years (1916–53). The highlight of this period was a 1928 season-ending matchup between undefeated squads in Knoxville that the Volunteers won 13–12. Florida finally beat Tennessee in 1954, winning 14–0 in Knoxville, but Tennessee won the return visit to Gainesville the following year, which was the first time that the teams played at Florida Field. Florida and Tennessee would not meet again for fourteen years, the longest gap in the series. They next faced off in the 1969 Gator Bowl. In that highly unusual post-season matchup between conference foes, Florida won 14-13, then hired away