Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kevin Carter has lived much of his life in the spotlight.

A 14-year NFL veteran and former Gators All-American defensive lineman, the 42-year-old Carter is now a college football analyst for ESPN. Carter made the most of his opportunities at UF as a player and student.

As he arrived Monday for the official opening of the Otis Hawkins Center at Farrior Hall, UF's new state-of-the-art academic center, Carter recognized several familiar faces who played crucial roles in his success at UF and continue to help student-athletes more than 20 years since Carter starred for the Gators from 1991-94.

People such as longtime academic support specialists Ann Hughes, Tom Williams and Tim Aydt, and Senior Associate Athletics Director Keith Carodine, who started at the Hawkins Center in 1992.

"I see the people that impacted my life and helped me become who I am today," said Carter, the emcee for Monday's grand opening. "It's a wonderful feeling to see that that tradition is still being carried on."

While what takes place on the field or arena headlines the efforts of UF's nearly 500 student-athletes, their most important victories usually happen when no one is cheering other than the Hawkins Center's 19-person staff.
 

They have a track record as impressive as any coach on campus.

UF is the only SEC school with 100 or more SEC Academic Honor Roll honorees the past 18 years and was the first school in the conference to be selected as a program of excellence by the Division I-A Athletic Directors' Association.

The construction of the $25 million, 82,613-square foot Hawkins Center at Farrior Hall is the latest commitment by UF and the University Athletic Association to the success of the athletic program in the classroom.

The facility includes 74 study rooms/tutoring labs equipped with the latest digital media resources, a 125-seat auditorium, an 800-square foot fueling station, and in essence is the campus hub for student-athlete tutoring, academic advising, studying, job placement and other services.

Gators gymnast Morgan Frazier enrolled at UF in the spring of 2013, only a couple of weeks after graduating from high school in Winter Garden, Fla. Overwhelmed at first, she credited her academic advisers with much of her success in the transition.

"It was very intimidating," she said. "Barely two weeks out of high school trying to adjust to the college lifestyle. If it wasn't for the advisers and tutors and other staff at the Hawkins Center, I would not have survived my freshman year, let alone grow into the person I am today.

"It is really a home away from home. Everyone cares about you like one big family."

Monday's festive opening featured speeches from UF President Dr. Kent Fuchs and Gators Athletic Director Jeremy Foley.

Many current UF coaches, athletes and former UF athletes attended. Former Gators basketball standout Patric Young stopped by, as did UF head coach Mike White, soccer coach Becky Burleigh, track coach Mike Holloway and others.

The original Hawkins Center opened in 1979 as a small makeshift tutoring center and was known as the Office of Student Life. When Foley took over as AD in 1992, he made a list of goals and posted them inside a cabinet door in his office.

One of those goals was the construction of a full-fledged academic center for student-athletes. Thanks to the late J. Rex Farrior Jr. and his wife Mary Lee Farrior, Farrior Hall opened in 1995 as the campus centerpiece of academic services for student-athletes. The new building adds another chapter to UF's commitment to academic success for its student-athletes.
 
"They came here to succeed in the field in competition because that's what they do," Foley said. "But most of all they came here to succeed in the game of life, to prepare for the next phase in the game of life. We take that responsibility very, very seriously.

"This is a very special and significant day for this program. As an athletic program, we try to win championships. We're trying to win every time we go out on the field. But nothing is more important than what we're representing today. Absolutely nothing."

In his second year at UF, Fuchs said it didn't take him long to appreciate the commitment the UAA has to not only athletic success, but academic victories as well.

The Hawkins Center at Farrior Hall is a reminder for everyone who cares about the Gators.

"I'm often asked of my view of UF's greatest strength," Fuchs said. "I always cite and answer in response, it's our broad excellence in academics and athletics, which is unmatched by other universities. We're bringing UF's leadership across athletics, academics and personal development to a whole new level."

The Hawkins Center is named after Otis P. Hawkins, one of the original founders of Gator Boosters. The 87-year-old Hawkins died in April 2005, but his legacy remains alive and well.

"He realized back then that these students couldn't do it by themselves," Foley said. "It's really hard to do what they do at this level."

As Carter closed the ceremony with his final remarks, he invited the crowd to take a tour of the facility to fully appreciate what it offers. He reminded those in attendance that Monday was also the start of the Summer B session and to be mindful of that as they walked around.

The academic support staff in attendance undoubtedly appreciated Carter's thoughtfulness.