Florida Sets 2023 Orange and Blue Spring Game Kickoff Time

For the second year in a row, Florida will hold its Orange and Blue spring scrimmage on a Thursday.

Photo: Billy Napier and the Florida Gators; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

UPDATE: Florida announced on Tuesday that its 2023 Orange and Blue spring football scrimmage will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 13. The game had previously been scheduled for April 13, although a kickoff time was not made clear in the original announcement.

Head coach Billy Napier considers a primetime, midweek setting for a spring game to be advantageous from a recruiting perspective. The Gators will be in the national spotlight on April 13 and can invite prospects into town before they have to choose between weekend visits to programs such as Miami on April 14 and the likes of Ohio State, Clemson, Texas, Ole Miss, Florida State, Texas A&M and Georgia, among others, on April 15.

Florida announced an attendance of 45,000 for the 2022 Orange and Blue spring game.

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Florida will hold its annual Orange and Blue spring football game in front of Gator Nation on Thursday, April 13 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., the program announced on Monday.

The scrimmage will be played on a Thursday night for the second year in a row, a strategic move head coach Billy Napier spoke about in April 2022 prior to his first team practice that was open to the public. His first spring game was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 16 but was moved back two days.  

First, Napier wanted to ensure students would attend the practice prior to traveling for Easter weekend. He also saw opportunities for national exposure and recruiting edges by not hosting the event over the weekend.

"A little bit of a recruiting advantage, too. We don’t have to be against a lot of games that day, so we get to corner the market in recruiting," Napier said at the time. "I probably should have started Thursday night, but think we have a chance to create a really unique environment, great energy there. Very hopeful people come out.” 

Further details about the game, including streaming/broadcast information and fan initiatives will be announced at a later date. 

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