Billy Napier inducted into Furman Athletic Hall of Fame
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Billy Napier was back at his Alma Mater on Friday. The Florida Gators head coach was inducted into the Furman University Hall of Fame Friday night.
Napier fashioned an outstanding football career as Furman’s quarterback from 1999-2002. It encompassed two Southern Conference Championships. His career was highlighted by the 2001 campaign that saw Furman post a 12-3 record. The Paladins won the league title, and a NCAA I-AA (FCS) national runner-up finish.
“There’s so many people that contribute in the game of football,” Napier told a local television station. “Individual success is a direct reflection of that and certainly for me in particular. All the great players that we had around us and the great coaches that we had. A really unique time. It was great to see Furman continue to be competitive. This year what they accomplished with Coach Hendricks, really proud of the place.”
In that 2001 season Napier engineered one of the most notable victories in Furman history. He connected on all 12 of his pass attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown in a 24-17 triumph over Georgia Southern in the I-AA playoff semifinals, halting the Eagles’ 39-game home winning streak while representing their first home playoff loss in 28 games.
A two-time All-SoCon selection who ranks among Furman’s best in several passing and total offense categories, Napier was named Florida’s head coach on Nov. 28, 2021. He joined the Gators following a four-year stretch as Louisiana’s head coach where he won four Sun Belt West Division Championships, including two outright league titles.
After graduating, Napier joined Clemson’s football staff as a graduate assistant. He spent two years there before taking a job at South Carolina State, an HBCU, where he coached the quarterbacks in 2005. Napier returned to Clemson from 2006-2010. He had stops in Alabama (2011) and Colorado State (2012) before getting the job as receivers coach at Alabama, where he stayed from 2013-16. Napier got his first coordinator job at Arizona State in 2017 but was only there one season before taking on the head coaching job at Louisiana. He spent four years with the Ragin’ Cajuns, winning the program’s first-ever outright Sun Belt Conference championship. Napier was named the head coach at Florida prior to the 2022 season. Florida finished 6-7 in his first year at the helm.
Napier joined three others in the Hall of Fame
Napier was joined by three other Paladins: longtime women’s golf coach Mic Potter, women’s golfer Taylor Totland, and All-American soccer player Shea Salinas.
Potter coached the Paladins to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances in 22 seasons, including a national runner-up finish in 1987.
Totland earned three All-America honorable mentions in her college career and was the first player in SoCon history to post top-three finishes four times at the league championships.
Salinas played for the Paladins from 2004-07, and earned third team U.S. Coaches All-America honors as a senior in 2007 after helping lead the Paladins to a SoCon regular season title, league tournament title, and NCAA Tournament second-round appearance.
