The Alligator was founded in 1906 as The University News, which was an independent, student-owned newspaper created to serve the University of Florida when it opened in Gainesville. In 1912, the newspaper became a part of the University of Florida administration, and was renamed the Florida Alligator.

The Faculty Committee on Student Publications first governed the newspaper on campus. In the early 1930's that committee was replaced by a committee composed of students and faculty, the Board of Student Publications. The Board established policy for the Office of Student Publications, which was responsible to the UF president for operations of the Alligator, the Seminole (the yearbook), Florida Magazine, and F Book (an orientation manual). Through the years the Office of Student Publications published several other publications from time to time. Those included humor (Orange Peel; The New Orange Peel), literary (Florida Quarterly), and general-interest magazines (Release, et al).

For many years, the career-staff of the Office of Student Publications consisted of a full-time secretary to run the office and a part-time executive secretary to the Board, who was the publications' chief administrator. Until 1962, the executive secretary was a faculty member of the Department of Journalism. Three of the distinguished faculty who served in that position were Dr. John Paul Jones Jr., Prof. H. G. (Buddy) Davis and Prof. Hugh Cunningham. That year the paper hired the first full-time executive secretary.

The following are those who have served as full-time Executive Secretary/ General Manager of the Florida Alligator and The Independent Florida Alligator
• K. B. Meurlott* 1962 - 64 Executive Secretary
• Bill Epperheimer 1964 - 65 Executive Secretary
• Gary Burke 1965 - 66 Executive Secretary
• King White 1966 - 68 Executive Secretary; Director of the Office of Student Publications
• John Detweiler 1968 - 69 Executive Secretary; Director of the Office of Student Publications
• Brent G. Myking 1969 - 72 Executive Secretary; Director of the Office of Student Publications; General Manager
• C. E. Barber 1972 - 73 Executive Secretary; Director of the Office of Student Publications; General Manager
• Tony Kendizior 1973 - 75 General Manager
• C. E. Barber 1976 - President; General Manager
* Deceased

For many years, the editor of the newspaper was elected in the campus wide elections. Editors, and some of the other staff members at various times, ran for the "office" of editor, etc. They slated to a particular party, ran advertisements and spoke before groups of students to seek votes.

At some time that method was changed so the editor was selected by a special super committee comprised of the regular Board of Student Publications plus the chancellor of the Honor Court, the president of the student body and the president of Florida Blue Key.

The selection committee was changed in the late sixties to membership of the Board of Student Publications alone. When the newspaper became independent of UF, the selection was by the Board of Directors as it is today. The Alligator became a daily newspaper in 1963 and ceased being printed at the (then) Gainesville Daily Sun. While at the Sun, the Alligator was composed in that plant, using hot lead composition and letterpresses. The Alligator left the Sun to be printed out of town by the offset printing process. It was one of the first college newspapers in the nation to go to what was known as "cold type" and offset printing.

Each early morning of publication, the newspaper materials were driven south to Leesburg, Florida to be printed at the daily Leesburg Commercial, a round trip of more than 130 miles. Some years later, The Ocala Star-Banner won the printing bid and that shortened the trip to a round trip of about 75 miles early each morning.

When The Star-Banner dropped their commercial printing business, two former employees started Web Printers of Florida in Ocala. They were successful at winning the printing contract, and printed the newspaper until they were bought out by Carlson Color Graphics of Ocala. Years later, the newspaper was printed for a short time at Florida Crown Printing in Maxville, a few miles north of Lawty. It then returned to Carlson in Ocala.

Within a year, the newspaper began printing at The Gainesville Sun, which by then had switched from letterpress to offset printing. It is still printed in their plant.

Through the many years of its existence, The Alligator has varied in its size and dimensions. The newspaper originally, and for many years, was standard (or broadsheet) size. During World War II, it published as a tabloid with fewer pages due to the paper shortages. After the war it returned to being full-sized until 1962 when it became a daily tabloid.

For many years, the Office of Student Publications was on campus, located in the basement of what was then the Florida Union. It is now the Manning Dauer Building. In 1968, the office was moved to a brand-new suite of offices on the third floor of the J. Wayne Reitz Union. It was across a lobby from the offices of Student Government.

In 1973, the newspaper became independent of the University of Florida and was given a grace period from February until August to move into quarters across University Avenue from the campus.

The history of The Alligator is its stories and its stands on issues. But it is also in the caliber of the people who were once students here, free to put into practice at the newspaper what they were learning in class at the University of Florida. In journalism alone, our alumni include at least four subsequent Pulitzer Prize winners.

Alligator alumni are at almost every daily newspaper in Florida, and many of the weeklies. They include David Lawrence Jr., professor at Florida International University, former chairman of the Herald Publishing Company and former publisher of The Miami Herald; Edward Sears, editor of The Palm Beach Post; Louis Perez, editor of The (Lakeland) Ledger; William Dunn, associate managing editor of The Orlando Sentinel, and many, many others.

In addition, Alligator alumni are at newspapers throughout the nation. They include Walker Lundy, editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press; Keith Moyer, editor of the Fresno Bee; Karen DeYoung, assistant managing editor at The Washington Post; plus those at the Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Atlanta Constitution and Journal, and numerous others.

Then there are Mindi Kiernan, vice president of Knight-Ridder; Tom Kennedy, the former director of photography at National Geographic and now the director of photography and design at WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive; Nick Tatro, AP bureau chief in Israel, Ian Johnson, chief of Asian bureau, Wall Street Journal; Chris Fontaine, associate editor of The Cambodia Daily; Dennis Kneale, co-executive editor at Forbes Magazine.

There are John Paul Jones, dean emeritus of UF's College of Journalism and Communications; H. G. Davis, Distinguished Services Professor Emeritus and Pulitzer Prize winner; Jean Chance, renowned professor of journalism, Clifford Marks, vice president of ESPN, John Detweiler, Chairman Emeritus of the UF Department of Public Relations, Richard Shelton, Executive Director of the Florida Press Association and David Klein, associate publisher and editor of Advertising Age.

In addition to those and many other journalists and professors, there are prominent attorneys, authors, educators, business leaders, judges and public servants throughout Florida and the nation who once served on The Alligator staff. Almost to a person, they praise the newspaper for the tremendous experience they received during their training.

In 1978, several Alligator alumni gathered to form the Alligator Alumni Association.

Since then, thousands of alumni have been located and have joined the association. The association's purpose is to stand behind and strengthen the purposes of the student newspaper.