When did the rivalry between Florida and Tennessee college football begin?
Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
Florida and Tennessee have played on the third Saturday of September almost every year since 1992, giving the rivalry its nickname. Notable exceptions were in 2001, when the game was postponed until December 1 due to the September 11 terrorist attacks, and in 2014, when the addition of two new members to the SEC temporarily scrambled the dates of many traditional conference rivalries and moved the Florida–Tennessee game to October. The rivalry has sometimes served as the conference opener and is often the first significant test of the season for one or both of the teams.
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The Rowdies' traditional rivalry has been with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The rivalry began in 1977 between the original Tampa Bay Rowdies and the original Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the old NASL when the term "Florida Derby" was first used. It came back into use again in the late 1990s, when both cities had MLS franchises "(the Tampa Bay Mutiny & Miami Fusion)". Finally in 2010, after a nine-year absence "Florida Derby" re-entered the lexicon of American soccer, as the modern squads began facing one another. The rivalry currently sits in limbo, after Rowdies' owner, Bill Edwards won a 2017 summary judgement in a lawsuit against the Strikers. Edwards now controls the copyrights, trademarks and any rights to the use of the name “Fort Lauderdale Strikers” or any variation thereof.