Good morning, Gainesville.

After country icon Dolly Parton died (Aug.

25), local partners in Florida reported a surge in donations to her Imagination Library, which sends free monthly books to children from birth to age five. The donation website slowed from heavy traffic, so donors may need to try again.

Time magazine named UF the fourth best public university and 16th overall on its America’s Best Colleges of 2026-2027 list released Tuesday — making it the highest-ranked Florida university by outpacing FSU and UCF.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law in May that ended the Florida Linkage Institution Scholarships — a program that lowered tuition by up to $28,000 at UF for international students.

Gainesville Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson said the change could hurt both students and the local community.

Florida Forest Service officials say their second largest wildland firefighting aircraft fleet & drones helped crews detect wildfires across North Central Florida this spring.

The support enabled pilots to quickly spot key details for ground teams.

Denzel Aberdeen is unable to play for the Gators without a waiver after a 10th Circuit ruling ended an extra eligibility season for college athletes; UF may take legal action to enable his return (he announced his comeback for the upcoming season).

Florida football players secured multiple preseason honors ahead of the season; Dallas Wilson and Ben Hanks were named to the Shaun Alexander watch list while junior running back Jadan Baugh, punter Alec Clark, kicker Patrick Durkin, linebacker Myles Graham, and center Harrison Moore appeared on several award lists.

The Alligator’s UF football beat reporters ranked SEC teams (based on returning talent and coaching changes) ahead of the season, predicting Georgia Bulldogs to capture a third straight title and outlining expectations for Texas, Mississippi, Texas A&M, LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida Gators (reporters' consensus).

Aaron Philo is UF's newly named starting quarterback (Florida Gators reporter Andrew Abadie explains his background, skills and role on the team).

Florida volleyball will face Nebraska today starting at 7 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington & the Spike Under the Lights exhibition offers a $1 million prize pool split evenly among four teams.