Joakim Noah Road?

Posted Jul 19, 2006 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jul 19, 2006 at 10:21 PM

GAINESVILLE – When Zach Huddleston looks at the buildings on the University of Florida campus, he sees dead people – or at least their names. When the UF graduate student looks at the roads that slice through campus, he sees a glaring mistake for which he believes he has a real, live solution.

Huddleston and friend Andrew Kamphey noticed not long ago that Museum Road – the street that runs east from Fraternity Row, past the J. Wayne Reitz Union and Beaty Towers, to Sorority Row – no longer actually features a museum. So they had an idea.

Name the road after Florida basketball star Joakim Noah.

“I don’t think there’s been a campaign to name anything at Florida,” Huddleston said Wednesday. “The campaign usually consists of a large check.”

Lately, that’s been true. Florida’s colleges of business administration (Texas businessman and UF trustee Alfred Warrington) and law (attorney Fredric Levin) were renamed after whopping donations. Also, the helpfully named North-South Drive was rechristened in 2005 to honor Gale Lemerand, an Ormond Beach businessman who has turned over a small fortune to Florida’s athletic department.

Huddleston contends that Noah also made a significant contribution to the university by leading the Gators to their first basketball national title. The 6-foot-11 forward captured hoop nation’s imagination en route to winning Final Four most outstanding player honors. He then shocked everyone by choosing to return to Florida for his junior season.

But why Museum Road? And why now?
Simple, Huddleston said. The Florida Museum of Natural History moved to its new digs on Hull Road – if there are any male Florida students reading this, take first dates to the butterfly garden at the museum and thank me later – in 1998, leaving Museum Road without a museum. Stadium Road still runs past Florida Field. Center Drive still cuts through the middle of campus. Only Museum Road foists incorrect information on the driving and walking public.

I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to Noah about the project, though I hope to soon. Huddleston said he worries Noah will think he and Kamphey are only trying to drum up publicity for the Webcast of their variety show, “Late Night Gainesville.” But Huddleston said it’s just the opposite; he and Kamphey intend to use the show as a platform to continue their crusade.

“There’s never been anything at Florida named after an athlete,” Huddleston said.

That’s not entirely true. The university’s administration building is named after John J. Tigert, a college football star at the turn of the 20th century. Of course, Tigert played at Vanderbilt and earned his naming rights as UF’s president.

Huddleston points to Tennessee, which at this point may not have a thoroughfare not named in honor of a sports figure. The Volunteers have named streets after Peyton Manning, Johnny Majors, Tee Martin, Phillip Fulmer, Pat Summitt and Chamique Holdsclaw. Bryant Drive cuts through the Alabama campus, and a statue of Bobby Bowden stands outside Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium.

Florida officials might have named a road after Steve Spurrier, but the ballcoach declined many such honors while coaching his alma mater. We’ll pause here to allow Georgia fans a moment to regain their senses after reading about an act of modesty by the visored one.

Huddleston seems genuine when he says he isn’t trying to make a name for himself with his quest. His voice is tinged with the kind of idealism I had before I had to get a real job – if you can call what I do work. Will it work? Maybe. As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, 1,272 UF students had joined a group on the Web site Facebook.com to support the cause.

Huddleston also has a petition for UF students to sign before he and Kamphey take their case to UF’s administration.
For information, check out www.joakimnoahroad.com or www.myspace.com/joakimnoahroad.