To you, it’s a sports beverage that might taste a little funky but “gives your body what it’s thirsty for.” To the University of Florida, Gatorade remains a spring of millions of dollars each year that, 60 years after its creation by faculty members, provides seed money for new research and innovation.
Curiosity and savvy marketing made it possible. Before we all wanted to “Be Like Mike,” and before the New York Giants created a tradition by dumping a vat of ice-cold Gatorade on Coach Bill Parcells after a win, UF nephrologist (kidney disease specialist) Robert Cade inadvertently created the sports beverage industry in response to a question from an assistant football coach: Why are my players losing so much weight and wearing down during practices and games?
Cade and his research team focused on electrolytes, figuring they could restore some of the sodium and potassium players were losing. Only a few months later, a brand was born. Suddenly the Gators developed a reputation as a second-half team and a fortune ignited.
Talk about sweat equity.
Cade trademarked the Gatorade brand and sold it to Stokely Van-Camp in 1967. (Pepsico owns it now). A legal fight over royalties between Cade and the university lasted more than two years before UF agreed to a 20% cut from the Gatorade Trust, which has received more than $1 billion over the years.
Cade’s family used some of its share to launch the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville’s Depot Park.
Gatorade Glory
- INVENTORS: UF Nephrologist James Robert Cade working with research fellows Dana Shires, Jim Free and A.M. deQuesada
- FIRST OFFICIAL USE: Oct. 2, 1965, in a 14-7 Gator win over LSU
- SALES: $7.1 billion in 2024
- UF’S LIFETIME GATORADE TRUST REVENUE SHARE: $500+ million
Sources: University of Florida, Statista