Tom Petty 's death , the University of Florida approved a motion to award the artist a posthumous doctorate in music, due to his significant influence on his hometown.
Petty never attended the university, but worked as a janitor there before becoming world-renowned for his work with the Heartbreakers. After his death, the University of Florida adopted a tradition of singing "I Won't Back Down" at its football games.
In 1998, Tom Petty recorded a track named after his hometown, "Gainesville." In 2005, the musician was interviewed by Gainesville Magazine and asked if he had visited the place recently, to which Petty replied negatively, but stated that he "would love" to do so.
“Not many days go by that I don’t think about it,” Petty said at the time. “I think about it a lot. One of my dreams is to go back, spend some time there, take a walk and feel nostalgic, you know? I loved that city.”
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