A new era is beginning at the University of West Florida, with the start of athletic competition at the NCAA Division I level. That includes the Argos’ first DI football game tomorrow.
For the past four months, the university has been busy preparing for this next chapter, while the anticipation has been building.
Since the announcement of the transition to Division I in early April, UWF President Manny Diaz Jr. has been watching the momentum grow. And now, it’s happening.
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“And, the excitement’s definitely palpable across the community and across campus as the freshman class has come on and our students have returned,” Diaz declared. “You can see a lot of activity, a lot of students trying to chase down the new swag and just wanting to be involved. And we expect a good turnout, especially for football, when we have our first Division I game here, and it’s at home, and our students are fired up for that.”
One week before Men’s and Women’s soccer were set to play the first DI games, about 400 people turned out to share in the DI excitement and the start of fall sports at UWF’s recent Argo Rally at Seville Quarter.
“I think it’s a great thing for the university,” said 2022 graduate Turner Mitchell. “I really think it’s going to put us on a national level, throughout the Southeast as well, just making sure that the name of Argos is thought about throughout the entire state. I think it’s going to make us a better university as a whole.”
Also among the attendees was ‘90s alum Lumon May.
“I go way back with the basketball program, but I’m equally excited about the football program, May said. “A lot of the young people that I’ve coached are going there, and I’m an Argo in and out, from the heart.”
With the announcement of the transition to DI just four months ago, there’s been little time to prepare for the fall sports to begin play, according to UWF Athletic Director Dave Scott.
“There are just a lot of things behind the scenes that have to happen. I mean, besides the things you have to do to step up to be Division I,” said Scott. “And we'll be ready. But we will probably be plugging in those last technology pieces and everything a couple hours before the game.”
The switch to DI athletics means UWF also has to meet requirements of their new conferences, with football competing in the United Athletic Conference and all other sports in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The conferences have teamed up to form Unisun Sports, which recently announced a new media rights agreement.
“But, you know, all the technology changes, all the software changes, we've stepped up to an ESPN Plus broadcast,” Scott stated. “The brand awareness for the University of West Florida and what's going to happen out there nationally is really going to create opportunities for our institution, as it tries to develop partnerships and cooperation with businesses, not only in our community, but across the country.”
Most recently, the university announced a $1.7 million commitment from PenAir Credit Union that includes naming the UWF Field House the PenAir Field House at UWF. Also, this month, UWF received a significant, but undisclosed, financial commitment from local attorneys Michles and Booth to become the Official Law Firm of UWF Athletics and the Argos’ first-ever uniform patch sponsor. And with the move to DI, President Diaz expects more such partnerships to come.
“A lot of those deals that we're talking about actually spill over onto the university side. And there's money that's going into academic programs, student support programs,” said President Diaz. “We're really seeing that come to life and being reinvigorated because, let's be honest, it's a new conversation that's being had and folks being excited. That tends to get people to want to open up their checkbooks for philanthropy and for partnerships.
A $9 million gift from philanthropist Darrell Gooden, who passed away in June, made construction of UWF’s new multi-use campus stadium possible. When completed next fall, the stadium will hold 10,000 spectators with 7,500 seats, including premium seats, club areas and suites.
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Despite the ongoing construction, one part of the new stadium that is ready for fans to enjoy is a new 85-foot video board.
“Tremendous graphics, tremendous ability for us to do replay, all kinds of videos, promotions, and also a sound system that is probably going to generate some noise complaints, to be honest, on game day,” said Diaz, pointing out their intention to get the video board installed for the fans to compensate for all the construction. “It is a difference maker.”
In addition to the video board, Scott says they’ve finished enough other projects at the stadium and are good to go for this week’s season-opening football game.
“We're going to be ready Aug. 27 to have approximately 3,800 seats on the east side of the stadium, and we'll have availability in the north and south end zone,” Scott explained, adding that the north end zone will be more of a student area and the south end zone will be sort of a group area. “We will not have access to the west side of the stadium. That will be a construction site. The neat thing about, you know, going to games this season is you're going to see the stadium come out of the ground. Right. You'll see the phoenix rising, so to speak.”
Although much of the excitement over the move to Division I has been centered on football, it was the Men’s soccer team that got things started.
Delayed by Pensacola-area thunderstorms that forced cancellation of the women’s match, the Men’s soccer team took part in the Argos’ first-ever DI competition on Aug. 20 against Texas Rio Grande Valley.
The Argos scored the first goal of the match and went into the second half with a lead before losing 3-2.
The UWF football team is next in action, taking the field at Darrell Gooden Stadium tomorrow in their first-ever DI game against Southern Illinois. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
UWF volleyball will face Wheeling to begin their DI campaign at home Friday at noon.
