It was one week ago that the University of West Florida announced plans to move from NCAA Division 2 to NCAA Division 1 athletics beginning this fall. UWF President Manny Diaz and UWF Athletic Director Dave Scott recently sat down with Sandra Averhart for a conversation about the move and what it means for the university.
President Diaz made the milestone announcement on April 2.
"Earlier today, our board of trustees voted unanimously to approve the University of West Florida athletics joining the Atlantic Sun Conference and the United Athletic Conference, transitioning the University of West Florida to NCAA Division 1 for the fall of 2026," Diaz announced at last week's press conference.
In addressing what prompted the decision, Diaz says the issue has been on the table for a while, spurred in part by the success of UWF football, the lack of enough football teams in the Gulf South Conference to create a viable schedule, and UWF's unsuccessful efforts to secure a spot in other Division 2 conferences that made sense geographically.
"The easiest thing for us would have been to say we're just going to stay pat where we are, and whatever happens happens," he said. "But it became very apparent that our status in D2 conference-wise was not going to be a viable option for us going forward."
Diaz says that realization triggered discussions with UWF stakeholders, key donors, and others in the community about possible solutions.
"And at that time we received a letter of interest from the UAC Atlantic sun conference for Division 1, which that letter of interest is what is allowing us to make this move now, even under a moratorium," he added.
President Diaz also pointed to the overall success of UWF athletics, with 136 conference championships and 11 D2 national championships, as well as the growth on campus with new buildings under construction and enrollment now topping 15,000. Describing athletics as the "front porch" or "tip of the spear," Diaz expects the move to Division 1 to bring even more growth.
"This is going to give us a reach publicly that's going to allow the institution to raise its profile and start having those conversations in those places where we're recruiting students, not just student athletes, but students, when we're going to be able to be in that Jacksonville market, right?" Diaz continued. "We're going to be able to be down in southwest Florida and really across the whole state and into the Southeast and be able to compete in cities like Nashville and Charlotte and have those conversations and have folks start to investigate what's going on on your campus."
According to Diaz, UWF will take a measured approach to growth to maintain smaller class sizes and sufficient operations from facilities and maintenance to campus police. And he assures UWF has a strategy for raising the money to support the D1 move that won't take away from academics.
"In Florida, there's very strict guidelines as what monies can be used for what things, and the dollars that are used for the operation of the university and the dollars that are used in the classroom cannot be used in athletics," he said. "Athletics are funded through revenues, through fees, through auxiliaries."
Currently, the university is looking across campus at all revenue-generating opportunities, including what athletics can bring in.
"Football is going to naturally generate more revenue with a brand new stadium and having premium seating and suite opportunities for sponsorship," he added. "Right now, we're limited in the corporate partnerships that we have because we really don't have a space for them. Our current stadium is limited. Our new stadium is going to provide us with so many more opportunities for that. And we've already had an outpouring of support and interest from corporate partners, which are new monies coming into the institution."
Additionally, UWF will be able to generate new revenue with the opportunity for so-called money games that will involve away games against bigger schools. Already, the move is generating more buzz among alumni and donors. Athletic Director Dave Scott is excited about this new chapter for UWF, beginning with the new conferences that the Argos are entering this fall.
"It's a consortium of two conferences. One is the Atlantic Sun, which has the members of the institutions that are like us in Florida, North Florida, FGCU, Stetson, Jacksonville University, you know, plus Lipscomb, Nashville, and Queens, and Charlotte, which gives us a great opportunity to compete in where our students are coming from and attract students from those areas," Scott explained.
UWF will have football affiliation in the United Athletic Conference, which lets the Argos renew old rivalries against former GSC schools such as North Alabama, West Georgia, and Central Arkansas, and create new ones against schools like Eastern Kentucky, Abilene Christian, and Tarleton State. UWF will begin competing in Division I athletics in the fall of 2026 with full membership after a three-year transition period. Scott says it's a great opportunity for Argo student athletes, and he believes many of them will be ready for the increased level of competition.
"We had a national championship golf team. Our soccer teams will probably be very competitive right away," said Scott. "Our tennis teams are ranked one and two in the country. So, we have played Division 1 competition before, and we've done OK. So, we expect to do well in some sports, and in other sports we'll have to grow some."
For his part, President Diaz says UWF's move to Division 1 goes beyond athletics, he says. The move will accelerate and improve the entire institution and its surrounding community.
"This fits right into that giant puzzle, which is making UWF a first-choice university," he said.
Looking ahead, UWF has established a committee that will raise money for the move to D1. The $2 million fee for the application, which must be submitted by June 1.
