Univ. of West Florida

[GeauxSioux]

UWF aims to boost athletics

Rumors about the potential for NCAA Division I sports and the possibility of football at the University of West Florida have swirled for months.

Now the school has made its first substantive move in that direction, unveiling the UWF Athletics Visioning Team 2009 on Monday.

The 25-person fact-finding committee will examine the state of athletics and could determine whether the school is fit to add sports or move up from NCAA Division II to Division I. A move to Division I would put UWF among the high-profile universities on the top level of intercollegiate athletics.

UWF is the only public university in Florida that is not a member of NCAA Division I. Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers was the last to make the jump.

Add another one to the mix.

[MplsBison]

Pensacola is a nice little growing market that could support a new FCS team.

They're isolated by geography from the rest of Florida.

They could have a nice rivalry with the U of South Alabama, an hour away in Mobile.

[RD17]

Pensacola is a nice little growing market that could support a new FCS team.

They're isolated by geography from the rest of Florida.

They could have a nice rivalry with the U of South Alabama, an hour away in Mobile.

I talked to a couple of people about UWF a few weeks ago, and as I understand it, going D-I and adding football is not something that is really on the table. Basically this study will either point them in the direction of either adding football and staying D-II or moving to D-I and not have football, at least in the near future.

[GeauxSioux]

Div. I sports costly

A consultant said the move from Division II would include $7.8 million in startup costs, $1.8 million added to the annual athletic budget and other various costs, as well as a $30 million, 5,000-seat events center that would replace the 39-year-old UWF Field House. The consultant also reported an "athletics-only" capital campaign would need to raise $20 million to $25 million.

NACDA Consulting started its feasibility study on March 9. The study cost $42,000 and examined three different options for the future of athletics at UWF:

n Moving up to Division I without football.

n Adding football and staying in Division II.

n Staying put in Division II with no changes.

While the possibility of a Division I move looks bleak, Bense did not rule out adding a Division II football team.

I think UWF should concentrate on the move to Division I. If they look at staying Division II, they will still need to replace the Fieldhouse for BB, as it is more like a high school gym than a legit Division II venue.

Although this may be a problem....

Among the standards to be added after the 2011 moratorium according to the consultant report: a jump to a $1 million application fee and a requirement that every school have a Division I conference affiliation in place before moving up.

[star2city]

UWF is one of the better public schools left in DII and the only public university in Florida not DI. Five years ago, thought UWF had a chance to pass South Alabama in regional prestige: but that window seems to have passed with USA adding FBS football. The USA campus has really taken off since their former corrupt president died. He and his mistress basically had the USA Foundation and it's several hundred million under their thumbs for their private benefit. Now, USA is beginning to look like a real campus instead of a commuter school: a pharmacy school has been added, a research park started, the Med school research has grown, and FBS football will give the school an identity.

[GeauxSioux]

Dragging a thread out of the depths.  UWF started football last year and currently play in the minor league baseball field downtown on the waterfront of Pensacola Bay.  This is about 10 miles from campus. 

Evidently this has not stopped the Argos from success.  In only their second year of football they are going to the D2 national championship game. 

FCS on the horizon?  They will definitely need to upgrade their facilities for such a move.

[nodak651]

3 hours ago, GeauxSioux said:

Dragging a thread out of the depths.  UWF started football last year and currently play in the minor league baseball field downtown on the waterfront of Pensacola Bay.  This is about 10 miles from campus. 

Evidently this has not stopped the Argos from success.  In only their second year of football they are going to the D2 national championship game. 

FCS on the horizon?  They will definitely need to upgrade their facilities for such a move.

Looks like they actually have a pretty nice set up there.  They are averaging about 5,000 a game.

 

[SiouxVolley]

3 hours ago, GeauxSioux said:

Dragging a thread out of the depths.  UWF started football last year and currently play in the minor league baseball field downtown on the waterfront of Pensacola Bay.  This is about 10 miles from campus. 

Evidently this has not stopped the Argos from success.  In only their second year of football they are going to the D2 national championship game. 

FCS on the horizon?  They will definitely need to upgrade their facilities for such a move.

The Sun Belt won't take UWF as long as USA is there.

The Atlantic Sun might, but football would have to go to the Big South.

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

10 hours ago, nodak651 said:

Looks like they actually have a pretty nice set up there.  They are averaging about 5,000 a game.

Heck, I could watch a lot of losing football with that backdrop. So, yeah.

[GeauxSioux]

18 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

The Sun Belt won't take UWF as long as USA is there.

The Atlantic Sun might, but football would have to go to the Big South.

I was thinking FCS, at least as the next step.  There is quite the hole in the FCS map that UWF (Pensacola) would fill.  http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/fcs-team-map/   

Pensacola is only about 3 hours east of Hammond LA (SELU).

The downtown stadium is just temporary, until the on campus stadium is built.  I have not really been following sports much lately, so I had to go looking for what was going on with the on campus facilities. 

Right now they have a field with no stadium...

Artists rendering of new stadium.

[JohnboyND7]

I just moved about a half hour east of Pensacola. Very neat area. More "southern" than "floridian."

[GeauxSioux]

1 hour ago, JohnboyND7 said:

I just moved about a half hour east of Pensacola. Very neat area. More "southern" than "floridian."

Fort Walton Beach or Navarre?  I do a lot of work at Eglin and Hurlburt.

I tell my kids all the time that they live in paradise. 

[JohnboyND7]

1 hour ago, GeauxSioux said:

Fort Walton Beach or Navarre?  I do a lot of work at Eglin and Hurlburt.

I tell my kids all the time that they live in paradise. 

Im in Fort Walton. I work at Eglin. You over here too?

[SiouxVolley]

2 hours ago, GeauxSioux said:

Fort Walton Beach or Navarre?  I do a lot of work at Eglin and Hurlburt.

I tell my kids all the time that they live in paradise. 

West Florida is close to Paradise,  but too many social problems in my book.  Fort Walton has fewer, but really liked Seaside and Rosemary Beach  alot, but those are more invented towns.  Crestview seems rather ideal, as beach towns are just too fake.

[GeauxSioux]

1 hour ago, JohnboyND7 said:

Im in Fort Walton. I work at Eglin. You over here too?

I am a contractor.  Live in Pensacola, but do a lot of work at Eglin.  I was there last week.  I assumed that since you moved from Grand Forks, that you liked worked on a military base, either Eglin or Hurlburt. 

[GeauxSioux]

39 minutes ago, SiouxVolley said:

West Florida is close to Paradise,  but too many social problems in my book.  Fort Walton has fewer, but really liked Seaside and Rosemary Beach  alot, but those are more invented towns.  Crestview seems rather ideal, as beach towns are just too fake.

Seaside is very "invented". It is where the Truman Show was filmed. 

[JohnboyND7]

1 hour ago, GeauxSioux said:

I am a contractor.  Live in Pensacola, but do a lot of work at Eglin.  I was there last week.  I assumed that since you moved from Grand Forks, that you liked worked on a military base, either Eglin or Hurlburt. 

Actually moved from Fargo. Just had forgotten to update my location. 

 

1 hour ago, SiouxVolley said:

West Florida is close to Paradise,  but too many social problems in my book.  Fort Walton has fewer, but really liked Seaside and Rosemary Beach  alot, but those are more invented towns.  Crestview seems rather ideal, as beach towns are just too fake.

Have only briefly been to Crestview. Seemed really nice, but the commute sounds gross. 

1 hour ago, GeauxSioux said:

I am a contractor.  Live in Pensacola, but do a lot of work at Eglin.  I was there last week.  I assumed that since you moved from Grand Forks, that you liked worked on a military base, either Eglin or Hurlburt. 

Moved to Fargo for a year and a half and forgot to update my location. Too busy giving you guys grief. Ever want to grab a beer or something, let me know. V Meister can vouch, I am not completely terrible. 

Was in Pensacola on Friday to see the president. Didnt get a chance to enjoy the town at all... dark, wet, and cold. Will definitely make more trips there in the future. 

 

[GeauxSioux]

3 hours ago, JohnboyND7 said:

Actually moved from Fargo. Just had forgotten to update my location. 

 

Have only briefly been to Crestview. Seemed really nice, but the commute sounds gross. 

Moved to Fargo for a year and a half and forgot to update my location. Too busy giving you guys grief. Ever want to grab a beer or something, let me know. V Meister can vouch, I am not completely terrible. 

Was in Pensacola on Friday to see the president. Didnt get a chance to enjoy the town at all... dark, wet, and cold. Will definitely make more trips there in the future. 

 

We went to the Trump event, as well.  My brother works for the RNC, so we were able to get VIP passes and didn't have to stand in line and were quite close to the stage.

I sent you a PM with contact information, if you are ever over in this neck of the woods.