The West Florida Argonauts (or UWF Argonauts) are the athletic teams that represent the
University of West Florida
The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida. Established in 1963 as part of the State University System of Florida, the university sits on the third largest campus in the State University Sy ...
, located in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
, in intercollegiate sports at the
Division II level of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA), primarily competing in the
Gulf South Conference
The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States.
History
Originally known as the Mid ...
(GSC) since the 1994–95 academic year. The Argonauts previously competed in the
Southern States Conference
The Southern States Conference (SSC) was an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that included member institutions in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida. The league exi ...
of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA) from 1974–75 to 1993–94, with a brief hiatus of dropping its athletics program from 1976–77 to 1979–80.
West Florida competes in 15 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball.
Football
UWF made the decision to add a football program. The Argos signed their first recruiting class in February 2015 and the fall of 2015 featured practice and intrasquad scrimmages. The first year of varsity competition was the 2016 season. The Argos’ first home game was on September 10, 2016, at
Blue Wahoos Stadium
Admiral Fetterman Field (located in the Community Maritime Park and also locally referred to as Blue Wahoos Stadium) is a multi-use park in Pensacola, Florida that includes a stadium, commercial buildings, a waterfront public park and amphitheate ...
against
Missouri S&T Miners
The Missouri S&T Miners (variously S&T or Missouri Miners) are the athletic teams that represent the Missouri University of Science and Technology, located in Rolla, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the ...
. In 2017, the Argonauts advanced to the national championship game, where they lost to
Texas A&M–Commerce 37–27. In 2019, West Florida won their first national title when they defeated Minnesota State 48–40.
Program achievements
Baseball
West Florida has had 18
Major League Baseball Draft
The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...
selections since the draft began in 1965.
Achievements
NCAA Division II Team National Championships (9)
*Baseball: 2011
* Football: 2019
* Men's Golf: 2001, 2008
* Men's Tennis: 2004, 2005, 2014, 2017
* Women's Soccer: 2012
NAIA Team National Championships (1)
* Softball: 1993
Gulf South Conference All Sports Trophies (30)
* Men's: 8 (97-98, 02–03, 06–07, 11–12, 12–13, 15–16, 16–17, 17–18)
* Women's: 16 (97-98, 98–99, 03–04, 05–06, 06–07, 07–08, 08–09, 09–10, 10–11, 11–12, 12–13, 13–14, 14–15, 15–16, 16–17, 18–19)
* Overall (started in 2013–14): 6 (13–14, 14–15, 15–16, 16–17, 17–18, 18–19)
NCAA Division II Individual National Championships (18)
* Men's Golf – Orjan Larsen (1998)
* Men's Golf - Chandler Blanchet (2017)
* Women's Swimming & Diving - Monica Amaral (2016 1-Meter & 3-Meter Diving)
* Women's Swimming & Diving - Theresa Michalak (2016 100-Yard Breaststroke)
* Women's Swimming & Diving - Monica Amaral (2017 1-Meter & 3-Meter Diving)
* Women's Swimming & Diving - Theresa Michalak (2017 50-Yard Freestyle, 100-Yard Freestyle, 100-Yard Breaststroke, 100 Butterfly)
* Men's Tennis – Jens Gerlach/Matt Wallhead (1996)
* Men's Tennis – Radovan Chrz (2000 – ITA Singles, ITA "Super Bowl")
* Men's Tennis – Radovan Chrz (2000 – ITA Singles)
* Men's Tennis – Bruno Savi (2013 – ITA Singles)
* Men's Tennis - Alex Peyrot/Pedro Dumont (2016 - ITA Doubles)
* Women's Tennis - Berta Bonardi (2018 - ITA Singles)
* Women's Tennis - Berta Bonardi (2019 - ITA Singles)
NAIA Individual National Championships: (6)
* Men's Cross Country – John Viitanen (1996 – Marathon)
* Men's Tennis – Eric Hochman (1990 – Singles)
* Men's Tennis – Eric Hochman/Geoffrey Watts (1991 – Doubles)
* Men's Tennis – Sorin Cherebetiu/Andrej Tonejc (1992 – Doubles)
* Women's Tennis – Bronna Allison/Laura Cadena (1988 – Doubles)
* Women's Tennis – Bronna Allison (1989 – Singles)
Conference Championships (114)
Gulf South Conference Championships (109)
* Baseball: 2 (2007, 2021)
* Football: 2 (2021, 2022)
* Men's Basketball: 1 (2018)
* Men's Cross Country: 2 (1994, 1996)
* Men's Golf: 18 (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
* Men's Soccer: 10 (1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2021)
* Men's Tennis: 14 (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022)
* Softball: 4 (1998, 2004, 2005, 2019)
* Volleyball: 11 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
* Women's Basketball: 1 (2014)
* Women's Cross Country: 3 (1996, 2011, 2012)
* Women's Golf: 11 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021)
* Women's Soccer: 11 (1996, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018)
* Women's Tennis: 19 (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
New South Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championships (5)
* Women's Swimming and Diving: 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022
Gulf South Conference Commissioner's Trophies (8)
* Krissy Styrna - Softball (2001–02)
* Kevin Warrick - Men's Golf (2002–03)
* Lindsay Nemanich - Women's Soccer (2006–07)
* Suzana Cavalcante - Women's Tennis (2007–08)
* Courtney Jones - Women's Soccer (2009–10)
* Kevin Ducros - Men's Tennis (2012–13)
* Autumn Duyn - Women's Volleyball (2015–16)
* Chandler Blanchet - Men's Golf (2017–18)
Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame (4)
* Richard Berg, Athletic Director - Class of 2014 (Inaugural Class)
* Radovan Chrz, Men's Tennis - Class of 2017
* Suzana Cavalcante, Women's Tennis - Class of 2018
* Kevin Warrick, Men's Golf - Class of 2019
Notable athletes
*
Mickey Gorka
Michael "Mickey" Gorka ( he, מיקי גורקה; born November 15, 1972) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and former professional player.
Early life and playing career
Gorka was born in Haifa, Israel. He played college basketball for ...
(born 1972), Israeli basketball player and coach
*
Moochie Norris
Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris (born July 27, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the Houston Push ...
graduated in 1996 and played in the NBA for many years.
References
External links
*
{{Florida College Sports