The West Florida Argonauts (or UWF Argonauts) are the athletic teams that represent the University of West Florida, located in Pensacola, Florida, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) since the 1994–95 academic year. The Argonauts previously competed in the Southern States Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1974–75 to 1993–94, with a brief hiatus of dropping its athletics program from 1976–77 to 1979–80.
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| West Florida Argonauts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of West Florida |
| Conference | Gulf South (primary) |
| NCAA | Division II |
| President | Martha Saunders |
| Athletic director | Dave Scott |
| Location | Pensacola, Florida |
| First season | 1974 |
| Varsity teams | 15 (7 men's, 8 women's) |
| Football stadium | Pen Air Field |
| Basketball arena | UWF Field House |
| Baseball stadium | Jim Spooner Field |
| Softball stadium | UWF Softball Complex |
| Soccer stadium | Publix Sports Park |
| Aquatics center | UWF Aquatic Center |
| Tennis venue | Ralph "Skeeter" Carson Tennis Complex |
| Mascot | Argie the Argonaut |
| Nickname | Argos/Argonauts |
| Colors | Royal blue and Kelly green[1] |
| Website | goargos |
| Team NCAA championships | |
| 9 | |
| Individual and relay NCAA champions | |
| 18 | |
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.[2]
Football
UWF made the decision to add a football program in 2013. 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 against Missouri S&T Miners. 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
| Gulf South Conference Champions | 2021, 2022 |
| NCAA Division II Team Playoff Participants | 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| NCAA Division II Regional Championships | 2017, 2019, 2022 |
| NCAA Division II National Championships | 2019 |
Baseball
West Florida has had 23 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[3]
| Year | Player | Round | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Thomas Czuk | 24 | Athletics |
| 1987 | Randall Ward | 36 | Braves |
| 1989 | Mark Ettles | 33 | Tigers |
| 1991 | Patrick Underhill | 50 | Rangers |
| 1992 | Jason Smith | 37 | Red Sox |
| 1993 | Chris Schmitt | 21 | Brewers |
| 1994 | Greg Beck | 34 | Brewers |
| 1997 | Ron Ricks | 57 | Angels |
| 2003 | Jeremy Noegel | 34 | Blue Jays |
| 2004 | Pat Cottrell | 33 | Devil Rays |
| 2009 | John Church | 23 | Mets |
| 2010 | Kevin Johnson | 20 | Angels |
| 2011 | Greg Pron | 42 | Mets |
| 2011 | Brandon Brewer | 36 | Angels |
| 2011 | Ben Hawkins | 36 | Nationals |
| 2011 | Daniel Vargas-Vila | 28 | Angels |
| 2011 | Dustin Lawley | 19 | Mets |
| 2012 | Brian Ellington | 16 | Marlins |
| 2014 | Jordan DeLorenzo | 12 | Cardinals |
| 2014 | Dawson Brown | 24 | Athletics |
| 2014 | Cliff Covington | 30 | Giants |
| 2015 | Ledarious Clark | 12 | Rangers |
| 2024 | Darrien McDowell | 6 | Padres |
Achievements[4]
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 (115)
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 (1995-98, 2001-03, 2006-08, 2011, 2013-19, 2021)
- Men's Soccer: 10 (1998, 2001, 2003, 2006-10, 2013, 2021)
- Men's Tennis: 14 (1995, 1997-99, 2002-03, 2005-06, 2012-15, 2017, 2022)
- Softball: 4 (1998, 2004-05, 2019)
- Volleyball: 11 (2008-13, 2017-19, 2021-22)
- Women's Basketball: 1 (2014)
- Women's Cross Country: 3 (1996, 2011-12)
- Women's Golf: 11 (2006-10, 2012-16, 2021)
- Women's Soccer: 11 (1996, 1998-99, 2006, 2008-10, 2012-13, 2016, 2018)
- Women's Tennis: 19 (1995-96, 1998-99, 2000-02, 2006-07, 2009, 2011-19)
New South Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Conference Championships (6)
- Women's Swimming and Diving: 6 (2015-16, 2020-23)
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 (born 1972), Israeli basketball player and coach
- Moochie Norris (1996), former NBA player.
- Austin Reed (American football), NFL quarterback
References
External links
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