North Florida Ospreys - Overview

Overview

The University of North Florida's intercollegiate athletics program began in 1983, originally as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Ospreys joined NCAA Division II in 1993, the same year the UNF Arena opened. Initially, UNF competed in the Sunshine State Conference, and then in 1997 moved to the Peach Belt Conference. In 2005, the Ospreys began the transition to Division I, joining the Atlantic Sun Conference. The transition's final year was the 2008-09 season, with UNF becoming tournament eligible beginning in the 2009-10 season.

UNF is a non-football school. However, the prospect of an Osprey football team is a popular topic among students and the community. In 2013, UNF President John Delaney revealed the school would begin preliminary discussions about adding the sport.

UNF won the Sunshine State Conference's all-sports title four times and won four NAIA national titles—men's golf in 1991 and 1993, and women's tennis in 1986 and 1994. UNF's first Division I conference title came in 2008 when the men's golf team captured the Atlantic Sun crown.

In February 2009, UNF hired Lee Moon to be the new athletic director. He is UNF's sixth athletic director and previously worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Wyoming, and Marshall University. Since taking over UNF athletics, he has made many staff changes to move the program forward.