Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida, near Fort Myers. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second-youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It offers 58 bachelor's degree programs, 25 master's degree programs, 6 doctoral degree programs, and 12 graduate certificates.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles refer to the fifteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Florida Gulf Coast University, located in unincorporated Lee County, Florida near Fort Myers, in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and tennis; women's-only: softball, swimming and diving, indoor volleyball, and beach volleyball; and men's-only: baseball. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the ASUN Conference (ASUN). FGCU is also notable as the youngest institution competing in NCAA Division I, having been officially founded in 1991 and started classes in 1997. Their mascot is Azul the Eagle.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the ASUN Conference.
The South Florida Bulls men's soccer team represents the University of South Florida in the sport of soccer. The Bulls currently compete in the American Athletic Conference within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). USF plays in Corbett Stadium, which opened in 2011 and is also used by the USF women's soccer team. Prior to that, they played at USF Soccer Field from their first season in 1965 until 1978 and USF Soccer Stadium from 1979 until 2010. They are coached by Bob Butehorn, who is in his sixth year with the Bulls as of the 2022 season.
The 2012–13 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by second year head coach Andy Enfield, played their home games at Alico Arena and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished A-Sun play with a record of 13–5 to finish in second place. In only their second year of full NCAA eligibility, the Eagles won the Atlantic Sun tournament, beating top-seeded Mercer in the championship game, to earn their first ever bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 15 seed in the south region. Guard Sherwood Brown was named the A-Sun player of the year.
Sherwood Terrell Brown is an American professional basketball player for the Al-Karkh of the Iraqi Basketball Premier League. From 2009 to 2013, he played college basketball at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. Brown was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2013 as a senior.
The 2013–14 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. FGCU was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference and were the defending A-Sun Tournament champion. They played their home games at Alico Arena.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Karl Wade Smesko is the current head coach of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. He previously served as the founding head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast women's basketball team from 2002 to 2024.
David Tollett is an American college baseball coach who has been the head coach of Florida Gulf Coast since 2002, the program's first season. Under Tollett, the Eagles have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments and won Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun) regular season championships in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019, and 2021.Tollett's 2017 season was the most successful in program history as the Green and Blue won a program record 43 games, claimed the program's first ASUN Tournament championship, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time. After starting the season 24–3 and defeating then #2 and eventual National Champion Florida, then #1 FSU and Miami in the same season for the first time ever, FGCU rose to as high as #9 in the Collegiate Baseball News poll - marking the highest ranking ever achieved by any athletics program in school history. Following the hot start to the season, Tollett was named the Perfect Game Midseason Coach of the Year. The Green and Blue suffered a number of tough losses in April, but ended the regular season by sweeping its way through its final three conference series and earned the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Tournament. After falling into the loser's bracket following a loss on day two, FGCU won an improbable four elimination games in less than 30 hours and defeated top-seeded Jacksonville twice, including an extra-inning thriller in the winner-take-all championship. With the ASUN's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in hand, the Eagles earned the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional and defeated No. 3 Michigan, 10–6, in its first-ever NCAA tournament game. Tollett was named the A-Sun Coach of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2019. Worst loss of career came during the 2013 season when Tollett and the Eagles lost to an NAIA school, Ave Maria. Tollett has had 47 players at FGCU drafted or signed as free agents in Major League Baseball including Chris Sale, Casey Coleman, Richard Bleier, Jacob Barnes, Jake Noll, and Kutter Crawford.
The 2014–15 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles were coached by 13th year head coach Karl Smesko and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 31–3, 14–0 in A-Sun play to win the Atlantic Sun regular season title. They also won the Atlantic Sun Tournament to earn an automatic to the 2015 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, where they lost to Florida State in the second round.
Robert "Bob" Butehorn is an American soccer coach who currently coaches the South Florida Bulls men's soccer program. Butehorn attended the University of Tampa, where he was part of the team's 1981 NCAA Division II Soccer Championship run. He previously served as the head coach for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's soccer program.
The 2015–16 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. FGCU was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They played their home games at Alico Arena and were led by third year head coach Joe Dooley. They finished the season 21–14, 8–6 in A-Sun play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They defeated Kennesaw State, North Florida, and Stetson to be champions of the A-Sun tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four to advance to the first round where they lost to North Carolina.
Rodrigo Saravia is a Guatemalan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga FPD club Peréz Zeledón and the Guatemala national team.
Nathan Ingham is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Atlético Ottawa in the Canadian Premier League.
Joey Cantens is a professional basketball coach, currently serving as the head coach for Daytona State College. He previously worked at Florida Gulf Coast as an assistant coach, and for professional basketball teams in Germany.
The 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles were led by fifth-year head coach Joe Dooley and played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 12–2 in ASUN play to win the ASUN regular season championship. In the ASUN tournament, they defeated USC Upstate and North Florida to advance to the championship game where they lost to Lipscomb. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.
The 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Eagles, led by sixteenth year head coach Karl Smesko, played their home games at Alico Arena and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 31–5, 12–1 in A-Sun play to win the Atlantic Sun regular season champions. They also won the ASUN Tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, where they upset Missouri in the first round before losing to Stanford in the second round.
The 2017 ASUN Conference men's soccer season was the 40th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The regular season began on August 25, 2017 and ended on October 28, 2017. The regular season culminated with the 2017 ASUN Men's Soccer Tournament, which was held from November 3–11, 2017. The tournament determined the conference's tournament champion, and automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.
The 2018–19 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Michael Fly and played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
