Gov. Rick Scott had two conditions when he agreed to sign legislation making Florida Poly a state university in 2012, recalls founding President Randy Avent: No faculty tenure and no sports program.
This fall, only one of those will remain in effect.
Answering what he described as "a clarion call from our students," Florida Poly's current President Devin Stephenson says the advent of intercollegiate athletics will enhance student life and be "like glue" binding the campus and its surrounding community.
The university has a number of robust and competitive club teams to help launch the program. There's no push yet for an on-campus stadium like USF is building for its football team. Florida Poly is happy to call the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale its home field.
Eight sports will launch this fall, including men's and women's soccer, cross country, basketball, baseball and softball. There is talk of joining the Sun Conference, which currently includes 10 schools in Florida and Georgia including St. Thomas and Florida Memorial universities in Miami Gardens, New College of Florida and Keiser University in West Palm Beach.