The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (also FGCU) refer to the fifteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent

Florida Gulf Coast University 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 acc ...

, located in unincorporated

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in southwestern Florida, United States, on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 760,822. In 2022, the population was 822,453, making it the eighth-most populous county in the state. The county seat ...

near

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

, 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 NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

and are members of the

ASUN Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

(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. FGCU athletics began in the NAIA. In 2002, Florida Gulf Coast became an independent member of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

. In 2006, Florida Gulf Coast applied for

status and became a transitory Division I effective in the 2007–08 season. Florida Gulf Coast became a full Division I member on August 11, 2011. In the

2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2012– ...

, FGCU became the first number 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16.

Revenues

FGCU Athletics earned $4.5 million in revenue for the 2015 fiscal year, with revenue from ticket sales earning over $800,000 for FY 2015. Men's basketball is the athletic department's "cash cow." Men's and women's basketball account for over $600,000, and baseball draws $28,000 in ticket revenue.

Conference affiliations

NCAA *

(2007–present)

Varsity teams

Baseball

The FGCU baseball team became eligible to compete in the NCAA post season in the 2010 season after the two-year NCAA reclassifying period. FGCU has several former baseball players playing in the minor leagues, and has three MLB pitchers:

Chris Sale Christopher Allen Sale (born March 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He throws left-handed ...

(Boston Red Sox),

Richard Bleier Richard Sidney Bleier (born April 16, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, and Boston Red Sox. In high school, he was a S ...

(Boston Red Sox and Team Israel), and

Jacob Barnes Jacob Andrew Barnes (born April 14, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Ange ...

(Los Angeles Angels). In 2017, the Green and Blue appeared in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. FGCU defeated Michigan in the first game 10–6 before falling in the next two contests of the double-elimination regional to Davidson and UNC, respectively.

Men's basketball

In 2012, FGCU's first year of full Division I post-season eligibility, the men's team played in the Atlantic Sun Championship final, losing to Belmont. In 2013, the team won the Atlantic Sun championship, beating top-seeded Mercer in the conference tournament final. That earned the team an automatic invitation to the

. In its first-ever tournament appearance, the No. 15 seeded Eagles upset the No. 2 seeded

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

in the first round of the tournament, and the No. 7 seeded

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

in the second round. The Eagles became the seventh No. 15 seed to advance to the round of 32 and the first to advance to the Sweet 16.

Women's basketball

On March 24, 2007, FGCU women's basketball team ended their 35–1 season with a loss in the Division II National Championship to

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

. One year later, in 2008, the Women's Basketball team qualified for the WNIT, becoming the first team to qualify for the WNIT in its first season of Division I sports. During the 2008 WNIT Tourney, the team became the first

Atlantic Sun The ''Atlantic Sun'' is a local newspaper for the West Coast region of Cape Town, Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is t ...

conference team to win a post-season game since 1998, when

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

won in the Women's NCAA tourney. The Women's team won the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship with a conference record of 17–3 but was ineligible to compete in the conference tourney, as the team was in transition from Division II to Division I athletics. In the 2010–11 season, the FGCU woman's basketball team won the Atlantic Sun Conference again. In the 2011–12 Season, the Women's team won both the Atlantic Sun Conference's regular season and conference tourney titles, earning its first berth into the

NCAA Women's Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Div ...

. The Eagles lost to St. Bonaventure University in the first round of the tournament 72–65 in Tallahassee, FL.

Men's soccer

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's soccer team represents Florida Gulf Coast University in all NCAA Division I men's soccer competitions. Founded in 2007, the Eagles are one of the youngest men's soccer programs in the country. The team made the NCAA tournament in the first year of eligibility, in 2011, and returned in 2012. They most recently returned to the NCAA tournament in 2014 where they lost to Coastal Carolina 1–0. The men's soccer team plays its home games at the

FGCU Soccer Complex The FGCU Soccer Complex is the home field for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's soccer team and the FGCU Eagles women's soccer team. The FGCU men's soccer team has played at the complex since the team's home debut against UNLV on September 9 ...

Women's soccer

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles women's soccer team represents Florida Gulf Coast University in all NCAA Division I women's soccer competitions. The Green and Blue have competed in the NCAA tournament 6 times, with a win against South Florida during the 2015 tournament. The women's team played their first home NCAA tournament game in 2014, before a record crowd of 2,014 at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

Non-varsity teams

Men's ice hockey

FGCU has a successful men's hockey program. Part of the ACHA, FGCU fields a hockey team at the D2 and D3 levels and often qualifies for the national championship tournaments.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, color=white , list = {{Atlantic Sun Conference navbox {{Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association navbox {{Florida College Sports {{Divison1floridacolleges Sports in Fort Myers, Florida