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| FIU Panthers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Florida International University |
| Conference | Conference USA The American (men's soccer, swimming & diving) |
| NCAA | Division I(FBS) |
| Athletic director | Scott Carr[1] |
| Location | Miami, Florida |
| Varsity teams | 18 (7 men's, 11 women's) |
| Football stadium | Pitbull Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Ocean Bank Convocation Center |
| Baseball stadium | FIU Baseball Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | FIU Soccer Stadium |
| Tennis venue | FIU Tennis Courts |
| Mascot | Roary the Panther |
| Nickname | Panthers |
| Fight song | FIU Fight Song |
| Colors | Blue and gold[2] |
| Website | fiusports |
 | |
TheFIU Panthers are the athletic teams representingFlorida International University, an American public university located inMiami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Division I athletics as members ofConference USA. Themen's soccer and swimming & diving teams compete in theAmerican Athletic Conference. Until 2011, they were known as theFIU Golden Panthers.
FIU's colors are navy blue and gold, and their mascot is the Panther (taken from theFlorida panther, an endangered species endemic to the nearbyEverglades), which is embodied by apanther named Roary the Panther. The school's original nickname was the "Sunblazers", but it was changed in 1987 to the "Golden Panthers", with the word "Golden" officially dropped beginning with the 2010–11 school year.
FIU is a member of the NCAA, participating in Division I, and is a member ofConference USA. FIU joined the Sun Belt Conference in 1998 having previously competed in theTrans America Athletic Conference (TAAC; now the Atlantic Sun Conference), from 1991 to 1998. They joined Conference USA in 2013.
The FIU Athletic Department has produced scores of professional andOlympic athletes, including current players inMajor League Baseball,Major League Soccer, theNational Basketball Association, theNational Football League, and in theWomen's National Basketball Association.
FIU's current athletic director is Scott Carr, who was hired on November 30, 2021. He most recently worked as deputy AD with theUCF Knights, and also previously worked in executive athletic roles with theAuburn Tigers andSouthern Miss Golden Eagles.[1]
| Division | Years | Conference affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division II | 1965–66 to 1987–88 | Independent[3] |
| NCAA Division I | 1988–89 to 1990–91 | |
| 1991–92 to 1997–98 | Trans America Athletic Conference (nowAtlantic Sun Conference) | |
| 1998–99 to 2012–13 | Sun Belt Conference | |
| 2013–14 to present | Conference USA (East) |
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Beach volleyball |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Football | Golf |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Track and field† | Softball |
| Swimming and diving | |
| Tennis | |
| Track and field1 | |
| Volleyball | |
| 1 – includes both indoor and outdoor | |
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FIU's baseball team began play in 1973 as a Division II member and is one of the most successful programs in the school's history. The team has reached the post-season 14 times in school history, including nine times as a Division I program. The other five appearances came as a Division II program and included a Division II College World Series appearance.
Many players from past years have been drafted byMajor League Baseball teams and have played in the majors. FIU's most notable baseball alumni isMike Lowell, formerthird baseman of theNew York Yankees,Florida Marlins, andBoston Red Sox. Lowell was the 2007World Series MVP.Garrett Wittels finished the 2010 season with a 56-gamehitting streak, two hits shy of theDivision I record, set the FIU season record for hits, was nominated for theBest Male College Athlete ESPY Award for his 2010 performance, wonSun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named aNCBWA andLouisville Slugger/TPX PreseasonAll-American.[4][5][6][7]
The current head coach of the FIU men's basketball team isJeremy Ballard, who was hired on April 20, 2018.
FIU men's basketball team had its lone NCAA tournament appearance in the1995 tournament under then Head CoachBob Weltlich. FIU won the TAAC Basketball Tournament and in doing so earned an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. FIU was seeded #16 and played the #1 seededUCLA Bruins in the first round of the West Regional, which was played at theTaco Bell Arena inBoise, Idaho. The Panthers lost the game to the Bruins by the score of 92–56, being the first tournament win in UCLA's successful run to the National Championship that year.
FIU alumni who have played in the National Basketball Association includeCarlos Arroyo andRaja Bell.
The women's basketball team plays their home games on-campus at theOcean Bank Convocation Center. The current head coach is Jesyka Burks-Wiley, who won the Coach of the Year honor in Conference USA in the 2020–21 season.
The FIUPanthers football team competes in the NCAA FBSFootball Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A), the highest level in intercollegiate football, and is a member ofConference USA. They are led by head coachWillie Simmons and play atPitbull Stadium on FIU's Westchester campus. The team began playing in 2002 as a member of NCAA Division I-AA, now known as the NCAA FCSFootball Championship Subdivision. Three years later, the FIU Athletics Department decided to move the program up to Division I-A. FIU became the fastest school to make such a move from a program's inception.
On August 29, 2002, the program played its first game at home againstSaint Peter's College in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,314. FIU defeated St. Peter's by the score of 27–3.
The FIU football team's main rivals are theFlorida Atlantic Owls and theUniversity of Miami Hurricanes. Both FIU and Florida Atlantic play annually in a game known as theShula Bowl. The game is named after formerMiami Dolphins head coach and Football Hall of Fame inducteeDon Shula. The Panthers and Hurricanes last played on November 23, 2019, atLoanDepot Park, with FIU defeating UM 30–24.
FIU has won twoNCAADivision IInational championships in men's soccer. In 1982, FIU beatSouthern Connecticut State by the score of 2–1, to win the school's first national title in any sport. Two years later the Panthers won their second national title beatingSeattle Pacific University 1–0. To date these are the only national titles the university has achieved in athletic competition.
The men's soccer team competes inThe American. The team previously played in theAtlantic Soccer Conference from 2000 to 2004 and the Trans America Athletic Conference (now known as theAtlantic Sun Conference) from 1991 to 1999.
FIU has regularly qualified for the NCAA tournament in men's soccer, both as Division I and Division II program. In addition to the national championships achieved by the team as a Division II program, the team reached theDivision I championship game in 1996, losing toSt. John's University 4–1.
Recently, two new soccer fields were finished in the summer of 2007 on the northwest side of campus. These fields will complement the other two, making four soccer fields for use by both the men and women's soccer teams, as well as practice fields for the football team.
The women's soccer team competes inConference USA after previously being unaffiliated from 1985 to 1999 and a member of theSun Belt Conference from 2000 through 2012.
FIU's softball team competes inConference USA after previously being a member of theAtlantic Sun Conference in 1998, Independent from 1999 to 2000, and of theSun Belt Conference from 2001 through 2012. The team plays its home games at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
FIU's Swimming & Diving team competes inConference USA after previously being a member of theSun Belt Conference from 2003–2004 through 2012–2013.
FIU's Track & Field teams compete inConference USA after previously being a member of theAtlantic Sun Conference in 1998.
FIU's indoor and sand volleyball teams are both under the helm of Rita Buck-Crockett. The indoor volleyball was established in 1974, while in 2013 the sand volleyball team is the newest sport for the athletic program. The indoor squad plays their matches at theOcean Bank Convocation Center and the sand squad plays primarily on sand courts on FIU's main campus.
Founded in 1989,[8] FIU Rugby competes in the South Independent Rugby Conference against in-state Florida rivals such asUSF andUCF. FIU Rugby has improved since hiring Head Coach Ronny Suarez in late spring 2015, defeating two-time D1-AA national champions Central Florida in October 2015.[9]
Pitbull Stadium was originally opened in 1995 as a standardtrack and field athletics stadium, with mobile seats for the football end zones and an artificial turf infield. In 2007, the stadium was closed and converted into a dedicated football stadium, with the track removed, the original turf replaced withFieldTurf, and permanent stands providing 20,000 seats. It was re-opened in time for the 2008 college football season. Further improvements to FIU Stadium are ongoing, with a future capacity target of 45,000 seats.[citation needed]
During Pitbull Stadium's reconstruction, the Panthers football team played at theMiami Orange Bowl in the 2007 season, and actually won the final college football game played at the stadium before it was demolished to make way for the newMarlins Park.
Ocean Bank Convocation Center (previously known as Sunblazer Arena, Golden Panther Arena, Pharmed Arena, U.S. Century Bank Arena, and FIU Arena), is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena that opened on February 1, 1986. The FIU Panthers' basketball and volleyball teams play there. It was originally named Sunblazer Arena but was renamed Golden Panther Arena when FIU's athletic teams changed their nickname from Sunblazers to Golden Panthers in 1987. It was eventually renamed on September 1, 2004, in honor of Pharmed Group after a US$1 million donation was made to the FIU athletic department by Pharmed owners Jorge and Carlos de Cespedes. After Pharmed was liquidated in 2008 the arena name was briefly changed to FIU Arena. Later in 2008, the name was changed to U.S. Century Bank Arena whenthe local bank of that name acquired naming rights. The name reverted to the FIU Arena name in 2014, but was renamed the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in January 2018.
Other events such as MTV's Campus Invasion, the Miss Universe Contest, National Political Rallys, music concerts, ceremonies and fairs are also held year-round at the arena.
Infinity Insurance Park is a baseball stadium located in the Modesto A. Maidique Campus of Florida International University in Westchester, Florida. It is used as the home venue of the university's baseball team. The facility opened on January 26, 1996, with an FIU victory against Bethune–Cookman, 1–0. The baseball team played its 2000 season at the Homestead Sports Complex in Homestead, Florida while the facility underwent an expansion.
In 2005, the facility also hosted the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament.[citation needed]
The stadium was renamed Infinity Insurance Park in 2018.
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