Florida Tech Panthers
The Florida Tech Panthers are composed of 18 teams representing the Florida Institute of Technology in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming, and track and field. Men's sports include baseball and golf. Women's sports include softball and volleyball. The Panthers compete in the NCAA Division II and are members of the Sunshine State Conference for most sports, except for the football team and track and field team, which compete in the Gulf South Conference and Peach Belt Conference, respectively.
Florida Tech Panthers | |
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University | Florida Institute of Technology |
Conference | Sunshine State Conference, Gulf South Conference |
NCAA | Division II |
Athletic director | Bill Jurgens Jr. |
Location | Melbourne, Florida |
Varsity teams | 18 |
Football stadium | Florida Tech Panther Stadium |
Basketball arena | Clemente Center |
Baseball stadium | Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field |
Nickname | Panthers |
Colors | Red and Silver[1] |
Website | www |
Due to financial difficulties, the women's golf as well as both the men's and women's tennis programs were canceled in the spring of 2019.[2] The men's football program was also canceled in the spring of 2020.[3]
Varsity sports
Men's sports | Women's sports |
---|---|
Men's | Women's |
Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Cross Country |
Cross Country | Lacrosse |
Golf | Rowing |
Lacrosse | Soccer |
Rowing | Softball |
Soccer | Swimming |
Swimming | Track and Field |
Track and Field | Volleyball |
Baseball
Florida Tech has had 9 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[4]
Year | Player | Round | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Tim Wakefield | 8 | Pirates |
2006 | Jonathan Baksh | 7 | Blue Jays |
2007 | Steven Condotta | 12 | Blue Jays |
2011 | Jonathan Cornelius | 24 | Cardinals |
2012 | Steven Schils | 9 | Braves |
2012 | K.C. Clabough | 28 | Braves |
2013 | Scott Carcaise | 14 | Marlins |
2015 | Austin Allen | 4 | Padres |
2018 | Ty Cohen | 31 | Cardinals |
Basketball
Florida Tech's basketball teams competes in the Sunshine State Conference. They compete in a very competitive NCAA DII Conference with schools like Florida Southern that have won National Championships. Due to this Florida Tech occasionally plays higher caliber Florida D1 Schools such as Florida State, Florida Gulf Coast, and Florida Atlantic University. In 2011-12 the Men's team would win the SSC Regular Season Championship with a record of 21-5 (12-4 SSC) and reach the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament, where they would advance to the second round of the South Regional . That year they would play two DI schools University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Central Florida, losing to both.
The Panther women's team has been playing since the 1986-87 season and have been coached by John Reynolds since 1987-88. The Panther women have reached the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament nine times, won six regular season Sunshine State Conference Championships, four SSC Tournament Championships, one NCAA Division II South Region title and appeared in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2002. Entering the 2018-19 season, Reynolds' 559 wins ranks him at No. 8 among active D-II women's coaches and 20th all- time.
Football
The Florida Tech Football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Florida Institute of Technology located in the U.S. state of Florida. The team competed in the NCAA Division II and were members of the Gulf South Conference. Florida Tech's first football team was fielded in 2013. They played at the Florida Tech Panther Stadium.
National championships
Team
Association | Division | Sport | Year | Opponent/Runner-up | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NCAA | Division II | Men's soccer | 1988 | Cal State Northridge | 3–2 |
1991 | Sonoma State | 5–1 | |||
NCAA | Division II | Women's golf | 2019 | Cal State San Marcos | 4–1 |
References
- "Florida Tech Athletics Athletics Logo & Style Guide" (PDF). June 19, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
- "Florida Tech discontinuing three varsity sports". Florida Today. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- staff, Scott Gleeson and Florida Today. "Florida Tech eliminates its football program amid coronavirus pandemic". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05.