FIU Panthers

The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletics as members of Conference USA. The men's soccer and swimming & diving teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. Until 2011, they were known as the FIU Golden Panthers.

FIU Panthers
Logo
UniversityFlorida International University
ConferenceConference USA
The American (men's soccer, swimming & diving)
NCAADivision I (FBS)
Athletic directorScott Carr[1]
LocationMiami, Florida
Varsity teams18 (6 men's, 10 women's)
Football stadiumFIU Stadium
Basketball arenaOcean Bank Convocation Center
Baseball stadiumFIU Baseball Stadium
Softball stadiumFelsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium
Soccer stadiumFIU Soccer Stadium
Tennis venueFIU Tennis Courts
MascotRoary the Panther
NicknamePanthers
Fight songFIU Fight Song
ColorsBlue and gold[2]
   
Websitefiusports.com

History and introduction

FIU's colors are navy blue and gold, and their mascot is the Panther (taken from the Florida panther, an endangered species endemic to the nearby Everglades), which is embodied by a panther 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 of Conference USA. FIU joined the Sun Belt Conference in 1998 having previously competed in the Trans 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 and Olympic athletes, including current players in Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and in the Women'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 the UCF Knights, and also previously worked in executive athletic roles with the Auburn Tigers and Southern Miss Golden Eagles.[1]

Conference affiliations
Conference USA logo in FIU's colors
Division Years Conference affiliation
NCAA Division II1965–66 to 1987–88Independent[3]
NCAA Division I1988–89 to 1990–91
1991–92 to 1997–98Trans America Athletic Conference
(now Atlantic Sun Conference)
1998–99 to 2012–13Sun Belt Conference
2013–14 to presentConference USA (East)

Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballBeach volleyball
Cross countryCross country
FootballGolf
SoccerSoccer
Track and field†Softball
Swimming and diving
Tennis
Track and field†
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Baseball
Panthers baseball players during the 2023 season

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 by Major League Baseball teams and have played in the majors. FIU's most notable baseball alumni is Mike Lowell, former third baseman of the New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, and Boston Red Sox. Lowell was the 2007 World Series MVP. Garrett Wittels finished the 2010 season with a 56-game hitting streak, two hits shy of the Division I record, set the FIU season record for hits, was nominated for the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award for his 2010 performance, won Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named a NCBWA and Louisville Slugger/TPX Preseason All-American.[4][5][6][7]

Team honors

Men's basketball
Main article: FIU Panthers men's basketball
FIU at UCLA Pauley Pavilion, 2008

The current head coach of the FIU men's basketball team is Anthony Evans, who was hired on April 15, 2013.

FIU men's basketball team had its lone NCAA tournament appearance in the 1995 tournament under then Head Coach Bob 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 seeded UCLA Bruins in the first round of the West Regional, which was played at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, 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 include Carlos Arroyo and Raja Bell.

Team honors

Women's basketball
Main article: FIU Panthers women's basketball

The women's basketball team plays their home games on-campus at the Ocean 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.

Team honors

Cross country
Men's team honors
  • Trans America Athletic Conference Champions (4): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
Women's team honors
  • Trans America Athletic Conference Champions (5): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997
  • New South Women's Athletic Conference Champions (2): 1988, 1990
Men's individual honors
  • NCAA Division I South All-Region (2): Gabriel Rodriguez, 1998, 1999
Women's individual honors
  • NCAA Division I South All-Region (1): Ingrid Odermatt, 1997

Football
Main article: FIU Panthers football
The Panthers play at the on-campus Riccardo Silva Stadium.
FIU fans at a football game at Riccardo Silva Stadium.

The FIU Panthers football team competes in the NCAA FBS Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A), the highest level in intercollegiate football, and is a member of Conference USA. They are led by head coach Butch Davis and play at Riccardo Silva 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 FCS Football 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 against Saint Peter's College in front of a sold out crowd of 17,314. FIU defeated St. Peters's by the score of 27–3.

The FIU football team's main rivals are the Florida Atlantic Owls and the University of Miami Hurricanes. Both FIU and Florida Atlantic play annually in a game known as the Shula Bowl. The game is named after former Miami Dolphins head coach and Football Hall of Fame inductee Don Shula. The Panthers and Hurricanes last played on November 23, 2019 at LoanDepot Park, with FIU defeating UM 30-24.

Team honors
  • Sun Belt Conference Champions (1): 2010
  • Bowl appearances (5): 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2019

Men's soccer
Main article: FIU Panthers men's soccer

FIU has won two NCAA Division II national championships in men's soccer. In 1982, FIU beat Southern 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 beating Seattle 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 in Conference USA. The team previously played in the Atlantic Soccer Conference from 2000 to 2004 and the Trans America Athletic Conference (now known as the Atlantic 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 the Division I championship game in 1996, losing to St. 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.

Team honors

Women's soccer

The women's soccer team competes in Conference USA after previously being unaffiliated from 1985–1999 and a member of the Sun Belt Conference from 2000 through 2012.

Team honors
  • NCAA tournament Appearances (2): 1993, 2011
  • Sun Belt Conference tournament champions (2): 2000, 2011
    Sun Belt Conference regular season champions (2): 2000, 2009

Softball

FIU's softball team competes in Conference USA after previously being a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference in 1998, Independent from 1999 to 2000, and of the Sun Belt Conference from 2001 through 2012. The team plays its home games at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.

Team honors

Swimming and diving

FIU's Swimming & Diving team competes in Conference USA after previously being a member of the Sun Belt Conference from 2003-2004 through 2012-2013.

Team honors
  • Conference – USA Conference Champions(6): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20

Track & Field

FIU's Track & Field teams compete in Conference USA after previously being a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference in 1998.

Individual honors
  • NCAA D1 Individual National Champion - Sheri-Ann Brooks (2005 Women's Outdoor 200m Dash)
  • FIU has had four Olympians, including three-time Olympic hurdler Ronald Forbes (Cayman Islands), Aubrey Smith (Canada), 2004 Gold Medalist Tayna Lawrence (Jamaica) and Ena Guevara-Mora (Peru).

Volleyball

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 the Ocean Bank Convocation Center and the sand squad plays primarily on sand courts on FIU's main campus.

Volleyball team honors
  • NCAA tournament Appearances (3): 2001, 2008, 2009
  • Sun Belt Conference tournament champions(1): 2001
  • Sun Belt Conference regular season champions (3): 2006, 2008, 2009
  • New South Women's Athletic Conference tournament champions (1): 1990
Sand volleyball team honors

Notable non varsity sports

Rugby

Founded in 1989,[8] FIU Rugby competes in the South Independent Rugby Conference against in-state Florida rivals such as USF and UCF. 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]

Facilities
FIU Recreation Center
Ocean Bank Convocation Center, home of the Panther volleyball and basketball teams
Mike Martinez[10] batting for the Panthers at FIU Baseball Stadium, home of the Panther baseball team

Riccardo Silva Stadium
Main article: Riccardo Silva Stadium

Riccardo Silva Stadium was originally opened in 1995 as a standard track 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 with FieldTurf, 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.

During Riccardo Silva Stadium's reconstruction, the Panthers football team played at the Miami 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 new Marlins Park.

Ocean Bank Convocation Center
Main article: Ocean Bank Convocation Center

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 $1 million USD 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 when the 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
Main article: Infinity Insurance Park

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.

The stadium was renamed Infinity Insurance Park in 2018.

References
  1. "FIU selects Scott Carr as new athletic director". fiu.edu. November 30, 2021.
  2. "FIU Style Guide" (PDF). Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  3. "Regents Ok Fiu's Move To Division I – Sun Sentinel". Articles.sun-sentinel.com. 1987-01-30. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  4. Siobhan Morrissey (August 8, 2012). "Where have you gone, Garrett Wittels?; The shortstop's epic hitting streak once thrilled MLB, until his epic fall". ESPN. Retrieved March 19, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. "Florida International's Garrett Wittels pulls within 2 of longest hit streak in FIU loss". ESPN. June 6, 2010.
  6. Karen Crouse (June 2, 2010). "Hitting Streak Lifts Shadows Over a Campus". The New York Times.
  7. Adam Beasley (February 16, 2011). "Garrett Wittels: FIU baseball player cleared to play despite rape charge". Sun Sentinel.
  8. Club History. Accessed October 14, 2015.
  9. "FIU Downs Rivals, Thinks Big", Goff Rugby Report, October 14, 2015.
  10. "Mike Martinez Bio – FIU Athletics". Fiusports.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
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