Florida National University

Florida National University Athletics Timeline

as of 6/27/2025
 

2013-14, inaugural year (1 sport):
June 3, 2013- Florida National University Athletic Department was established with Athletic Director and Head Men's Basketball Coach Scott J. Schmidt.
June 29, 2013- The first Florida National University basketball tryouts were held at Bucky Dent Park gymnasium.
July 2, 2013- Julian Johnson signed his letter of intent making him the first FNU student-athlete.
August 2013- Florida National University adds Athletics page to the website, and the Florida National University Athletic Department joins the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) as provisional members.
September 9, 2013- First group of athletic students begin school.
October 2013- FNU conducted a welcoming event for the Conquistadors! Florida National University's FIRST EVER Men's Basketball team.
June 2014- Florida National University Athletics becomes full members of the USCAA.

2014-15, second year (1 sport):
February 23rd, 2015- Men's Basketball qualifies (5th seed) to USCAA National Championship for the first time and participates in March.

2015-16, third year (3 sports):
August 2015- Florida National University Athletic Department adds Women's Volleyball and Men's Soccer to their sports teams.
March 2016- Men's Basketball qualifies (5th seed) and participates in USCAA National Championship for the second consecutive season.

2016-17, fourth year (3 sports):
November 2016- Women's Volleyball (1st seed) and Men's Soccer (5th seed) both qualify and participate in USCAA National Championship for the first time.
January 2017- Fernando Valenzuela was promoted to become FNU's 2nd Athletic Director.
March 2017- Men's Basketball qualifies (6th seed) and participates in USCAA National Championship for the third consecutive season.

2017-18, fifth year, (5 sports):
August 2017- Florida National University Athletic Department adds Women's Soccer and Baseball to their sports teams.
November 2017- Women's Volleyball (1st seed), Men's Soccer (3rd seed), and Women's Soccer (3rd seed) teams qualify and participate in USCAA National Championship for the second, second, and first time respectively. Florida National University secures its first USCAA Men's Soccer National Championship, USCAA Women's Soccer National Runner-up, and USCAA Women's Volleyball third place.
March 2018- Men's Basketball qualifies (1st seed) and participates in USCAA National Championship for the fourth consecutive season.
April 2018- Florida National University Athletic Department joins the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as associate members.
May 2018- Baseball qualifies (9th seed) and participates in USCAA National Championship for the first time.

2018-19, sixth year (7 sports):
August 2018- Florida National University Athletic Department adds Women's Basketball and Men's and Women's Tennis to their sports teams.
November 2018- Women's Volleyball (2nd seed) and Men's Soccer (1st seed) qualify and participate in USCAA National Championship for the third time. Florida National University secures its first USCAA Women's Volleyball National Championship, and back-to-back USCAA Men's Soccer National Championship.
March 2019- Men's Basketball (1st seed) and Women's Basketball (4th seed) teams qualify and participate in USCAA National Championship for the fifth consecutive season and for the first time respectively.

2019-20, seventh year (9 sports):
August 2019- Florida National University Athletic Department adds Women's Softball and Men's and Women's Cross Country to their sports teams.
November 2019- Women's Volleyball (1st seed), Men's Soccer (3rd seed), Women's Soccer (5th seed), and Men's & Women's Cross Country teams qualify and participate in USCAA National Championship for the fourth, fourth, second, and first & first times respectively. Florida National University secures a back-to-back USCAA Women's Volleyball National Championship, and a USCAA Women's Soccer National Runner-up.
March 2020- Men's Basketball (1st seed) and Women's Basketball (6th seed) teams qualify and participate in USCAA National Championship for the sixth consecutive season and for the second time respectively. Ryan Raposo was promoted to become FNU's 3rd Athletic Director. COVID-19 pandemic hits, canceling the USCAA Basketball National Championship, and FNU athletics is shut-down for the remainder of the school year.
April 2020- Florida National University Athletic Department finishes third in the USCAA Director's Cup which recognizes athletic accomplishments.
September 2020- Florida National University Athletic Department is recognized as a NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Bronze Institution.

2020-21, eighth year (9 sports):
August 2020- Athletics resumes during the pandemic under NAIA / USCAA guidelines, with reduced schedules and limited athletics championships.
May 2021- Softball team qualifies (1st seed) and wins the USCAA National Championship.
May 27th, 2021- Florida National University Athletic Department elevated from associate to active member status in the NAIA, with immediate post-season eligibility.
July 2021- Florida National University Athletic Department is recognized as a NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Silver Institution (the highest eligible award level).

2021-22, ninth year (10 sports):
August 2021- Florida National University Athletic Department adds Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field to their sports teams. Athletics continue during the pandemic with a return to normal schedules and championship events. Men's and Women's Tennis join the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) as affiliate members.
October 2021- Men's Soccer receives votes in the NAIA National Rankings for the first time following their 1-0 defeat of #2 ranked Keiser University. Women's Volleyball (1st seed), Men's Cross Country (2nd seed), and Women's Cross Country (3rd seed) teams qualify to participate in the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) Championships for the first time.
November 2021- Women's Volleyball wins the CAC Championship and qualifies for NAIA Nationals, both for the first time. Men's Soccer qualifies (3rd seed) to the CAC Championships, finishes as the Runner-up, and advances to NAIA Nationals, all for the first time. Men's and Women's Cross Country both finish as Runner-Up in the CAC Championships and advance two individual women to NAIA Nationals for the first time. Women's Soccer qualifies (3rd seed) to the USCAA National Championship for the third time.
December 2021- Men's Soccer finishes the season ranked #20 in the NAIA, the first NAIA National ranking for any FNU team.
February 2022- Women's Basketball qualifies (8th seed) for the USCAA National Championship for the second time and participates in March.
April 2022- Men's and Women's Tennis participate in the SSAC Championships for the first time. FNU Softball (3rd seed) qualifies for the CAC Championship for the first time.
May 2022- Softball team qualifies (1st seed) and wins the USCAA National Championship for the second consecutive year.
July 2022- Florida National University Athletic Department is recognized as a NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Gold Institution with a perfect 100-point score.

2022-23, tenth year (10 sports):
October 2022- Men's Cross Country (3rd seed) and Women's Cross Country (3rd seed) teams qualify to participate in the CAC Championships for the second time. Women's Soccer qualifies (4th seed) to the USCAA National Championship for the fourth time.
November 2022- Women's Cross Country finishes as Runner-Up in the CAC Championships for the second consecutive year, and advances two individual qualifiers to NAIA Nationals for the second consecutive year. Men's Cross Country advances one individual qualifier to NAIA Nationals for the first time. Women's Volleyball qualifies (2nd seed) to the CAC Championships for the second time and finishes as the Runner-Up. Men's Soccer qualifies (3rd seed) to the CAC Championships for the second time, finishes as the Runner-up and advances to NAIA Nationals for the second time, and advances to the second round for the first time.
February 2023- Women's Basketball qualifies (6th seed) for the CAC Championship for the first time.
April 2023- Men's Tennis participates in the SSAC Championship for the second consecutive year. Baseball qualifies (3rd seed) for the CAC Championship for the first time. Softball qualifies (2nd seed) for the CAC Championship for the second consecutive year. Men's & Women's Track & Field both qualify and participate in USCAA National Invitational, both for the first time, and bring home championships in the Men's & Women's 1500m run & 800m run and the Men's 4x400m relay.
May 2023- Softball team qualifies (1st seed) for the USCAA National Championship for the third consecutive year. Men's Track & Field qualifies one individual to NAIA Nationals for the first time. Men's and Women's Tennis leave the SSAC.
June 2023- Men's and Women's Tennis and Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field join The Sun Conference (TSC) as affiliate members.
August 2023- Florida National University Athletic Department is recognized as a NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Gold Institution with a perfect 100-point score for the second consecutive year.

2023-24, eleventh year (11 sports):
August 2023- Florida National University Athletic Department adds Esports, competitive online gaming, to their sports teams.
September 2023- Florida National University Athletic Department joins the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE).
October 2023- Men's Soccer (1st seed), Men's Cross Country (3rd seed), Women's Cross Country (3rd seed), and Women's Volleyball (4th seed) teams qualify to participate in the CAC Championships for the third time.
November 2023- Women's Cross Country advances two individual qualifiers to NAIA Nationals for the third consecutive year. Men's Cross Country advances one individual qualifier to NAIA Nationals for the second consecutive year. Men's Soccer finishes as the Runner-up in the CAC, qualifies for NAIA Nationals for the third consecutive year, and makes the second round for the second consecutive year (while bypassing the first round). Esports wins NACE Starleague Varsity Plus 4 Division League of Legends Championship.
February 2024- Men's Basketball (2nd seed) and Women's Basketball qualifies (3rd seed) for the CAC Championship for the first and second time respectively.
March 2024- Women's Basketball finishes as the Runner-up in the CAC, qualifies for NAIA Nationals for the first time.
April 2024- Baseball qualifies (4th seed) for the CAC Championship for the second consecutive year. Softball qualifies (2nd seed) for the CAC Championship for the third consecutive year. Men's Track & Field has the first individual conference champion in school history. Women's Track & Field qualifies one individual to NAIA Nationals for the first time.
May 2024- Softball finishes as the Runner-up in the CAC, qualifies for NAIA Nationals for the first time. Baseball qualifies (10th seed) and participates in USCAA National Championship for the second time.

2024-25, twelfth year (11 sports):
August 2024- Florida National University Esports leaves NACE and joins PlayFly Esports.
October 2024- Men’s Soccer (6th seed), Men’s Cross Country (4th seed), and Women’s Cross Country (4th seed) teams qualify to participate in the CAC Championships for the fourth time. Women’s Volleyball (1st seed) team qualifies for the USCAA National Championship for the fifth time; the first time since being able to attend since their 2019 Championship.
November 2024- Women’s Volleyball (2nd seed) team qualifies to participate in the CAC Championships for the fourth time and finished as Runner-up. Women’s Soccer qualifies (4th seed) to the USCAA National Championship for the fifth time.
February 2025- Women’s Basketball (6th seed) team qualifies to participate in the CAC Championship for the third time.
April 2025- Women’s Tennis (5th seed) team qualifies to participate in the SUN Conference Championship for the first time. Softball qualifies (3rd seed) for the CAC Championship for the fourth consecutive year. Baseball qualifies (3rd seed) for the CAC Championship for the third consecutive year. Men’s and Women’s Track & Field participate in the CAC Championship for the first time with the men earning 5 individual and 1 relay conference championship and the women earning 5 individual conference championships. Men’s and Women’s Track & Field also participate in the USCAA National Championship for the first time with the men earning 2 individual and 1 relay national championship and the women earning 3 individual national championships.
May 2025- Softball team qualifies (2nd seed) for the USCAA National Championship for the fourth time and finishes as National Runner-Up. Baseball team qualified (6th seed) for the USCAA National Championship for the third time.

 

All-Time FNU Athletic Department Successes:

NAIA Champions of Character Five Star Institution

USCAA Director's Cup (based on athletic performance)

Continental Athletic Conference Runner-up