Florida Polytechnic University, known for its brainy students, is about to enter the athletic realm.
The Lakeland school announced that it will add intercollegiate programs in men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball. At least one program, soccer, will begin competing in August.
Florida Poly is the newest member of Florida’s State University System, having opened in 2014. The university specializes in STEM education — science, technology, engineering and math. Florida Poly’s entering freshmen boast average high school grade-point averages of 3.74 to 4.17 and SAT scores of 1,258 to 1,340.
The program’s first competitions are scheduled for Aug. 20 and Aug. 29, when the women’s and men’s soccer teams will play New College of Florida in Sarasota.
“For a student to be successful, they have to be committed and excel in the classroom while having an experience outside the classroom that helps them grow into the well-rounded, successful, impactful leaders we know they can be upon graduation,” Bryan Brooks, vice president of student affairs, enrollment management and strategic communications, said in a news release. “That’s where athletics comes in.”
The teams, known as the Phoenix, will wear uniforms with purple as the dominant color.
Florida Poly is in discussions with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Sun Conference, with plans to join both once final qualifications are met, the school said in a news release. The school is moving toward NAIA membership for the 2027-2028 school year, spokesperson Lydia Guzman said.
The NAIA, established in 1940, is a level below the NCAA, which oversees the major collegiate athletics familiar to sports fans, including the College Football Playoffs and the NCAA basketball tournament, known as March Madness.
The Sun Conference includes three Polk County schools — Southeastern University in Lakeland, Warner University in Lake Wales and Webber International University in Babson Park — along with such Florida schools as Ave Maria University, Florida Memorial University and New College of Florida. Two Georgia schools, College of Coastal Georgia and Savannah College of Art and Design, also compete in the conference.
“There are many students on campus who are eager to be on a team or be in the stands rooting for one,” Brooks said in the release. “Our admissions team has heard from prospective students who’ve said, ‘Please call me if you ever have a baseball team; I still want to go to Florida Poly.’ Now we can.”
Florida Poly has previously fielded club teams in a few sports. Those teams compete unofficially against other schools. The university also has an esports team and recently unveiled a large esports arena with 20 gaming PCs fully equipped for competitive play, two large TVs dedicated to console gaming and a 48-foot exterior screen on the Barnett Applied Research Center wall, allowing tournament gameplay to be displayed for crowds to watch the action live.
“This is great for campus pride and growth, and it gives us a more connected University community,” Derek Lower, director of athletics and recreation, said in the news release. “We know our students love being a Phoenix, but athletics takes that pride deeper. It will make our students bleed Poly Purple whenever we get that game-day experience. Competition always brings out the best in everybody.”
Florida Poly plans to build sports facilities on campus, Guzman said. As the programs begin, the teams will play at various existing sites off campus. The basketball teams will play at Polk State College in Winter Haven, and softball will play at Polk State’s Diamondplex.
The baseball and softball teams will host games at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale.
Funding for the athletic program will come from corporate sponsorships and fundraising from donors, Guzman said.
“Florida Poly is already one of the nation’s top-ranked STEM universities, and this new program builds on that momentum,” Brooks said in the release. “There are a lot of high school students who are passionate about STEM and very involved in athletics. We want to give them a place to do both.”
Academic excellence will remain the university’s top priority, Brooks said.
“We’re going to keep the academic quality at its highest, and we’re going to get really, really good at finding STEM athletes who are great at their sports,” he said.
The creation of a sports program at Florida Poly follows a similar move at New College. That came after the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis led a transformation at the school, replacing its president with Richard Corcoran, a former Florida House Speaker.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida Poly in Lakeland will add several sports, open play in 2026
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
