FIU Golden Panthers
Encyclopedia
The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams of Florida International University
(FIU), a public university located in Miami, Florida
. The Panthers compete in NCAA
Division I athletics, and are currently members of the Sun Belt Conference
. FIU fields 16 teams in 13 sports:
Men's sports
Women's sports
FIU’s colors are navy blue and gold, and their mascot is the Golden Panther (taken from the Florida panther
, an endangered species endemic to the nearby Everglades
), which is embodied by an panther
named Roary the Panther. The school's original nickname was the "Sunblazers", but it was changed in 1987 to the current.
FIU is a member of the NCAA, participating in Division I, and the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except for men's soccer (which competes in Conference USA
as an affiliate member). FIU joined the Sun Belt Conference in 1998 having previously competed in the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC)
, from 1991 to 1998.
FIU's Athletic Department has produced several 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 main rivals are the University of Miami Hurricanes
and the Florida Atlantic University Owls
.
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
.
Team Honors:
Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions (1): 1998
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions (2): 1999, 2010
NCAA Division II Regional Appearances (5): 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982
NCAA Division II College World Series
(1): 1980
NCAA Division I Regional Appearances (9): 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998
, 1999
, 2000
, 2001
, 2002
, 2010
NCAA Division I Super Regional Appearances (1): 2001
The current head coach of the FIU men's basketball team is Isiah Thomas
, who was hired on April 14, 2009.
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
of the Miami Heat
, and Raja Bell
of the Charlotte Bobcats
.
The "Sunblazers" men’s basketball team was also featured in a second season episode of Miami Vice
entitled "The Fix".
Team Honors:
Trans America Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions (1): 1992-93
Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions (1): 1995
NCAA Tournament
Appearances (1): 1995
.
The FIU Golden Panthers football team
competes in the NCAA FBS Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division 1-A), the highest level in intercollegiate football, and is a member of the Sun Belt Conference
. They are led by head coach Mario Cristobal
and play at FIU Stadium
on FIU's University Park campus. The team began playing in 2002 as a member of NCAA Division 1-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 1-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 rival are the Florida Atlantic Owls
. Both teams play annually in a game known as the Shula Bowl
. The game is named after former Miami Dolphins
Head Coach Don Shula
.
Team Honors:
Sun Belt Conference Champions (1): 2010
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 as an affiliate member of Conference USA
, and is the only FIU team to do so. This relationship began in 2005 and was formed since the Sun Belt Conference does not sponsor men's soccer. The team previously played in the Atlantic Soccer Conference
from 2000 to 2004 and the Trans America Athletic 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:
Division II National Champions (2): 1982, 1984
Division II National Runner-Up (2): 1980, 1985
Division I National Runner-Up (1): 1996
Trans America Athletic Conference Champions (1): 1991
Atlantic Soccer Conference Champions (4): 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances (8): 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances (8): 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
, 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 FIU 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' ballpark.
In 2005, the facility also hosted the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament.
To the north shore of Biscayne Bay
Here's the place where we can gather,
Where Golden Panthers hunt their prey
Anyone who tries to defeat us
Better think twice and stand aside,
Bring them here with their fear to Miami
And when they come we'll show our Panther Pride
Golden Panthers, see the paw,
We will fight, you'll feel the claw!
Let's go Panthers, Gold and Blue,
Fight For FIU!
We are the panthers of FIU,
the Golden Panthers of FIU.
We will continue to fight
with all of our might
for victory for gold and blue.
We stand together and proudly say:
our Golden Panthers go all the way.
We'll always strive for victory
blue-blooded through and through,
'cause we're FIU.
Go F!
Go I!
Go U!
Go F-I-U!
Panthers fight!
Panthers fight!
Panthers fight!
(repeat)
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
(FIU), a public university located in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. The Panthers compete in NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I athletics, and are currently members of the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
. FIU fields 16 teams in 13 sports:
Men's sports
- BaseballCollege baseballCollege baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
- BasketballCollege basketballCollege basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- FootballFIU Golden Panthers footballThe FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...
- SoccerCollege soccerCollege soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
Women's sports
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Dance
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and DivingDivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one... - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Athletic Department history and information
Florida Panther
The Florida panther is an endangered subspecies of cougar that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States. Its current taxonomic status is unresolved, but recent genetic research alone does not alter the legal conservation status...
, an endangered species endemic to the nearby Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
), which is embodied by an panther
Florida Panther
The Florida panther is an endangered subspecies of cougar that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States. Its current taxonomic status is unresolved, but recent genetic research alone does not alter the legal conservation status...
named Roary the Panther. The school's original nickname was the "Sunblazers", but it was changed in 1987 to the current.
FIU is a member of the NCAA, participating in Division I, and the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except for men's soccer (which competes in Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
as an affiliate member). FIU joined the Sun Belt Conference in 1998 having previously competed in the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC)
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
, from 1991 to 1998.
FIU's Athletic Department has produced several professional and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athletes, including current players in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
, the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, and in the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
.
FIU's main rivals are the University of Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
and the Florida Atlantic University Owls
Florida Atlantic Owls
The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as members of the Sun Belt Conference....
.
Baseball
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
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams and have played in the majors. FIU’s most notable baseball alumni is Mike Lowell
Mike Lowell
Michael Averett Lowell is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball third baseman. During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees , Florida Marlins , and the Boston Red Sox...
, former third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
, and Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. Lowell was the 2007 World Series MVP
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...
.
Team Honors:
Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions (1): 1998
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions (2): 1999, 2010
NCAA Division II Regional Appearances (5): 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982
NCAA Division II College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
(1): 1980
NCAA Division I Regional Appearances (9): 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998
1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1998 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 21 through June 6, 1998. Forty-eight NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament...
, 1999
1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 28 through June 19, 1999. 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament...
, 2000
2000 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2000 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 26 through June 17, 2000. 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament culminates with 8...
, 2001
2001 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2001 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 25th through June 16th, 2001. 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament culminated with 8...
, 2002
2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 31 through June 22, 2002. 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament...
, 2010
2010 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2010 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament began on Friday, June 4, 2010 as part of the 2010 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2010 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.-National seeds:...
NCAA Division I Super Regional Appearances (1): 2001
Men's basketball
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III , nicknamed "Zeke",is the men's basketball coach for the FIU Golden Panthers, and a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association from 1981 until 1994. He led the "Bad Boys" to the NBA...
, who was hired on April 14, 2009.
FIU men's basketball team had its lone NCAA Tournament appearance in the 1995 tournament
1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle,...
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
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the sports teams for University of California, Los Angeles . The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pacific-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation . For football, they are in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I...
in the first round of the West Regional, which was played at the Taco Bell Arena
Taco Bell Arena
The Taco Bell Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena, on the campus of Boise State University, in Boise, Idaho. The arena is located on the east end of campus, between West Campus Lane & Cesar Chavez Circle, immediately northwest of Bronco Stadium....
in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
. 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
Carlos Arroyo
Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez is a Puerto Rican professional basketball point guard who last played for the Boston Celtics. Arroyo is the fifth player from Puerto Rico to play in the NBA...
of the Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
, and Raja Bell
Raja Bell
Raja Bell is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Utah Jazz of the NBA. Bell is known for his three-point shooting and intense defense.- Biography :Bell was born in Saint Croix, in the U.S...
of the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...
.
The "Sunblazers" men’s basketball team was also featured in a second season episode of Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
entitled "The Fix".
Team Honors:
Trans America Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions (1): 1992-93
Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions (1): 1995
NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
Appearances (1): 1995
FIU basketball alumni in professionals
FIU Panthers alumni to have gone on to the NBA and international professional basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
.
| Name | Years at FIU | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Arroyo Carlos Arroyo Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez is a Puerto Rican professional basketball point guard who last played for the Boston Celtics. Arroyo is the fifth player from Puerto Rico to play in the NBA... |
1998-2001 | Boston Celtics Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which... |
| Raja Bell Raja Bell Raja Bell is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Utah Jazz of the NBA. Bell is known for his three-point shooting and intense defense.- Biography :Bell was born in Saint Croix, in the U.S... |
1999-2000 | Utah Jazz Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association... |
| Cylde Corley | 1982-1983 | Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011... |
Football
FIU Golden Panthers football
The FIU Golden Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami, Florida in the sport of college football. The FIU Panthers are a mid-major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference led by Mario Cristobal and play at the on-campus FIU Stadium.-History:On...
competes in the NCAA FBS Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division 1-A), the highest level in intercollegiate football, and is a member of the Sun Belt Conference
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
. They are led by head coach Mario Cristobal
Mario Cristobal
-External links:*...
and play at FIU Stadium
FIU Stadium
FIU Stadium, popularly known as "The Cage", is the on-campus American football stadium of Florida International University in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the home field of the FIU Golden Panthers football team. The stadium opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for...
on FIU's University Park campus. The team began playing in 2002 as a member of NCAA Division 1-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 1-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
Saint Peter's College, New Jersey
Saint Peter's College is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic college in the United States. Located in Jersey City, New Jersey, it was founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. Today, Saint Peter's College is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
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 rival are the Florida Atlantic Owls
Florida Atlantic Owls
The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as members of the Sun Belt Conference....
. Both teams play annually in a game known as the Shula Bowl
Shula Bowl
The Shula Bowl is an annual college football rivalry game between the Florida Atlantic University Owls and the Florida International University Golden Panthers. The game's winner receives a traveling trophy, the "Don Shula Award" for one year. The current winner is FIU, winning 41-7 on 12 November...
. The game is named after former Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Head Coach Don Shula
Don Shula
Donald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated....
.
Team Honors:
Sun Belt Conference Champions (1): 2010
2010 FIU Golden Panthers football team
The 2010 FIU Golden Panthers football team represented Florida International University during their 6th season of NCAA Division I FBS football and their 9th season overall...
Men's soccer
FIU has won two NCAANational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division II national championships
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA began conducting a Men's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament. Currently, the tournament field consists of 48 teams...
in men's soccer. In 1982, FIU beat Southern Connecticut State
Southern Connecticut State University
Southern Connecticut State University is one of four state universities in Connecticut, and is located in the West Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut...
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
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle Pacific University is a Christian university of the liberal arts, sciences and professions, located on the north slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was founded in 1891 by the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary...
1–0. To date these are the only national titles the university has achieved in athletic competition.
The men's soccer team competes as an affiliate member of Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
, and is the only FIU team to do so. This relationship began in 2005 and was formed since the Sun Belt Conference does not sponsor men's soccer. The team previously played in the Atlantic Soccer Conference
Atlantic Soccer Conference
Atlantic Soccer Conference is a college athletic conference which only sponsors men's soccer. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I and its champion does not receive an automatic bid to the annual NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Tournament. It was founded in 2000 with nine colleges...
from 2000 to 2004 and the Trans America Athletic 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:
Division II National Champions (2): 1982, 1984
Division II National Runner-Up (2): 1980, 1985
Division I National Runner-Up (1): 1996
Trans America Athletic Conference Champions (1): 1991
Atlantic Soccer Conference Champions (4): 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances (8): 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances (8): 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Facilities
FIU Stadium
FIU 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 FieldTurfFieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
, 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 FIU Stadium's reconstruction, the Panthers football team played at the Miami Orange Bowl
Miami Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...
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' ballpark.
U.S. Century Bank Arena
U.S. Century Bank Arena, previously known as Pharmed Arena, is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena that opened on February 1, 1986. The Florida International University Golden 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, but was changed to "FIU Arena" in 2008. Other events such as MTV's Campus Invasion, music concerts, ceremonies and fairs are also held year-round at the arena. In 2008, the name was changed to "U.S. Century Bank Arena".University Park Stadium
University Park Stadium is a baseball stadium located on the University Park campus of Florida International University in Miami, 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.
Fight Song
The FIU Fight Song is sung at sports games and official ceremonies. It was changed in both lyrics and music in 2006.Old Lyrics
From the green fields of TamiamiHere's the place where we can gather,
Where Golden Panthers hunt their prey
Anyone who tries to defeat us
Better think twice and stand aside,
Bring them here with their fear to Miami
And when they come we'll show our Panther Pride
Golden Panthers, see the paw,
We will fight, you'll feel the claw!
Let's go Panthers, Gold and Blue,
Fight For FIU!
New Lyrics
the Golden Panthers of FIU.
We will continue to fight
with all of our might
for victory for gold and blue.
We stand together and proudly say:
our Golden Panthers go all the way.
We'll always strive for victory
blue-blooded through and through,
'cause we're FIU.
Go F!
Go I!
Go U!
Go F-I-U!
Panthers fight!
Panthers fight!
Panthers fight!
(repeat)