I'm not sure how far-fetched this is or if it is a plan down the road but, I would love to see New College of Florida start a football program. They have basketball for men and women, baseball, and other sports to boost enrollment. They are NAIA. This is a talent rich area that could really benefit by having a football team. What are your thoughts?
New College of Florida Athletics
- Thread starter Fla2014
- Start date
What an incredible change of culture it would be. I grew up in Sarasota for most of my life. Football is the exact opposite from the lifestyles they were known for.
My sentiments as well.....as I read this post, my 1st thoughts were...."Wait...New College, the liberal arts school where all the hippies go to.....playing football?" I remember going there in late 80's to teach a class on mail piece design, and my stereo type of what type of students I'd expected to be speaking to was 100% spot on....
As a former NAIA player, I think that's a grand idea - so many kids can play on at that level, who have no other shot, particularly with NIL. I arrived in Dodge City in 1972 with the first group of Florida kids. Guys from Cardinal Newman, St Thomas (Catholic College), and Tarpon Springs. There were like five of us who started as Freshman. That started a pipeline for a host of other Tarpons, guys from Tampa Catholic and Glades Central too and we won two KCAC Titles.
My old boss, Tom Monaghan ended up developing the Ave Maria community and opened Ave Maria college. I had to really lobby him to use the yacht on this coast rather than Miami -Palm Beach. I got him to Naples Yacht Club for New Years Eve 1985. Entertained his guests and incentive store managers at resorts from South Seas Plantation to Long Boat Key Club.
He eventually fell in love with Naples and the rest is history. Ave Maria's current President is the brother of the TE I played next to for 3 years at St Mary of The Plains in Dodge City. They began a football program and started playing in the NAIA. We've had a few kids go there.
The biggest problem for smaller Florida schools is probably travel expense. I heard recently that Monaghan had them schedule a game in his home state of Michigan.
My old boss, Tom Monaghan ended up developing the Ave Maria community and opened Ave Maria college. I had to really lobby him to use the yacht on this coast rather than Miami -Palm Beach. I got him to Naples Yacht Club for New Years Eve 1985. Entertained his guests and incentive store managers at resorts from South Seas Plantation to Long Boat Key Club.
He eventually fell in love with Naples and the rest is history. Ave Maria's current President is the brother of the TE I played next to for 3 years at St Mary of The Plains in Dodge City. They began a football program and started playing in the NAIA. We've had a few kids go there.
The biggest problem for smaller Florida schools is probably travel expense. I heard recently that Monaghan had them schedule a game in his home state of Michigan.
What prompted me bring this up was a conversation I had with a parent of a player that currently plays on the basketball team at New College. He stated that New College wants to be a competitve NAIA sports school and adding certain sports will help boost the enrollement which was a major issue. As the school adds sports, the landscape of the school is becoming less artsy/hippie.
So its been years since Ive lived in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. When traveling to Manatee HS football games from Punta Gorda, mine line of travel is to take the University Parkway exit, to US 41.....which obviously takes me right by New College on my way north to Bradenton. My question is this: Beyond the FSU Circus School sign Ive noted.....(I promise Mark to not make any jokes about FSU being a Circus School, no more than I never teased my UGA friends about the Butts (S)mear building at UGA......one day I'll have to tell you about a story that was told to me about a former UGA player who's name was "Happy Dicks" and a headline that appeared once in the Athens Banner Herald, that apparently slipped past editors before it went to print) anywho...........My impression was that New College had been absorbed by FSU or perhaps USF, and while the campus is still known as New College....it was no longer a private liberal arts school????? So just wondering what exactly is the story there now?
New College got a new president in October 2023 and
New College got a new president in October 2023. They are now a public honors college with increasing enrollment and more sports.
And I always heard through the 80s and 90s the regents from the big schools didn't want Jr College or lower division ball to compete with gate, however small it might be.
New College is part of the University of South Florida. New College, had a pretty well known reputation as a hippie college. As an alum of a high school with a circus, Sarasota, and of a university with a circus, FSU, I was well accustomed with circus culture. Growing up in Sarasota you go to school with kids that were circus performers and of circus performers.
Last edited:
One of our rural carriers in Sarasota, was related to the Walenda's. Was a small guy about 5'6" but very well built even as a older guy. I was in my 20's then and my impression then was he was in his 50's. Our postmaster at the time was Gordon Heigal.....very accentric old man. I believe there was a street out by midnight pass, Named after his family. He was probably one of the last political appointments that was made, before the USPS was removed has a presidential cabinet post and it became a quasi governmental organization. Once I moved to Athens, GA I would learn on my 1st trip to Tocooa, that one of the Walenda brother's had actually crossed the gorge in Tallulah. One of Angie's 1st things she did for me, once we were married was to buy tickets to the Ringling Brother Circus at the Omni in Atlanta. She got us VIP seats, I even took the seat cover off the chair I sat in and still have it....it was a year or two later the circus was no more. I had thought new college had been absorbed by USF, but with whole circus thing I just wasn't sure anymore.
