North Florida Ospreys baseball | |
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2016 North Florida Ospreys baseball team | |
Founded | 1988 |
University | University of North Florida |
Conference | A-Sun |
Location | Jacksonville, FL |
Head coach | Smoke Laval (6th year) |
Home stadium |
Harmon Stadium (Capacity: 1,000) |
Nickname | Ospreys |
Colors | Navy Blue and Gray |
College World Series Runner-up | |
Division II: 2005 | |
College World Series appearances | |
NAIA: 1989, 1991 Division II: 2000, 2001, 2005 |
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NCAA Tournament appearances | |
Division II: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 | |
Conference champions | |
Division I: 2015 Division II: 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 |
The North Florida Ospreys baseball team represents the University of North Florida in the sport of baseball. The Ospreys compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), in the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun). They play their home games in Harmon Stadium on the university's Jacksonville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Smoke Laval. The Ospreys were founded in 1988 as members of the NAIA. They moved to the NCAA Division II level in 1994, and began their Division I transition in 2006. They became fully eligible at the Division I level in 2010. Most recently, the Ospreys won their first Atlantic Sun regular season championship in 2015.
North Florida's baseball program was founded in 1988. The team was established under the leadership of Dusty Rhodes, who served as head coach from 1988 to 2010. Since its inception, the Ospreys baseball team has won thirteen conference titles: six in the NAIA, six in NCAA Division II, and one in NCAA Division I and has made a total of sixteen playoff appearances: six in the NAIA and ten in NCAA Division II. They went to the NAIA World Series in 1989 and 1991 and the NCAA Division II World Series in 2000, 2001, and 2005, advancing to the final in 2005.
Notably, the team's former logo is similar to the New York Yankees logo. It was designed in 1986 at the urging of Dusty Rhodes and continued, and brought extra attention to the baseball program. It was discontinued after Rhodes' retirement in 2010 and replaced with a new logo for the 2011 season.