Florida Poly prepares for first-ever sports season as athletics program takes shape

Florida Poly launches athletics program

Florida Polytechnic University is gearing up for the first season of its new athletics program. FOX 13's Carla Bayron reports.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Florida Polytechnic University is gearing up for the first season of its new athletics program.

The backstory:

The university is starting with eight men's and women's sports, including cross-country, basketball and soccer.

Florida Poly in Lakeland is moving into its 12th year as the only public STEM university in the state. It built its academic foundation in the first decade, and now it is focused on the student experience.

What they're saying:

"The president went out to the students and asked, 'Would you be interested in athletics?' And we got a nice 'yes' from them," Derek Lower, director of athletics and recreation, said. "Every decision that's made has a student focus to it. So, as soon as students said yes, we plunged in."

Women's soccer head coach Jack Paris says it's extremely exciting to be able to build the culture of the program from the very start.

"That was a big sell for me: an all-STEM school and the only one in Florida," Paris said. "Having intellectually smart players and correlating that onto the field."

Paris is recruiting players both in-state and internationally. Ideally, he'd like to have 28 players on the team.

Dig deeper:

Lower says the goal is to join the NAIA and the Sun Conference in the future.

"We want to win some championships and have some high-quality student-athletes," Lower said.

What's next:

The university's first game will be held in early August.

All games and training will be off-site at nearby sports complexes, and the university may add more sports in the future.