Notable Alumni of the University of West Florida

The University of West Florida (UWF), a mid-sized public university in Pensacola, Florida, has produced a diverse array of accomplished individuals across various fields. As a member of the State University System of Florida and a doctoral/research university specializing in engineering and the humanities, UWF has fostered an environment conducive to the development of notable alumni. This article highlights some of the university's most prominent graduates and their contributions to society.

Athletics

UWF has a strong athletic tradition, with alumni making significant contributions to professional sports.

Roy Jones Jr.: A world-renowned boxer, Jones is one of the most celebrated athletes to emerge from UWF.
Moochie Norris: Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the Houston Push of The Basketball League (TBL).
Daniela Cruz: A prominent figure in women's soccer, Cruz has represented Costa Rica on the international stage. Daniela María Cruz Mejía is a Costa Rican footballer who plays as a defender for Deportivo Saprissa and the Costa Rica women's national team.
Reginald "Reggie" Warren: Reginald Warren is an American professional basketball player for Veltex Shizuoka in Japan.
Sean Reynolds: Sean Reynolds is an American soccer player.
Richard Dixon: Richard Dixon is a Jamaican former footballer who played as a defender.
Stuart Manley: Stuart Manley is a Welsh professional golfer.

Arts and Entertainment

UWF alumni have also made their mark in the arts and entertainment industry.

Jan Hooks: Janet Vivian Hooks was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her tenure on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where she was a repertory player from 1986 to 1991. After leaving SNL, she continued to make cameo appearances until 1994. Her subsequent work included a regular role on the last two seasons of Designing Women, a recurring role on 3rd Rock from the Sun, and a number of other film and television roles, including on 30 Rock and The Simpsons.
Namrata Singh Gujral: An American filmmaker, motivational speaker, and actress, Gujral has made significant contributions to the film industry. Namrata Singh Gujral is an American filmmaker, motivational speaker and actor.
David Hart: David Hart is most known for his role as Sgt. Robert P.
Tanya Gallagher: Tanya Gallagher is an American indie folk singer-songwriter from Pensacola, Florida.
Ligel Lambert: Ligel Lambert is a Haitian-born American interdisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, educator and graphic designer who primarily works in painting, collage, printmaking, assemblage (art) and sculpture. He is best known for his colorful, Fauvist, rhythmic and abstracted interpretations of musicians, interpretations of sounds and musical themed paintings.
Maria Fernanda Parada Ruiz: Maria Fernanda Parada Ruiz (Arts Admin & Acting) - Master's Degree, Media & Communications Management, Macromedia University (Munich, Germany).
Aletta Kemp: Aletta Kemp - Actor, "Romeo & Juliet" - Florida Shakespeare Theatre (Dec. 2018/Jan.
Johnathan Perez: Johnathan Perez - Education & Outreach Associate, American Stage Theatre Company; Freelance Actor/Singer, St.
Mason St. Gabriel Esmurdoc: Mason St. Gabriel Esmurdoc - International Coordinator, Univ.
Jared Gibson: Jared Gibson - Navy Corpsman specializing in Preventative Medicine; Graduate School for Public Health; Actor - Tecumseh!
Destinee Steele: Destinee Steele - Associate Wig Designer - Death of a Salesman, Broadway.
Aileen Cleaver: Aileen Cleaver - Master Electrician, Weston Playhouse (summer 2018); Asst.
Brandy Hooper: Brandy Hooper - M.A.
Savannah Simerly: Savannah Simerly - MFA-Acting, Univ.
Leonar Elaina Walton: Leonar Elaina Walton - MFA, Univ.
Rashawnda Foster: Rashawnda Foster - Sr.
Laura Sebastian: Laura Sebastian - Adjunct Professor, Pensacola State Colle; MFA - Acting, Univ.
Barbara Krantz (Martinez): Barbara Krantz (Martinez) - Teacher, Parkway Middle School of the Arts, Ft.
Kenneth Kay: Kenneth Kay - MFA Theatre, AEA/SAG/AFTRA actor.
Martha Cooper: Martha Cooper - M.A. Univ.

Politics and Public Service

Several UWF alumni have distinguished themselves in the realm of politics and public service.

Anna Paulina Luna: An American politician and Air Force veteran, Luna serves in the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district. Anna Paulina Luna is an American politician and Air Force veteran who serves in the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district as a member of the Republican Party. She is the first Mexican-American woman elected to Congress from Florida.
Chip Cravaack: Raymond John "Chip" Cravaack is an American former politician and aviator. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for northeastern Minnesota's 8th congressional district from 2011 to 2013.
Mike Hill: Walter Bryan "Mike" Hill is a Republican politician from Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 to 2016 and 2018 to 2020, representing the Pensacola area.
Curtis B. Richardson: Curtis B. Richardson is an American elected official, who has been a member of the Tallahassee City Commission since 2014. He previously served for eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of Gadsden and Leon Counties from 2000 to 2008.
Jayer Williamson: Jayer Williamson is a politician from the state of Florida. He held the position of state representative from the Florida State House's third district from 2016 to 2022. He previously held the position of District One Santa Rosa County Commissioner.
Jerry L. Maygarden: Jerry Louis Maygarden is a former American politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 55th Mayor of Pensacola from 1991 to 1994.
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch: Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch is a former at-large governing board member of the South Florida Water Management District representing St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. She is the author of the blog Indian River Lagoon, a former member of Florida's Constitution Revision Commission, a former mayor and commissioner of the Town of Sewall's Point, Florida, and a former Republican candidate for Martin County Commission.

Military and Space Exploration

UWF has a strong connection to the military and space exploration, with several alumni serving with distinction.

James Oren Ellis, Jr: Admiral James Oren Ellis Jr. is a retired 4-star admiral and former Commander, United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
Bruce E. Melnick: Bruce Edward Melnick is a retired American astronaut and United States Coast Guard officer.
James Buchli: James Frederick Buchli is a retired United States Marine aviator and former NASA astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions.
Bryan D. O'Connor: Bryan Daniel O'Connor is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and former NASA astronaut.
Kenneth Cockrell: Kenneth Dale "Taco" Cockrell is a retired American astronaut, engineer and a veteran of five Space Shuttle missions.
Richard N. Richards: Richard Noel "Dick" Richards, (Capt, USN, Ret.), is a retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, chemical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut.
Mark P. Fitzgerald: Mark P. Fitzgerald is a retired United States Navy admiral.
David Architzel: David Architzel is a retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy.
Charles H. Johnston: Rear Admiral Charles Herbert Johnston Jr. (born 1948), known as Bert Johnston, was a United States Navy officer.
Robert McMurry: Robert D. McMurry Jr. is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General who is now an executive vice president at Dayton Aerospace and a member of its board of directors.

Other Fields

UWF alumni have also excelled in various other fields, including:

Jonathan Little: Jonathan Little is an American professional poker player who won both the World Poker Tour's Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown and Season VII Foxwoods World Poker Finals and won the WPT Season VI Player of the Year award.
Lee Moak: Donald Lee Moak is an expert in aviation safety, consultant, and the co-founder of Intrepid, a public affairs, advocacy, and business consulting firm located in Washington, D.C.
David Suhor: David Suhor is an American jazz musician and teacher living in Pensacola, Florida; he is the founder of a local business called ShamaLamaGram that delivers singing telegrams.

University of West Florida Football Program

While not an alumnus, the success of the University of West Florida football program deserves mention. The Argonauts have quickly become one of the country’s most successful Division II programs.

Early Success and National Championship

Though the University of West Florida football team stumbled out of the gates in their 2016 debut, the Argonauts quickly have become one of the country’s most successful Division II programs. The Argos were 5-6 in their first campaign, but they went on to win nine or more games four times in their six full seasons of existence, including a run to the national title in 2019. In 2019, West Florida cruised through Super Region 2 with wins over Wingate, Valdosta State and Lenoir-Rhyne, then defeated Ferris State and Minnesota State in the semifinals and final, respectively, to secure the Argos’ first football national title.

Recent Achievements

In 2022, UWF posted a 9-1 regular-season record and claimed a share of the Gulf South Conference title (with Delta State) by going 6-1 in GSC games. The success helped the Argos into the postseason for the fourth time, and they advanced to the Division II national semifinals, where they were defeated by eventual national champion Ferris State, 38-17. West Florida finished the season with a 12-2 record, which included playoff wins over Limestone, Delta State and Wingate. UWF finished the 2022 season ranked No. 4 in the final American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

Gulf South Conference

In 2023, the Gulf South Conference will include nine teams (up from eight) and return three that finished with winning records in 2022. Among the returning teams are the University of West Florida and Delta State. While West Florida finished 2022 with a 12-2 overall record, Delta State was 11-2. The University of West Florida football team immediately began playing in the Gulf South Conference in its inaugural season of 2016. Yes, the University of West Florida football team won the Gulf South title in 2021 (shared with Valdosta State) and 2022 (shared with Delta State).

Read also: History of the Block 'M'

Coaching Staff

After six full seasons with the team (2016-2022), plus two additional years of planning, Pete Shinnick left West Florida to become the head football coach at Towson. Not long after Shinnick’s departure, former UWF football player and coach, Kaleb Nobles, was announced as the new head coach at UWF. Kaleb Nobles is the new man in charge at the University of West Florida, and he has some big shoes to fill following the departure of Pete Shinnick (2016-2022). Nobles is the second head coach in the team’s short history, as Shinnick was responsible for building the program and leading the Argos onto the field for the first time in 2016 - and every year/game since. Shinnick was 56-21 at UWF, with four playoff appearances, two Gulf South titles (shared) and a Division II national championship. The announcement of Nobles’ hiring was made in December 2022, after Shinnick announced he’d be departing to be the head football coach at Towson. Though Nobles played football at Valdosta State from 2012-2015, he transferred to UWF in 2016 and was part of the Argos’ inaugural effort as the team’s quarterback. He had six games with at least 300 passing yards. Nobles then spent three seasons with the Argonauts as their quarterbacks coach (2017-2020), before being named offensive coordinator in May 2020. As the Argos’ made their bid for the national title in 2017, Nobles worked daily with the quarterbacks. Nobles also spent time as the director of football operations. Before taking the top role at UWF, Nobles spent two seasons at Clemson, where he helped with offensive player development and worked with quarterbacks and wide receivers. He helped Clemson to the 2022 ACC title.

Rivalries and Home Field

While it may be a little too soon for a formal rivalry, West Florida and Delta State do have a little bit of history. They’ve played each year since West Florida’s debut in 2016 and even met twice in 2022. They’ve played seven games in all, with West Florida holding a 4-3 advantage. In their first meeting last season, Delta State escaped a two-overtime thriller, winning 45-42. The Argos repaid the favor when it mattered most, eliminating DSU from the second round of the playoffs, 38-27. From the start of the football program in 2016, the University of West Florida Argonauts played their home games at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The venue is the home of minor league baseball team the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. Having their own venue on the school campus is a way to get more investment and involvement from the students at UWF, whole also avoiding the possibility of an extended baseball season. Starting with the 2022 season, the Argos played their home games on campus at Pen Air Field. That will be the plan again for 2023, and the planning for a more permanent option will continue.

Key Facts

What Year Did West Florida Start Playing Football? The University of West Florida football team played its first season in 2016 under the guidance of Pete Shinnick. Football was the 15th varsity sport at UWF. Though the Argonauts were just 5-6 in their inaugural season, success quickly followed. In six seasons of play, the team is 56-21 (31-15 in Gulf South Conference) and has won nine or more games four times. The first game, and win, in school history was a 45-0 rout of Ave Marla on Sept. 3, 2016. The Argos scored 90 points on the way to a 2-0 start that season.
In What Division Of College Football Does West Florida Play? The University of West Florida football team plays at the NCAA Division II level.
How Many Times Has UWF Football Made It To The Playoffs? The University of West Florida football team has made it to the Division II Playoffs four times in six opportunities-2017, 2019, 2021, 2022. In 2017, West Florida picked up its first postseason victory-a 31-0 win over Wingate-then topped West Georgia, West Alabama and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, before falling to Texas A&M-Commerce in the Division II championship game (37-27).
When Did West Florida Football Join The Gulf South Conference? The University of West Florida football team immediately began playing in the Gulf South Conference in its inaugural season of 2016.
Has West Florida Football Ever Won The Gulf South Title? Yes, the University of West Florida football team won the Gulf South title in 2021 (shared with Valdosta State) and 2022 (shared with Delta State).

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