UNF Athletic Director Lee Moon reviewed some of the  athletic accomplishments of the Ospreys this year.

The Old Wooden Barrel

The Old Wooden Barrel is a product of the decade-old rivalry between the Ospreys and Dolphins. Beating the Dolphins has become the Ospreys “Number one priority,” according to Moon.

“If you are going to be good, you are going to have to own your city. Whatever sport it is, when we play JU we need to beat them,” said Moon.

All shared sports amongst the two schools are included in the rivalry games, known as the River City Rumble. The competition includes the 22 games that the Ospreys and the Dolphins play. A point is given for each win and that determines the winner, which was UNF this season.

Men’ Conference All Sport Trophy

Along with the Old Wooden Barrel, another goal of the Ospreys are to bring in the ASUN All Sports Trophy. This year the Ospreys were unable to bring in the All Sports trophy, but they were crowned with the Men’s All Sports trophy.

“We’ve won on the men’s side three years in a row which is a record. But overall, we lost the overall sports trophy to FGCU,” said Moon.

FGCU has brought in the All Sports Title three years in a row, but Moon wants to change that and bring the trophy to UNF.

Men’s Basketball

Men’s basketball has become the staple sport on campus. The Ospreys finished out the season 15-19 and made it to the ASUN championship where they fell to the FGCU Eagles.

“I thought [the basketball season] was exciting,” said Moon. “I thought it was one that in some respects reached out goals because we made it in the [ASUN] championship and the tournament.”

Moon also expressed how he was not completely satisfied with the season though. There were games that the athletic director felt the Ospreys played well in and won, but he also thought there were some games the team shouldn’t dropped.

Nevertheless, Moon thought the Ospreys had a “good year” overall as they finished third in the ASUN.

NCAA Appearances

This season the Ospreys had some notable NCAA tournament appearances by multiple athletes including track star Eden Meyer, tennis player Jack Findel-Hawkins and golfer Travis Trace.

The success the Ospreys have had across the different sports has made Moon happy with what the athletes are accomplishing.

“I love watching the sports,” said Moon. “I love watching seeing us win and compete in every sport.”

Meyer and Trace were both able to make it all the way to the NCAA championship in each of their sports this season. While Findel-Hawkins didn’t make it to the finals, he made history after making it all the way to the Elite Eight in the tournament.

“Those people are a product of and winning culture [and] we are in that process of trying to build and sustain a winning culture,” said Moon.

While winning is a goal Moon has said it is not the only goal he has. A personal goal of Moon is to help the student-athletes on and off the court, pitch, track or whatever surface they play on.

“When I came here I thought this is a place that I could make a difference,” said Moon. “I help  through their problems and try to make a difference in their lives.”

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