Hall of Famer "To Be"

Florida Atlantic University's head softball coach, Joan Joyce, will be inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame, on Sunday, March 9 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach.

Joyce came to FAU after a legendary softball career which garnered the Connecticut native All-America honors 15 times, including a National Tournament batting title (.467). She tallied a career pitching record of 753-42. Included in those totals are 150 no-hit, no-run games, and 50 perfect games. She also is credited with striking out both Ted Williams and Hank Aaron.

Joyce was also a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) for 19 years. Her best round was a 66, which did not include the round which she set a Guinness Book World Record for fewest putts in a round at 17. She also has played professional volleyball, basketball and was a participant in the famed "Super Stars" television show on ABC and hosted by Howard Cosell in the mid-1970s.

Read more about Coach Joyce's induction and her great achievements.

The Last Hoorah!!!

Yup, FAU Basketball is coming to a close this weekend. Both teams will be facing the University of Western Kentucky in the Arena aka "The Burrow."
This game is going to be a determining factor for the men's team as to whether or not they will be hosting the conference tournament and have another home match. The Florida Atlantic Men's team current record is (14-16) and they have won 9-of-12 of their conference matches.

It's Senior Day for both teams. The women's team will be graduating one member while the men's team will be graduating three members.

Pros v. Joes II

The FAU Men's Soccer match against Major League Soccer team, Real Salt Lake, took place at the Holiday Inn Soccer Complex in Sunrise, FL and was part of the Owls' spring schedule as they prepare to defend their 2007 Atlantic Soccer Conference regular season and tournament titles. FAU head men's soccer coach Kos Donev was upbeat after the match, even with the 2-1 lose.

Donev said after the match. "I am pleased with the way we've played. It has been a very good spring for us."

Rec & Roll

Construction on the new recreational & fitness center is on a roll. The FAU Recreation & Fitness Center will be an $11 million, 38,100 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility. The facility will provide new and improved recreation and fitness space, programming opportunities, and serve as a community hub for Florida Atlantic University.

Facility features include:

• 6,600 sq. ft. fitness center


• 40 pieces of cardio equipment


• Two circuit training units


• Free weight area


• Stretching area


• Two fitness performance rooms designed for yoga, pilates, aerobics, and spinning


• Men’s and women’s health club style locker rooms


• Multi-purpose gymnasium for basketball, volleyball and special events.

The architect for the project is Borelli + Partners, Inc. (Miami, Florida) Construction, managed by Kaufman Lynn General Contractors (Boca Raton, Florida)

Location: North End of the Breezeway

Expected Completion: January 2009

Pros v. Joes

FAU men's team recently played the Colorado Rapids as part of its spring scrimmage schedule. A match between a Major League Soccer team and a Division I team.

The Owls tied the Rapids 0-0 in a match held at the FAU Field. The Colorado Rapids are currently in preseason training getting ready for the upcoming MLS season. "It was a good match against a professional team," head coach Kos Donev said afterwards.

Yes, the FAU soccer team isn't pro but they sure held their own by not even letting the Rapids score on them.

Men's Soccer is the Oddball

Florida Atlantic Men's Soccer is the only FAU team that is not part of the same conference as all other FAU sports. FAU athletics is a part of the Sun-Belt Conference but the soccer team is part of the Atantic Soccer Conference, a league of their own.

The Atlantic Soccer Conference (ASC) began play in 2000 as nine colleges and universities offering NCAA division I men's soccer while holding various divisional classifications within the NCAA membership.

Work it Out

Many universities have their own weight training facilities but because of the limited space and time many FAU teams have to go to a different facility off campus, IHP. IHP known as Institute of Human Performance works with teams such as men's and women's basketball, track & field, cross country, swimming, and volleyball.

Juan Carlos the owner and head trainer of the facility assigns trainers to each team and the one benefit of using the facility for the athletes is that they are not just restrictied to train during team workouts. Juan Carlos also works with other world class athletes in sports such as wrestling, competitive weight lifting, football, hockey and many others.

A Home For the Owls

Finally, the FAU Fighting Owls are going to have a home stadium. Not only that, plenty more additions to the Florida Atlantic University campus are going to be made. The $62 million, 30,000-seat on-campus stadium is to open September 2010.

The proposal is modeled on a concept from the University of Central Florida for that school's 10,000-seat convocation center for basketball and concerts, dormitories with 2,000 beds, a new cafeteria, retail and additional parking. The university initially planned for the development team to take on all the costs, but once it studied the potential revenue streams decided to raise the money for the project, but still partner with the development.

This entire new development is to be called Innovation Village (PDF). Which will not only incumpus the stadium but also an addition possibly and new arena as well, which will also have new dorms, stores and parking.

Something Old is Now New

The winter track season is just starting to warm-up and with the direction of new women's Sprinting coach Owen McGregor the women are really beginning to prove themselves in the new conference.

However, that isn't all that is going great for the FAU Track & Field team. The FAU track was only completed in 2007, after the construction of a facility it normally takes 2-3 years for any officail event to happen because of all the pre-scheduling. But, the team doesn't have to wait that long, they are going to be holding a meet at the track this March, the 15th to be exact. It's going to be the facilities first official track meet.

SMART ATHLETES?!?!

Its a bad stigma but many athletes don't help to deter many from thinking that they are focused on being good students. However, there are a bunch that go unrecognized for actually caring about their education and pulling in the those good grades. Of nearly 400 FAU athletes 176 of them made a 3.o GPA or higher. Out of that 176 student-athletes only five made the Dean's List (achieved a 4.o or higher.) But, when you think about it, it almost seems like an amazing feet that these five student-athletes managed to obtain a Dean's List status, especially when you think of how demading the life of an student-athlete is.

Student-athletes have to deal with games/competitions, practice, weight training, travel and because of this many athletes are forced to miss classes which can cause many to fall behind, if they are not good with managing their time. However, others stay on top of their work by forming a strong relationship with their professors and fellow classmates so they stay caught-up with class work and maintain a good grade point average.

To find out who these SMART ATHLETES are then check them out.

It's Almost Over!

The men's and Lady's Owl Basketball teams only have a few more home games left. The women face Arkansas State on Feb. 9 at 5 p.m., Florida International University on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. and Middle Tennessee State University on Feb. 23 at 5p.m. The men face Arkansas State on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m., Longwood University on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m., Florida International University on Feb. 2o at 7 p.m. and Middle Tennessee State on Feb. 23 at 7p.m. On March 1, both teams face Western Kentucky University, which is a school that rivals FAU in nearly all sports, at the FAU "Burrow" Arena for their very last home game of the season. The women's team will take the court at 5 p.m. and the men's game will be right after at 7 p.m.

This will be the last home game for the woman's senior Adel Lizama and the men's seniors Sean Alarcon, Seydou Kone, Jeff Parmer and Derrick Simmons.

Softball's "Kick-Off" Classic

The FAU Lady Owls will begin their "Kick-Off" Classic on Friday, Feb. 8 thru the 10th and take on five teams over three days. The Lady Owls will face the University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan, University of North Florida and the University of South Carloina.

The tournament will begin at 9 a.m. at the FAU Softball Stadium and end at 10 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday the teams will face off in the championships which will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.

Relay For Life

Florida Atlantic's chapter of The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is holding a event on April 12 thru the 13. This event is an all-day affair (an overnite event, up to 24 hours) that will be held on the Henderson School Soccer Fields which are right beside the Florida Atlantic Campus.

Teams of people camp out in tents and take turns walking and running around a track or path, each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times because CANCER NEVER SLEEPS. Relay for life is always looking for donations to help the cause because cancer has touched .

Volleyball is going to NICARAGUA!!!

Did you know that the FAU Volleyball team is going to Nicaragua this summer? Well, they are. The girls, along with coach Jody Brown and assistant coach Todd Raasch, are leaving for Nicaragua on May 3 and are going to get an experience of a lifetime. Not only will they be playing other teams from all over the world but they also have a mission.




The team is colaborating with Mission Nicaragua and are going to be helping by donating goods and time to the inpoverished. Each member of the team will be allowed to bring an additional bag up to 50lbs full of clothing and any other materials and/or resources that the Nicaraguan children desperatly need. Through this trip the team will also get the chance to gain knowledge about the Nicaraguan culture.

If You Can Dodge a Rench, You Can Dodge a Ball

Florida Atlantic University's SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) and Relay For Life are teaming up on Feb. 19 from 7 to 10 p.m. on the FAU tennis courts and are holding a Dodgeball Tournament in the effort to fight cancer. All the proceeds go to Relay For Life which go towards cancer research and education.

Who can play?

*Minimum of 6 and a Maximum of 8

*ALL teams MUST be Co-Ed

*At least one member on every team must be of the opposite sex

What do we wear?

*Each team must wear matching colors the night of the event

How much is it?

*Entry Fee: $5 per player

*Team must be paid in full in order to complete Registration

How and when do I sign up?

*Registration is going to be for the next two weeks in the Breezeway from 10:30-1:30 p.m.

*TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY the Feb. 5 and 6 and Feb. 12 and 13

*You MUST have MONEY in hand for all team members in order to register

*Registration will be CLOSED on Feb. 13, one week prior to the event.

NO REFUNDS