Ave Maria

April 2008
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced that Ave Maria University’s application to join the NAIA was approved by the NAIA Council of Presidents at the 67th annual NAIA National Convention, held April 11-15 in Louisville, Kentucky.

August 2008 
The first varsity intercollegiate athletic contests for AMU take place. The volleyball program opened at home on August 26 versus Southeastern University, later recording the program’s first win on August 30, a 3-1 victory over Warner Southern (later renamed Warner University). Adrianna Vianna led AMU with 22 kills and a .370 attack percentage. The volleyball team calls Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School (now Donahue Academy) their home court.

September 2008
The men’s and women’s soccer teams took to the pitch for the first time as they hosted Warner Southern at Ave Maria’s North Park. Both programs would go on to earn their first wins in program history on September 20 over the College of the Bahamas.  Damian Coliqueo scored the men’s program first goal unassisted in the 16th minute versus COB. The Gyrenes went on to win 4-2.  Teresa Asper led the women’s team to a 2-1 victory on the same date.

October 2008
Men’s basketball tips off for the first time on October 30, 2008. The men traveled to Orlando, Fla., to take on Florida Christian College. They recorded the program’s first win there by a score of 91-75. Tim Snyder led the Gyrenes with four double-doubles through their first six games of the season. The men’s golf team also competes for the first time.

November 2008
Women’s basketball tips off for first time. The women traveled to Babson Park, Fla., to take on Webber International University in their first-ever game. They recorded the program’s first win on November 7 versus Johnson & Wales, 61-57. The AMU basketball teams, like the volleyball team, call Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School (now Donahue Academy) their home court.

October 2009
Tom Golisano announces a $4 million dollar donation to fund the creation of the university’s first indoor athletic facility.

January 2010
Baseball and softball play their first-ever games, with baseball facing off at home against Warner University (Fla.) and softball facing off at home against Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.). The baseball program would go on to finish 21-24 in their inaugural season of competition while the softball program finished 4-24.

February 2010
Tom Golisano participates in the official groundbreaking for the Golisano Field House.  

September 2010
The cross-country teams travel to Daytona Beach for their first-ever competition in the Asics Embry-Riddle Classic.  Also in September, the men’s soccer—competing in their fifth season—finally plays on the campus of Ave Maria University, defeating Clearwater Christian, 2-1.

November 2010
The Tom Golisano Fieldhouse officially opened with the men’s basketball season-opener on November 19. The Gyrenes put on an impressive offensive show, dominating Trinity College 105-85. Kiel Lewis led the Gyrenes with 26 points. Lewis would go on to be named an NAIA All-American and was later inducted into AMU’s 2nd Athletics Hall of Fame class.

January 2011
The first track and field athletes compete for AMU at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational on January 22. Track and field would be discontinued after the 2010-11 season and restarted as a varsity sport 12 years later.

February 2011
The first-ever Gyrene varsity tennis matches are completed as the teams traveled to Webber International on February 4. The Gyrenes avoided being swept only once in the 2011 season, finishing the season 0-6.

March 2011
The women’s basketball team wins three straight games in Union Town, Pa., to claim the USCAA national championship and cap a 25-8 season. Also, Marya Haegler becomes Ave Maria’s first NAIA All-American in the Indoor Track and Field Women’s 5000m race. She finished fourth with a time of 17:14.15.

September 2011
Ave Maria Football travels to Alabama to play its first-ever game, a loss versus Faulkner University.  The team didn’t win any games its first season, and the team had no games on campus.  

March 2012
Ave Maria wins their first Sun Conference championship in any sport, as the women’s basketball program claims both the league’s regular season and tournament championships, earning an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament. The men’s tennis program earned their first victory in program history, a 6-3 victory over St. Francis (Ill.)

August 2012
Ave Maria greets the academic year with more than 300 students participating in intercollegiate sports.

February 2013
The basketball teams wrap up very successful regular seasons. The men’s team finished 23-9 and posted its first winning season in conference play with a 9-7 record. The season also saw the men’s basketball team ranked as high as No. 14 in the country. Addtionally, The Gyrene women’s basketball program repeats as Sun Conference regular season champions, going 12-2 in league play. Ave Maria is led by All-American Emily Huber, who would go on to become a member of AMU’s inaugural Hall of Fame class.

May 2013
The Ave Maria baseball program finishes their best season with 38 wins, enough to earn the Gyrenes an at-large berth into the NAIA Tournament. Ave Maria also earns a win in the national tournament with a victory over nationally ranked Martin Methodist.

October 2013
Ave Maria Football hosts a game on campus for the first time, a 45-41 come-from-behind thriller versus Florida Institute of Technology.

November 2013
The Gyrene football team defeats Newport News Apprentice School (Va.) to finish the season with an 8-2 record, the best record of all the independent football teams in the NAIA.

March 2014
The Ave Maria women’s basketball program wins a conference title for the third year in a row, this time returning to the NAIA Tournament as Sun Conference Tournament champions. The Gyrenes beat Johnson & Wales and Southeastern before a thrilling 70-69 win over Webber in the final.

February 2015
Women’s lacrosse has its first game ever with a contest at Florida Tech.

August 2015
Ave Maria greets the academic year with more than 400 students participating in intercollegiate sports.

February 2016
The Mid-South Conference and the Sun Conference announce that they will merge their football conferences to create the a 20-team conference, the largest football conference in the country.  The new mega-conference began play the following season in 2017.

May 2017
Softball defeats University of South Carolina Beaufort, 3-2, to cap its winningest season ever with 32 wins. Also, women’s lacrosse finishes its winningest season ever 7-7, 3-2. Current women’s lacrosse head coach, Katelyn Sherman, was named an NAIA 2nd Team All-American following the season.

November 2018
The Gyrene football team beats Warner University at home, 31-21, to secure the Mid-South Conference Sun Division Championship.  The season also witnessed the first-ever night football game on the AMU campus, a thrilling 23-20 victory over the defending Sun Conference champions, Southeastern.  During that season, AMU beat three nationally ranked teams.

February 2019
Beach volleyball begins competition at a tri-match in Miami Gardens.

March 2019
Men’s basketball defeats Coastal Georgia in the Sun Conference Tournament to become conference tournament champions.  The win capped an eight-game winning streak to solidify the most successful season in program history as the team finished 23-9 with a 13-5 conference record.  The season also was the first of four consecutive 20-win seasons.

August 2020
At the height of the Covid pandemic, Ave Maria athletics pursues fall competition in football, cross country, soccer, and volleyball.  AMU is the only college in southwest Florida competing.

May 2021
AMU records its best-ever Commissioner’s Cup finish, a third-place finish behind Southeastern and Keiser.  The Commissioner’s Cup is awarded annually to schools based upon how their teams finished in sports sponsored by the Sun Conference.  Five sports finished in the top two in the conference:  men’s and women’s cross country, indoor volleyball, men’s basketball, and beach volleyball

August 2021
Ave Maria greets the academic year with 500 students participating in intercollegiate sports.

September 2021
Ave Maria announces is inaugural Hall of Fame Class, recognizing softball player Kingsley Avery, basketball player Emily Huber, and football player Jeff Lindenmoyer.

October 2021
The Ave Maria swim teams compete for the first time in dual match in Miami Gardens versus St. Thomas.

November 2021
After finishing the season as the second-place team in the Sun Conference, the volleyball team dominates the Sun Conference Tournament, defeating Florida Memoria 3-0 and Coastal Georgia 3-0, to win the tournament championship.  That win punches their ticket to the NAIA national tournament.

December 2021
The Sun Conference announces that it will again sponsor football, independent of the Mid-South Conference. This allows the football team to set its own 2022 schedule, which included two Michigan teams and one Maryland team.

February 2022
The AMU competitive dance team travels to New Orleans for its first-ever competition as a part of the Battle in the Big Easy.

May 2022
The Gyrenes website (avemariagyrenes.com) has its most successful 10-month span, garnering more than 1.2 million page views.  During that same time, the livestreamed home contests has more than 40,000 “unique views.”
Also in May, both the men’s and women’s tennis teams qualify for the NAIA Tournament for the first time in school history. The men’s team makes further history in Mobile, Ala., becoming just the second team in AMU history to win a national tournament game.

August 2022
Ave Maria greets the academic year with more than 600 students participating in intercollegiate sports.  Also in August, the second Hall of Fame Class is announced:  Lacrosse player Abby Castro, basketball player Kiel Lewis, and baseball Alex Sanchez.

September 2022
The first-ever recipients of the John Paul II Distinguished Alumni Award—soccer player Christine Mastandrea and baseball player Brian Trymbiski—are announced.

October 2022
The recently elevated ultimate frisbee team plays in its first match as a varsity team, beating Florida Gulf Coast University’s club team in a home night game.  Also in October, Ave Maria announces that the rugby program will be elevated to varsity status, effective for the 2023-2024 academic year.

December 2022
The reinstated track and field team competes officially for the first time, competing in the Keiser University Winter Open to kick off the indoor track season.