Latest news with #UNF
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama baseball adds established closer in transfer portal from Florida school
Alabama baseball adds established closer in transfer portal from Florida school Alabama baseball has added its second arm from the transfer portal since the Crimson Tide's season-ending loss to Southern Miss at the Hattiesburg Regional of the NCAA Tournament a week ago. North Florida reliever Kaden Humphrey announced his commitment to Alabama in a post to social media Saturday. A right-hander who recently completed his junior season, Humphrey joins Texas State Bobcats right-hander Matthew Tippie as pitchers Alabama have added from the portal this week. Listed as 6-foot-1, 189 pounds, Humphrey appeared in 24 games for UNF this past season and was 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA. In 29 1/3 innings, he struck out 46 batters and walked 17 while notching 11 saves for a 1.34 WHIP. Opponents batted .206 against Humphrey. In two seasons with the Ospreys, Humphrey posted a 5.05 ERA over 66 innings pitched. He struck out 89 batters while walking 42 in that span. He'll be a senior in 2026 after his two seasons at UNF, plus his freshman campaign at Stetson in the Atlantic Sun conference in 2023. Alabama will looking to replace right-hander Carson Ozmer (4-2, 3.29 ERA) in the bullpen after his NCAA-leading 17 saves in 2025. Ozmer is one of 13 finalists for the annual NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, presented to the top relief pitcher in the nation. The Crimson Tide finished the 2025 season 41-18 overall and were 16-14 in SEC play during the regular season in head coach Rob Vaughn's second year in Tuscaloosa. Alabama's 40 victories in the regular season marked the first time since 2002 that the program had posted 40 or more wins in a regular season. Alabama was the No. 2 seed at the Hattiesburg Regional and were ranked No. 20 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll entering the NCAA Tournament. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sporting JAX signs three more players to debut roster
Sporting Club Jacksonville added three more players to the roster as it prepares for its debut in the newly launched USL Division One Gainbridge Super League. The USL expansion franchise announced the signings of defender Zara Siassi, and midfielders Caroline Murray and Parker Roberts. 'We are thrilled to announce these key additions to our first-ever team at Sporting JAX,' said Sporting JAX Head Coach Stacey Balaam. 'We have three special personalities within this group who will be integral to building a healthy but competitive culture. They all prioritize a 'team first' mindset and are willing to go the other extra mile for others. This will be important as we try to build a cohesive and collaborative group.' (Courtesy of Sporting JAX) Zara Siassi is no stranger to Jacksonville as she was a star player at the University of North Florida. In 2024, Siassi was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and All ASUN-First Team. She also was named fourth-team All-American in her final year at UNF and made the ASUN Academic Honor Roll four times. Advertisement 'Zara will enter her first season as a professional after an impressive college career at UNF and she has really made a name for herself in the community,' said Balaam. 'Her soccer resume speaks for itself and her high honors throughout her college career are a testament to her hard work, dedication and discipline. Zara is gritty, a fierce competitor and has a selfless mentality. We are excited to see her growth as she begins her professional journey.' (Courtesy of Sporting JAX) Caroline Murray has been playing professional soccer since 2016, playing in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. Recently, Murray played for Throttur Reykjavik in Iceland. 'Caroline has adapted to many different styles and cultures over the years. She is powerful, direct, and can play on either wing. She is an exciting, attack-minded player who will undoubtedly cause problems for many defenders. Caroline has the mindset that she is playing every game like it's her last and you can't teach that mentality – that is sheer desire,' raved Balaam. (Courtesy of Sporting JAX) Parker Roberts played with the Florida Gators from 2016 to 2021 before playing with the Orlando Pride in the NWSL. Roberts has represented the U.S. on the U20 and U23 teams. Advertisement 'Parker is a senior pro who will offer valuable experience down the spine,' said Balaam. 'She is an engine, a destroyer, and a leader who can score goals from the midfield. She brings many key attributes on and off the field, and will set the tone every day in practice as a great role model for the squad's younger players.' These three signings join Georgia Brown and Ashlyn Puerta who were signed last month. Sporting JAX will play its home opener on Saturday, August 23 at UNF's Hodges Stadium against DC Power FC.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UNF polls gauges views on Mayor Deegan, Sheriff Waters and State Attorney Melissa Nelson
Worries about the cost of housing vaulted over crime as the biggest concern for Jacksonville residents in a new University of North Florida poll. The UNF poll released June 3 also gauged favorability ratings for Mayor Donna Deegan, Sheriff T.K. Waters and State Attorney Melissa Nelson. Waters stood at 64% favorability while Deegan and Nelson each was at 61%. All three are polling as strongly now as they did a year ago, Binder said. "It's always surprising when polling numbers don't move hardly at all," Binder said. Deegan, who took office in July 2023, is coming up on the mid-point of her four-year term. Binder said he expects Deegan, a Democrat, will face opposition when she runs for re-election. He said it's "not necessarily going to be an easy road" for a Republican challenger. "If you want to make inroads, you're up against it," he said. "That being said, there really isn't an opposition campaign that's been run, and if and when that happens, you would naturally see some erosion of that support (for Deegan), especially among Republicans." On the issues most important to Jacksonville residents, crime historically has been top-of-mind for years. When UNF asked in a September 2023 poll to name the most important problem facing Jacksonville, 37% said crime followed by 11% who cited housing costs. In the new UNF poll, those are flip-flopped. The cost of housing was the top problem at 25% followed by crime at 12%. Education, transportation and infrastructure each was at 9%. The economy and property taxes each was cited by 8% of respondents. Immigration, which is a big issue nationally, was named the top problem in Jacksonville by 2% of the poll's respondents. Binder said crime used to be "far and away" the top response. He said it's dropped to a "distant second across party lines" while voters have "shifted to the housing issues we're seeing all over the state." UNF political science professor Sean Feeder said housing concerns encompass the rising cost of property insurance, the state of the real estate market, concerns about inflation on a national level and the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on key markets. In contrast to the consistently high ratings for Deegan, Waters and Nelson, the UNF poll found favorability sliding for Jacksonville City Council. The UNF poll in May 2024 found 48% approved how City Council was doing it job and 42% disapproved. The new poll shows approval of City Council slid to 42% while disapproval rose to 53%. Diamond Springs: Duval County's first lagoon community, set to open later this year Budget prep: Mayor Deegan and City Council already getting ready for what could be tough budget Binder said City Council as a 19-member body always polls lower than individual elected leaders, but it is significant council is underwater in voter views. "Clearly, there's something happening there that's worth looking at," Binder said. He said City Council has taken a more partisan turn recently on some matters and that could be a result of looking ahead to the 2027 election when candidates will appeal more directly to voters based on party registration. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF poll finds housing costs biggest concern in Jacksonville
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local restaurants seeing business boost from NCAA track meet at University of North Florida
Hundreds of college athletes from across the eastern half of the country are in Jacksonville, as the University of North Florida hosts the 2025 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field East Region First Round Championship this week. Local businesses say they are seeing a boost in business because of it. 'We do see a lot of kids coming in with the coaches and stuff, lunch and dinner,' Snehal Patel, Owner & Manager of Tikka Bowl and Tacos Southside location, said. 'We've seen a good amount of college kids because of the meet come in,' Top Israel, Shift Lead at Clean Eatz Southside, said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] According to the UNF, this year there are 174 college track and field teams at the meet, with a total of 1,779 student-athletes competing. They tell me they are expecting roughly 6,000 people at the meet for each day of the four-day competition. The last time UNF held this meet was in 2023, and they report that the city of Jacksonville saw more than $9 million in economic benefit just from this event alone. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] UNF said it plans to host the championship again in 2027. Patel is already looking forward to the next one. 'We hope these meets keep happening over here,' Patel said. 'It's going to help a lot of small businesses like ours.' Day 1 of the meet kicks off Wednesday at Hodges Stadium. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘They're going after everything:' UNF faculty express concerns over DOGE funding targets
New documents have been released detailing Florida DOGE's efforts to audit spending at the University of North Florida, and UNF's response to those inquiries. 'We were to submit years of research, six years of resource publications, grants, awards, etc.,' explained Madeline Atenasi, UNF's United Faculty of Florida president on Monday. UNF President Dr. Moaz Limayem recently told Action News Jax the university has readily complied with those inquiries. 'If there is a room for us to be even more efficient, more effective, we are not afraid of that,' Limayem told Action News Jax Emily Turner in a sit-down interview. 'And again, we have been very transparent for every request we receive from DOGE.' [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] However, officials from the UNF United Faculty of Florida branch expressed concerns to Action News Jax about the possible motivations behind the state's efforts. 'They're going after everything that's DEI, after everything they consider wasteful or ineffective, and it just feels like it's a continuous attempt from the state to defund education,' Atenasi expressed. Christopher Trice – the vice president for UNF's United Faculty of Florida branch, and a current professor at UNF – pointed to concerns particularly about the request for research funding, as well as requests for any university publications covering that research. 'When the government gets involved in defining what is valid research and what can and cannot be researched, well, there's room for … well, frankly, there's room for personal opinion to start driving those kinds of decisions rather than the legitimate pursuit of knowledge,' argued Trice. Action News Jax also reached out to the university system's board of governors for an interview or statement on these efforts, but have yet to hear back. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
