Florida Gulf Coast University – Cinderella Team Enters Sweet 16 in NCAA March Madness

Florida Gulf Coast University – Cinderella Team Enters Sweet 16 in NCAA March MadnessWho is Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU)? If you didn’t know before Sunday, you were not alone. But after the virtually unknown Cinderella team dominated Georgetown and then San Diego State on Sunday, everybody caught up in the latest scores ad news from the NCAA March Madness knows their name.

A school of only about 13,000 located on Florida’s south west Gulf coast near Ft. Myers, Florida Gulf Coast University only became a school in 1996. Now the school’s basketball team has made NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball history as the first number 15 seed in the championship tournament earn a spot in the Sweet 16 – the final 16 teams to compete for the national championship.

On Sunday, the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles beat San Diego State 81-71. Also on Sunday, the University of Florida Gators won their game against Minnesota, also earning a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. Next the two Florida teams will face off.

The other big story for FGCU is that of their head coach, Andy Enfield. Married to a former supermodel and himself a self-made millionaire, the 43 year old, who was a basketball star at Johns Hopkins University and spent time in the NBA, left the business world behind to get back to his passion for basketball. He has succeeded regardless of what happens in the rest of the tournament.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” said Enfield after Friday’s win over Georgetown. “We try to have fun, get serious when we have to.” After Sunday’s victory and the advancement of FGCU into the sweet sixteen, Enfield remarked, “Our goal was to make history and we did it.”

About Jack Law

Jack Law - an avid soccer player and talented writer, Jack does an excellent job bringing our Sports section to life. jack_law@newstaar.com