The Florida Atlantic Owls are the Athletic Teams of Florida Atlantic University (FAU). The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of Conference USA and Collegiate Coastal Sport Association.
As of March 2018, the Owls are led by athletic director Brian White; who oversees 18 Division I Athletic Teams.
Florida Atlantic's 18 varsity sports teams, the Owls, compete in NCAA's Division I. The Owls recently joined Conference USA for the 2013–14 season. The university's athletics program began in 1979, when Florida Atlantic first started sponsoring intercollegiate teams. Since then, the university has worked to expand the quality of its intercollegiate program by attracting coaches such as Howard Schnellenberger, Matt Doherty, Rex Walters, Lane Kiffin, and Mike Jarvis. In 2006, the athletic department was ranked 79th in the nation by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Along with USA Today and the United States Sports Academy, NACDA recognized the university for its Division I athletic programs and accomplishments." This ranking placed Florida Atlantic in the top 24% of 326 NCAA Division I universities.[84] The university's colors are FAU Blue, FAU Red, and FAU Silver.
The logo and mascot of Florida Atlantic University's athletic teams is the burrowing owl. Owlsley is the name of the mascot for Florida Atlantic University. The presence of this bird has been popular on the land of the university, even preceding the construction of FAU.
Florida Atlantic University has awarded more than 110,000 degrees to nearly 105,000 alumni worldwide since its opening.
Some notable Florida Atlantic alumni are:
Daniel Bluman (born 1990), Colombian-born Israeli Olympic show jumping rider
R. David Paulison, former head of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency
Charles Ghigna or "Father Goose", children's poet and former nationally syndicated columnist
Judith Ortiz Cofer, acclaimed Puerto Rican author whose works span a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, and essays[139]
Greg Joseph, placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League
Phil Zimmermann, creator of Pretty Good Privacy
Mary Carey, pornographic actress and former candidate for Governor of California
Carrot Top, prop comedian
Devin Singletary, running back for the NFL's Buffalo Bills
Steven Swanson, NASA astronaut who went to space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-117 in June 2007, and Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-119 in March 2009
Edith Stern, award-winning inventor and child prodigy
Tyler Cameron, the Bachelorette 2019 contestant
Faculty:
David F. Bjorklund, psychology professor, author, pioneer in evolutionary developmental psychology
Maria Fadiman, associate professor, an ethnobotanist and member of the 2006 National Geographic Emerging Explorers
J. A. Scott Kelso, neuroscientist, founder of the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences
Salvatore D. Morgera, former Chair of Electrical Engineering, Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the AAAS, Tau Beta Pi Eminent Engineer; pioneer of the highly multidisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program at FAU; Chair and Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Florida
Walid Phares, author, national media commentator, and expert on global terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs
Richard Shusterman, Professor of Philosophy, pragmatist philosopher, Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Humanities, and Founder and Director of the FAU Center for Body, Mind, and Culture
Martin K. Solomon, computer science professor, author, assistant chair of the Computer Science Engineering Department, expert on Oracle and databases
Robert P. Watson, alumnus of FAU, author, national media commentator, former candidate for the United States House of Representatives; formerly associate professor of political science at FAU
Jie Wu, professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Program Director for the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program of the National Science Foundation
