The University is offering full tuition scholarships to every football student-athlete who chooses to stay at Jacksonville University until graduation.

The University is honoring the employment agreements for all football coaches and offering enhanced resources to assist in their job search.

The University and Jacksonville Athletics, with input from experienced, independent consultants, arrived at this decision after a data-driven evaluation of Division I intercollegiate athletics.

In September, U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Colleges" rankings placed Jacksonville University 28th among 136 schools in the Regional Universities South category, 38th on the Best Value Schools list, and 16th among the Best Colleges for Veterans in the South.

In October, the personal finance website SmartAsset named Jacksonville University the sixth best-value college in the state out of 42 universities in Florida. It is the only Jacksonville-area university ranked in the Top 10.

In November, The Military Times for the fourth consecutive year ranked Jacksonville University among the top four-year schools in the U.S. on it "Best Vets Colleges 2020" list.

As a premier private university intensely focused on recruiting, developing and graduating engaged global citizens who are job-ready, Jacksonville University today announced major changes to its Division I Athletics program with the goal of strengthening the University and enhancing the experience for all students.After conducting a data-driven analysis, the University announced it will no longer play football and will discontinue its Division I program, effective immediately. The University has participated in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League since 1998."As a University, we are investing and innovating to match our offerings to the 21st century marketplace and to support the diverse demands and interests of our students," said Jacksonville University President Tim Cost. "This investment profile requires careful analysis, realistic planning and – occasionally – difficult decisions to help drive us forward to excellence.""This was a difficult decision," said Athletic Director. "Our student-athletes and coaches in the football program are talented, tenacious and hard working. We respect them immensely. Reinvesting these resources into our other Division I programs better positions us to enhance the experience for all 450 student-athletes."To maximize the opportunities for its student-athletes, Jacksonville University and Jacksonville Athletics, with input from several experienced, independent consultants, conducted a data-driven evaluation of how it invests in Division I athletics. For more than a year, the University explored a variety of options designed to strengthen the entire Athletics Department and position the program for long-term growth and success."We took a comprehensive approach, examining how we invest across the entire department," said Ricker-Gilbert. "All options were on the table through this process and we made a commitment to hold off on any premature conclusions until we had a complete picture. Ultimately, one option stood out as the best path forward for Jacksonville Athletics as a whole. When you consider all that we commit to coaching, recruiting, advising, facilities, conditioning, nutrition, and academic counseling, it's clear the resources required to support our football program outweigh the benefits to the overall Athletics Department and the University.""Our commitment to each football player and coach will continue beyond today." said Ricker-Gilbert. "We understand some of these student-athletes will look for opportunities to play football at other schools, and we respect that decision. If our students choose to stay here -- and we hope many of them do -- they will receive full tuition scholarships."To assist the student-athletes with these important decisions, the University has established a dedicated team of experienced leaders from key departments, including Financial Aid, Academic Advising, the Registrar's Office, Athletics Support Services, Student Affairs and more.The strategic decision to discontinue its Division I football program will propel Jacksonville University forward on its upward trajectory of accelerated growth and focused investment designed to benefit students, faculty, families, partners, alumni and the community. Building a new 104,000-square-foot Academic Healthcare Center, partnering with global shark researchers at OCEARCH to establish a Mayport hub, and launching the STEAM Initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) are recent examples of this focused investment across the University landscape of academics and student experience. These and other investments have led to a series of positive rankings from respected independent organizations that indicate Jacksonville University's continuing commitment to the pursuit of excellence including:With the goal of recruiting top-quality student-athletes who exhibit excellence on and off the field, Jacksonville Athletics also has focused its investment on enhancing the student-athlete experience with projects like the Jacksonville Lacrosse Center, upgrades to the baseball stadium and, just this fall, announcing a new basketball training facility.In addition to full tuition scholarships for the student-athletes, the University is honoring the employment agreements for all coaches and offering enhanced resources to assist in their job search. This will include covering expenses to attend upcoming industry conferences and career networking events.The University arrived at this difficult decision with all of the available facts gathered from considerable, thorough analysis. The final decision was reviewed with and supported by the Chairman of the Jacksonville University Board of Trustees and the leadership of the Board's Student and Athletic Affairs Committee."We look forward to fully supporting our football student-athletes and coaches as they pursue the next steps in their academic, athletic and professional careers," said President Cost.###Named one of the Best Regional Universities in the South for 15 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report, Jacksonville University is a premier private institution in northeast Florida. Founded in 1934, the University offers more than 100 majors, minors, and programs, including in-demand degrees in Nursing, Business, Biology and Marine Science, Engineering, Finance, as well as those in the more contemporary and specialized fields of Aviation, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Film, Animation, and Sports Business. Jacksonville University is located in a beautiful riverfront setting in suburban Jacksonville, across the St. Johns River from downtown and just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. The 240-acre campus includes a half-mile of riverfront, oak-lined paths, and a mix of historic and new campus buildings.Matt MorettiAssociate AD / CommunicationsLaura PhelpsSr. Director of Public and Media Relations