University of West Florida

Dan Shugart has covered the Pensacola sports scene for the better part of three decades. From his early years as a weekend sports anchor at WEAR TV to his time as the most respected broadcast sports journalist in Northwest Florida, he has stayed true to his roots of telling the stories of hard work and perseverance of the athletes throughout the Gulf Coast.
 
He has seen the UWF athletics programs grow from their infancy of restarting athletics in the early 1980s through the lean years of transitioning from NAIA to NCAA membership, and the sustained success of the current 15-sport lineup.
 
Ten years ago he was inducted into the Pensacola Sports Association Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the Southern League Media Award in 2015 for his coverage of minor league baseball. He has won the Associated Press Award for the top story in Florida on two occasions and was honored as the Florida Broadcaster of the Year by the Special Olympics.
 
His live broadcasting experience has included work with the Pensacola Wings semi-professional football team, Pensacola Tornados pro basketball, along with announcing WEAR's game coverage of the Pensacola Ice Pilots and Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
 
Shugart graduated from UCLA with a degree in History in 1979 and recently became engaged to Beth Bradford. He takes great pride in adding Beth's daughters Carly (16) and Danielle (19) to the family as well.
 
IN HIS OWN WORDS
"I remember UWF re-starting men's basketball, and trying to find a spot where our live truck could get a shot out so we could cover the Argos' first game. I recall traveling to Atlanta as Auburn transfer Moochie Norris led Don Hogan's basketball team to the post-season for the first time in 1995. I remember the National Championships, especially the memorable run by Mike Jeffcoat's baseball team in 2011 and Joe Bartlinski's soccer team in 2012. 
 
"I'll never forget Monica Amaral's endearing, unbridled joy after winning her first diving national title last March and UWF hosting the NCAA Division II Fall Festival in 2006, with men's soccer facing Dowling in the semifinal, forcing Richard Berg to root against his alma mater.
 
"Skeeter Carson brought me out to cover the men's tennis team in 1990 before NCAAs and their theme song was BTO's "Taking Care of Business". I remember Eric Hochman and Geoff Watts getting a kick out of our using the song in the story we put together. Hochman won the national title in singles shortly thereafter. The next year, they selected another BTO song, "Ain't See Nothing Yet". We did another music piece and Hochman and Watts won the doubles title.
 
"And no list about the rise of UWF athletics would be complete without mentioning the first season of football. Having Judy Bense see her dream come true, and watching her gleefully celebrate it, every time the team took the field on the Bayfront. The story we did on the reality exceeding the dream after the first home game was something I'm especially proud of."