*Earned 100th Career Tournament Win on October 14, 2025 at the Copperhead Championship
UWF graduate Steve Fell took over as head coach of the West Florida men’s golf team in 1994 as it began its transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference. After 30 years under Fell’s leadership, the Argonauts now boast one of the top programs in all of college golf. Prior to the 2011-12 season, Fell was also named director of golf at UWF, overseeing both the men’s and women’s programs.
The Argonauts are coming off the program's third NCAA Division II National Championship in 2024 where the team beat out No. 1 ranked Colorado Christian University in a playoff hole to win the title. UWF also won NCAA Division II national championships in 2001 and 2008 and have been a national and regional power every year under Fell’s watch.
In 2016-17, the Argonauts won a school-record eight tournaments, including their fourth NCAA Regional, before finishing third at the NCAA Championships when they advanced to the semifinals of the Medal/Match Play portion of the finals. UWF set a pair of single-season records with a 284.39 stroke average – a year removed from a 288.58 mark – and posted 22 of 31 rounds at par or better, earning him his third National Coach of the Year award.
UWF also has claimed 15 GSC titles, the most in league history. Fell, a 14-time GSC Coach of the Year, has tallied 73 career tournament wins, averaging three wins per season. In the summer of 2010, Fell was also named the GSC Coach of the Decade.
Fell has coached 40 All-American players at UWF, and 72 have earned All-GSC honors. He has guided some of the most accomplished student-athletes in GSC history across all sports, including GSC Commissioner’s Trophy winner Kevin Warrick and first team GSC All-Decade Team golfers Bryan Clarke and Matthew Galloway.
Perhaps the top individual golfer to play for Fell was Orjan Larsen, a three-time All-American and the individual medalist at the 1998 Division II Championships. Chandler Blanchet has entered the conversation with Larsen following the 2016-17 campaign, which saw Blanchet win seven tournaments, including the NCAA Division II title while joining Larsen as the Jack Nicklaus Award winner, given to the National Player of the Year. They are two of just 12 student-athletes across all sports at UWF to earn National Player of the Year honors.
Fell’s coaching story began when he returned to his alma mater in 1994 to accept the position of men’s golf head coach. The Argonauts captured the GSC championship in just his first season, leading to his first GSC Coach of the Year award. The same year, he led the Argonauts to a runner-up finish at the NAIA National Championships.
In 1997, the Argonauts won their second conference title and competed at the NCAA regional for the first time, placing eighth. UWF repeated as GSC champs in 1998 and earned the team’s first national tournament berth, finishing fourth in the country led by Larsen’s individual medalist performance.
After two more years of regional and national acclaim, West Florida took the next step in 2001, claiming the first NCAA national championship across all sports at the university. The Argonauts won their fourth GSC title that year and tallied six tournament trophies throughout the season.
The team’s success in 2001 kicked off a decade of dominance for the Argonauts, as they went on to win six GSC titles over the next eight years. In 2008, UWF won a thrilling three-way playoff in the NCAA Championship to claim its second national title. The Argos swept their way through the postseason that year, winning the GSC, regional and national tournaments.
Fell has coached multiple players who advanced to the next level. Stuart Manley saw time playing on the European Tour, and Warrick was the low amateur at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y. Meanwhile, David Lingmerth competed on the PGA Nationwide TOUR, the PGA TOUR and 2016 Olympics, and Matthew Galloway has seen time at the PGA TOUR Q-School and was a finalist on Golf Channel’s “Big Break Mexico” in 2013.
Outside of his college coaching experience, Fell was also named the coach of Team USA in 2002 and led the United States to victory at the 27th Annual Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship.
Fell graduated from West Florida in 1991 following a successful career as a student-athlete. After graduating he won the 1991 Pensacola News Journal Amateur Championship. The following year, he became a PGA apprentice at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, home of THE PLAYERS Championship. In 1988, Fell captured medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur sectional and faced national competition when he competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Fell and his wife, Maureen, have three daughters, Angel, Faith and Hope.
