*Earned 100th Career Tournament Win on October 14, 2025 at the Copperhead Championship
*NCAA Division II National Champions (2025, 2008, 2001)
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 boast one of the top programs in all of college golf.
The Argonauts are coming off the program's third NCAA Division II National Championship in 2025 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 the 2024-2025 season, Fell's team had 11 top-3 tournament finishes including his 21st Gulf South Conference title. Five golfers earned All-American status with Cooper Tendick receiving first team honors as well as being named a finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award. Fell was named the GCAA South Region Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career.
In total, Fell has coached two Jack Nicklaus Award winners (NCAA Player of the Year), 16 GSC Players of the Year, and has had players named to an All-American list 62 times. In the summer of 2010, Fell was also named the GSC Coach of the Decade.
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.
Fell has coached multiple players who advanced to the next level. Former Jack Nicklaus award winner and All-American Chandler Blanchet earned his PGA Tour card in 2025 following a successful career in the Korn Ferry Tour which culminated in a Korn Ferry Tour Championship win. Stuart Manley saw time playing on the European Tour, and Kevin 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.
