Ten years ago, CPMA (Community Maritime Park Associates) and the University of West Florida delivered on a plan to place a football field in a Minor League Baseball Stadium.
For the first time in school history, the Argonauts were playing football. The emerging D2 spectacle of a program was immaculately playing its D2 games near the beach and in an unprecedented setting, oftentimes under the lights, and with one sideline facing the beach.
Tanner Smith was a 26-year-old entering his second season as a young Director of Operations at Charlotte at the time, where he worked alongside a fellow aspiring coach named Patrick Corrigan.
UWF's football idea took off like a ghost crab on the Pensacola Shores. In season two, the Argos were in the National Championship Game. By season four, UWF won the National Title.
Pretty quickly, the Argos needed their own home, and the plan was to begin playing at PenAir Field in 2021, with the long-term vision of building around all sides of the field to grow the program to the highest possible level. PenAir Field games began with the university-installed portable bleachers, video board, play clocks, and fans encircling the field.
West Florida joined the FCS ranks in April as part of its move to D1. On the hardwood, the Argos decided to begin its D1 journey with a younger aspiring leader in Tanner Smith.
During the same period when West Florida's football popularity began to take shape, Coach Smith's coaching journey came with trials, tragedy, and success.
In 2018-19, Smith was part of a Kennesaw State staff that endured a 1-30 season and was arguably the worst team in D1. At the same exact time, he was part of a staff recruiting a Top-40 recruiting class to Kennesaw State. Like, how?!
Chris Youngblood, Kasen Jennings, and Brandon Stroud propelled Kennesaw State to national recruiting recognition. Those three names are forever remembered in Kennesaw, Georgia. Under the late great Amir Abdur-Rahim, KSU famously won the double championship in 2022-23 and had Xavier on the ropes in a near 14-over-3-seed NCAAT upset. Tanner Smith was there for the hard part and helped build the future of Kennesaw State.
That background was a key part of West Florida's keen interest in Smith. Smith has also been with programs that aren't the highest-resourced and found ways to find players. This is where Argo Nation should be excited.
Corrigan and Smith are back together. Corrigan made the tough decision to leave a successful run as the Head Coach at D2 Ferrum. He becomes the Associate Head Coach here at West Florida. Effectively, the Argos have two head coaches on the bench.
Here in the Fall of 2026, UWF Football has already broken ground on constructing what will eventually be known as Darrell Gooden Stadium. An 85-foot-by-30-foot high-definition LED video board was installed in the north end zone in summer 2026 ahead of the 2026 season opener.
In its first two football games, the Argos beat #16 Southern Illinois at PenAir Field and won its first road game at #24 Central Arkansas. What an entrance to the ASUN.
Now, it's time for America's newest kids on the block to take the court as a member of the ASUN. The Argos are eligible to play immediately in the ASUN Tournament and have some intriguing continuity within the staff and the roster. Time to learn more, so I sat down with Tanner Smith.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with TANNER SMITH: