Former Osprey standout Tara (Taylor) Sunquist joined University of North Florida volleyball as an assistant coach in August 2013. In February of 2016, Sunquist made the move into athletic adminstration becoming a Compliance Coordinator and Academic Specialist. She was officially promoted to her current role as Assistant AD for the Student-Athlete Center for Excellence in the summer of 2022.
In her new role, Sunquist will assist the department in both the areas of compliance and academic support services.
As a student-athlete at UNF from 2002-2006, Sunquist was one of UNF’s premier defensive players. She finished her career with 1,647 digs, a mark that stood as UNF’s benchmark until Nicole Baran broke it in 2012. Sunquist holds two of UNF’s top three single-season digs records. In 2004, she initially set the single-season mark with 508 digs. After missing 2005 due to a knee injury, Sunquist demolished her own single-season record in 2006, tallying 647 digs, a mark that still stands as UNF’s single-season record. Heading into the 2013 season, Sunquist is one of two Ospreys with over 600 digs in a season. Sunquist also holds UNF’s all-time record for sets played (473) and is second in matches played (139). She was the Ospreys’ captain in 2006 and earned All-Academic honors throughout her career.
No stranger to UNF and the Atlantic Sun, prior to a brief stint at Jacksonville as an assistant director of student-athlete services, Sunquist served as Compliance Coordinator in UNF’s Records and Registration office. She was responsible for performing primary Progress Towards Degree certification for all of UNF’s student-athletes. Sunquist created and implemented an NCAA academic certification policy for the UNF registrar’s office, helping field questions from both athletics and advisors regarding Progress Towards Degree regulations. She served on the internal NCAA Compliance Certification Committee and educated the UNF campus on issues such as Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and NCAA legislation.
Sunquist returned to UNF after serving in the athletics compliance department at East Tennessee State. Starting out as a graduate assistant, she was elevated to Compliance Coordinator in May 2011 and held that post until September 2012. Sunquist served as the point-of-contact for student-athletes regarding compliance, scholarships, housing, awards and general student-athlete welfare concerns. Sunquist assisted with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and helped coordinate student-athlete functions, fundraising, and life skill programming during her time at East Tennessee State.
Sunquist began her career in collegiate athletics as an assistant volleyball coach at Charlotte in 2007. She helped mentor Carly Romberg, who set a then-program record 533 digs and was the Atlantic 10 Libero of the Year in 2007 and 2008
A native of Fort Myers, Fla., Sunquist graduated from UNF with her bachelor’s in business administration in December 2006. She received her master’s in sport management from ETSU in 2011. Sunquist is married to former Charlotte track and field standout, Eli Sunquist.
