JACKSONVILLE -- The University of North Florida and the UNF Athletics Department are holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday (Sept. 17) night celebrating the grand opening of the recently completed UNF Aquatic Center on campus.

The ceremony, which is open to the public, will be held in the UNF Fieldhouse located adjacent to the pool facility with doors opening at 5 p.m. The ribbon-cutting ceremony and program will start at 5:15 p.m., followed by a North Florida swim team intrasquad meet set to start at 6 p.m. University of North Florida President Dr. David Szymanski, UNF Athletic Director Nick Morrow and Head Swim Coach Ian Coffey will all make comments during the program.

"I'm very excited for the new pool to be open to the UNF community," said Coffey. "We've been patient for seven years and now we have our new home on campus.  Having our fans on campus will be great for our meets.  Our swimmers are really happy with our new home. For the Blue/Gray intrasquad meet, we are looking to see where we are before our first competition next Saturday. It's also a chance to swim in front of a crowd at the new pool, including some our alumni that are in town as well."

Following Friday's festivities, the Ospreys will open their regular season on Sept. 25 hosting the UNF Season Kickoff meet with a start time of 12 noon. Teams joining UNF are FGCU, Georgia Southern, FIT and FSC.