Marty Dempsey has been a familiar face around University of Florida Rec Sports for decades. Even before he entered his role as director of business services and capital projects, Dempsey was a UF student and later worked as the coordinator for intramural sports. He sees the impact of sports, recreation and wellness on students every day, and finds purpose in giving back to the students. It’s these core values, as well as several exciting facilities at UF, that Dempsey is excited to share with AB Show 2026 attendees Nov. 17, when the collegiate facility tour heads to Gainesville.
1. Why is UF participating in the tour?
We’ve always admired Athletic Business, both the conference and the publication, and we’ve gotten so much good professional development or ideas from some of the vendors that you all work with. This is an opportunity to stay involved with a group that has given us so much over the years. And if we can help expand some of the ideas and some of the things that we have going on and the lessons that we’ve learned through different projects, then we’re happy to be a part of that. We’re excited to show off some of the things that are going on around here. We just recently completed a master plan at UF, and we have some funding for the first couple of projects. We’re also going after funding for a larger, new recreation center. So, we’re in a very transformative stage right now, and to be able to share that with the attendees who are interested in seeing our facilities is pretty exciting.
2. What facilities or programmatic areas will AB Show 2026 attendees see at UF that they may find inspirational for their own projects?
The first stop on the tour is going to be our flagship Southwest Recreation Center, a 150,000-square-foot facility. There is a 21,000-square-foot weight room, multipurpose courts, a brand-new cycle studio. And then, we’re also going to be able to talk about some of the projects that we have coming up. So, we won’t be under construction yet, but we’ve got three racquetball courts that are going to be transformed into a bouldering and climbing center. We’ll have some of the artistry and the initial design concepts of that space that we’ll be showing off for the attendees. After that, we’re going to see all of our different field spaces. We operate about 40 acres of field space here, both natural grass and synthetic turf, as well as court space — tennis, pickleball — and the lakes. Then we’re going to take a trip out to Flavet Park. It’s a brand-new outdoor recreation Central Park vibe in the middle of campus that has both active and leisure components to it. So right next to our six dedicated pickleball courts is a synthetic turf lawn that people use for studying, group meals and just laying out in the beautiful Florida sunshine. We have a hammock area out there, which is right next to sand volleyball, so you really mix in active and more passive kinds of recreation opportunities, and it really serves as a place for any UF student. That just opened in January. Then we’ll stop by some of our other campus facilities. We have a smaller facility that is right in the middle of campus, the middle of the academic core, and we’ll see how that serves a different population than even our larger flagship. You’ll get a chance to see the historic Florida Pool, a 100-year-old pool built in 1929 that is still up and running. We just did some great work to that over there. It was a deferred-maintenance project that really just improved the overall experience at that pool. And then finally, what would be a tour of UF without seeing The Swamp? So, we partnered with our friends from athletics, and we’ll tour the locker room at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Attendess will get to see some nice areas. Get some great pictures around the field and in some of the support spaces.
3. What does the rec department mean to the UF community?
For a lot of students, we are an integral part of their overall UF experience. There are so many people, so many stories over the years, of folks who have met some of their best friends and their soulmates, if you will, here. They developed friendships or student organizations that they’re in, will come out and play an intramural sport, or a group of friends will have an interest in one of our outdoor adventure programs. We’re going on a trip, and you have life experiences through that. That’s not something that can be duplicated easily in any other realm. It’s sports and fitness and wellness. It’s a common language, a universal language that unites us all. Doesn’t matter where you come from, if you’re an international student from a different country and a different continent, or if you are from right down the road, or if you’re coming from California, well across the United States. When you come here, you probably have some experience in your life that can be drawn back to some of the programs and activities that we offer here. It can be a place that can really feel like home for you. We hope that students get that, and feel that sense of belonging just from participating in our programs and services.
