JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sporting JAX’s women’s soccer team will play its inaugural season at the University of North Florida beginning in August 2025, the franchise and college announced on Tuesday.
The search for a permanent home for the Sporting JAX men’s and women’s teams continues but Hodges Stadium will be the initial home for the women’s program, which plans to start play in the Division 1 USL Super League next fall.
Sporting JAX is the first professional women’s major league sports franchise in Jacksonville-area history. The Super League format includes a fall season (August-December), a winter break (December and January) and a spring season (January-May). It’s billed as the first true professional soccer pathway program for young female athletes in the area. Ricky Caplin, one of the franchise’s founding owners, said it’s inspiring for female athletes to be able to get started in the sport here and be able to strive to wind up as a professional athlete right here in their hometown.
“We are proud to host the first women’s professional soccer team at the University of North Florida,” said UNF athletic director Nick Morrow said in a release.
“Hodges Stadium is a great asset to the City of Jacksonville and has hosted many national and international events, while generating a large economic impact for the city. The partnership between UNF and Sporting JAX is another example of how our university can make a positive impact on our community, while also advancing women’s sports. We look forward to that historic first kick in August 2025.”
That start date is roughly three years after an ownership group of Tim Tebow, Steve Livingstone, Tony Allegretti and Ricky Caplin announced that it was bringing professional soccer to Jacksonville after the USL granted expansion franchises to the city. The group added former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor to its ownership field in November 2023. The entity shifted from JAXUSL to Sporting Club Jacksonville last December when it unveiled its name, colors and crest.
Tickets for the inaugural season are now available for purchase. Season ticket holders have the option of interest-free payments and a limited-edition pro team scarf. A portion of proceeds of the scarves will be donated to HerSong and Hubbard House, two non-profits that seek to protect and empower women in the community, according to a release.