Dr. William C. "Bill" Merwin, the proverbial "Father of FGCU Athletics", was Florida Gulf Coast University's second president, serving from 1999 until his retirement in 2007 ... His leadership in developing the FGCU Athletics program cannot be overstated, and Dr. Merwin is honored on campus in perpetuity with the named "Merwin Hall" academic building ... Dr. Merwin passed away in May 2011 ... In his tenure, he guided the University’s expansion from 3,200 to over 8,300 students, expanding campus housing, and raising over $175 million in private gifts and donations ... He also served as the President of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities in 2003. Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, he attended Aquinas High School before earning a bachelor and master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and completing his doctoral studies at the University of Georgia ..He was a recipient of the University of Wisconsin’s Maurice O. Graff Distinguished Alumnus Award and earned a Fulbright Scholarship ... He served as Provost and Vice President at UNF before serving as the President at Northern Montana College, SUNY Potsdam, and then Salisbury State (MD). He was previously honored as one of the first three FGCU Athletics Honorary Letterwinners in 2011.

Bill Merwin (son of Dr. William C. Merwin)
"I can vividly recall the day my father was hired by Florida Gulf Coast University. He called me beaming with pride. After describing the beautiful campus, our conversation turned to one of our favorite topics, athletics. He went on in detail that the university was a diamond in the rough and in 10 years they would be a power to be reckoned with throughout the country. Having seen firsthand the joy on his face while attending numerous athletic events around campus, our family knew that this was a major sense of pride for him. He was and will always be a Florida Gulf Coast Eagle through and through. He is looking down on us now smiling with joy while rooting on the Eagles. To be an inaugural inductee into the Florida Gulf Coast Hall of Fame would have been a tremendous honor to him and it is a tremendous honor to the entire Merwin family. We cannot wait to celebrate with the Eagle Family in 2021."