The newspaper is published on a weekly basis during the school year, with new issues roughly once a month in the summer.

Issues are distributed free around campus and are available in full form on The Spinnaker's website.

The first newspaper on campus for students began as The Halyard and ran from 1974-1976.

In 2005, The Spinnaker won a "Best of Show" award at the Associated Collegiate Press's National College Media Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, for the Number 1 paper among four-year weekly tabloid-size student newspapers in the country.

In 2009, the paper was named the 2nd best Florida college newspaper, and won Best Front Page Design and Best General News Writing award from the Florida College Press Association.