[7] Ground was broken on April 16, 1965, and in the same year the chambered nautilus was adopted as the official UWF emblem.

In July 1979, the university organized into a more traditional structure by establishing three colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education.

[17] The main campus of 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of hills and natural woodland along the Escambia River is ten miles (16 km) north of downtown Pensacola, in the Ferry Pass area.

The UWF Historic Trust collects, preserves and interprets the history of northwest Florida.

[25] Additionally, UWF owns property on Pensacola Beach, frequently used by students for research and recreation.

UWF also offers numerous on-campus mountain bike trails[26] to students free of charge, in addition to a wide variety of recreational activities.

The university also offers living learning communities, which provide signature programming and academic support to residents.

[29] UWF offers a trolley service and public bicycles around campus known as "yellow bikes".

The Escambia County Area Transit bus system also offers students a discount rate.

The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) since the 1994–95 academic year.

[32] In 2015, the university welcomed its first football team on campus and held intra-team scrimmages throughout the fall.

[34] In 2019, UWF's football program won the NCAA Division II national championship in its fourth season, winning against Minnesota State University, 48–40.