Erica Brown

Star Wars fans are going to have to leave their lightsabers and Chewbaccca masks at home for the premiere of the newest Star Wars installment, The Force Awakens. Regal Cinemas, which operates Gainesville's two movie theaters, will have enhanced security measures in place in light of recent mass shootings.

Some advocates say synthetic turf fields can be hazardous to athletes' health, but the research has so far been inconclusive a UF professor says.

The University of Connecticut and Vanguard University tested potential new NCAA rules at their exhibition game Nov. 8. The rules, which include using men's basketballs, a farther 3-point arc and a shorter shot clock, could cause significant changes to the University of Florida's women's basketball team and other college basketball teams.

Title IX has brought greater equality to collegiate athletics, but budgetary gaps still exist between men's and women's sports at universities across the country.

A string of high school football players’ deaths this football season has shone a national spotlight on the issue of concussions in football, and it's impacting local high school teams.

Following the NCAA's lifting of a limit on university spending for student-athlete meals and dietary supplements, a survey shows major college athletic program have greatly increased spending.

Heavy rains led to a national pumpkin shortage this year, and many farmers across the country have resorted to purchasing pumpkins at auctions multiple times per week to meet the demands of customers. Local pumpkin vendors have seen an increase in sales due to heightened media coverage.

The UF Space Plants team successfully launched the SpaceX5 capsule to the International Space Station Jan. 10. The capsule contained plants that will help the team study the effects that different environments have on plant life.

The Kaleidoscope Tour visited Gainesville on Saturday for the 2014 edition of the Color Run. Nicknamed "The Happiest 5K On The Planet," the run drew hundreds of participants.