By day, Robert “Rob” McIntosh ’16 serves as an applications programmer with GSE Inc. on NASA’s Occupational Health Contract Team. But when the workday ends, dinner is finished and his young daughter is asleep, he heads to the rink, where his passion for hockey and unwavering Panther Pride take center stage.
For the past six years, McIntosh has served as the volunteer head coach of Florida Tech’s ice hockey club team, helping shape the next generation of scholar-athletes while giving back to a program that played a defining role in his own Florida Tech experience.
“Being asked to coach the team was one of the greatest honors I’ve received,” McIntosh says. “I didn’t have coaching experience, but I knew I cared deeply about Florida Tech hockey and wanted to help build the program back into a strong collegiate team.”
Since taking the helm, McIntosh has dedicated countless hours to mentoring players, fostering team culture and advancing the program’s growth—strengthening the Panther ice hockey community one practice, one game and one season at a time.
In recent years, the team has become a consistent contender in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), earning playoff berths year after year, drawing sellout crowds at home games and reaching new milestones.
This past season, the Panthers secured the program’s first-ever ACHA playoff victory, marking another significant step forward in the club’s growth and competitiveness.
McIntosh’s impact on the program extends beyond the bench. Drawing on the technical expertise he uses in his professional career, he has introduced a more data-driven approach to the team’s operations by developing tools that help coaches and players better understand performance and identify areas for improvement.
“I saw an opportunity to use data to make our team better, so I started building apps and tracking analytics to help our coaches and players improve,” McIntosh says. “It’s been rewarding to see those tools grow from helping our program to being adopted leaguewide.”
During the team’s end-of-season banquet in May, the club hockey program and Florida Tech Athletics surprised McIntosh by retiring his collegiate jersey—a distinction reserved for only a select few alumni in the program’s history.
“I’m still at a loss for words,” he says. “Having my jersey retired was such an incredible honor. This program means a lot to me, and to be recognized in that way was a gesture I’ll never forget.”
Q&A
FLORIDA TECH CONNECTION: ’16 B.S. information systems
GO-TO HYPE SONG: “Bring Em Out” by T.I.
FAVORITE SPORT (BESIDES HOCKEY): Baseball
REALITY TV SHOW YOU’D BE ON: “American Ninja Warrior”
COMFORT MOVIE: “Happy Gilmore”
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE YOU TELL THE TEAM: “Grit: a psychological and character trait defined as passion and sustained perseverance toward long-term goals. It involves the stamina to stick with your future, day in and day out, not just for the week or month, but for years, working hard to make that future a reality.”
This piece was featured in the fall 2026 edition of Florida Tech Magazine.
