Will Brown Reporter email
Will joined Jacksonville Today as a Report for America corps member. He previously reported for the Jacksonville Business Journal, The St. Augustine Record, Victoria (Texas) Advocate and the Tallahassee Democrat. He also contributed to WFSU Public Media’s national Murrow Award-winning series “Committed: How and why children became the fastest growing group under Florida’s Baker Act.” Will is a native Floridian who has earned journalism degrees from Florida A&M University and the University of South Florida.
Featured image for “Matthew Gilbert Middle dedicates track to Bob Hayes”
Highlands Middle School student Xavier Howard won the shot put at the first track and field meet held at the Bob Hayes Track and Field at Matthew Gilbert Middle School on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
2 hours ago

Matthew Gilbert Middle dedicates track to Bob Hayes

Bob Hayes’ incomparable athletic achievements have elevated Jacksonville for more than 60 years.…

Featured image for “Mayo Clinic medical student beats odds to honor brothers”
Ryan May learns on Match Day 2026 on Friday, March 20, 2026, that he will have an otolaryngology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 27, 2026

Mayo Clinic medical student beats odds to honor brothers

Ryan May details how he overcame tough odds and personal tragedies to earn his medical degree.…

Featured image for “Florida attorney general warns NFL to scrap ‘Rooney Rule’”
Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, center, applauds linebackers Kyle Van Noy (53) Jerome Baker (55) and Kamu Grugier-Hill (51) for their work in forcing a fumble against the Jacksonville Jaguars during a contest Sept. 24, 2020, at TIAA Bank Field. The Dolphins won 31-13. (Photo by Will Brown)
March 26, 2026

Florida attorney general warns NFL to scrap ‘Rooney Rule’

The Rooney Rule encourages teams to hire nonwhite coaches. Attorney General James Uthmeier says it’s discriminatory.…

Featured image for “Sporting Jax names new team president”
Sporting Jax majority owner Ricky Caplan, left, and club president Steve Livingstone flank the club's director of soccer, Mark Warburton, during an announcement March 20, 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 24, 2026

Sporting Jax names new team president

Sporting Jax announced Tuesday that’s its inaugural team president has departed the club.…

Featured image for “PHOTO ESSAY | FHSAA basketball’s triumphant return to Jacksonville”
Bishop Kenny won the 2026 FHSAA Class 4A girls basketball title. The Crusaders (28-4) beat Orlando Bishop Moore 58-48 on March 12 at UNF Arena to clinch their first state basketball title in 34 years. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 17, 2026

PHOTO ESSAY | FHSAA basketball’s triumphant return to Jacksonville

The FHSAA basketball tournament returned to Jacksonville for the first time in 50 years when UNF Arena hosted 64 games…

Featured image for “PGA Tour announces doubling of ‘signature events’ as soon as next year”
Rory McIlroy won a three-hole playoff over J.J. Spaun to win The Players Championship for the second time in his career on Monday, March 17, 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 11, 2026

PGA Tour announces doubling of ‘signature events’ as soon as next year

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced it will expand its signature events to produce competitive fields.…

Featured image for “Jax kicks off championship season with sports bonanza”
Rory McIlroy walks to the tee at No. 16 during a Monday playoff at the 2025 Players Championship on March 16, 2025. McIlroy defeated J.J. Spaun to win The Players for the second time. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 5, 2026

Jax kicks off championship season with sports bonanza

The Players Championship, Gate River Run and Bob Hayes Invitational lead a plethora of sports events this month.…

Featured image for “BIT OF JOY | Boys’ soccer champs”
The Beachside High boys soccer team won the FHSAA Class 5A state championship with a 2-1 win over Pembroke Pines Charter on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. | Submitted, Jen Harman
March 5, 2026

BIT OF JOY | Boys’ soccer champs

The Beachside High Schools boys’ soccer team won the state championship.…

Featured image for “Florida’s anti-DEI legislation irks local governments”
Debra Joshua was among the scores of people who participated in the 45th Martin Luther King Jr. Grand Parade through Downtown Jacksonville on Jan. 19, 2026. Joshua says equity is an ideal that is needed more in 2026. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
March 4, 2026

Florida’s anti-DEI legislation irks local governments

Bills filed by Rep. Dean Black and Sen. Clay Yarborough would prohibit funding for DEI efforts.…

Featured image for “Sporting Jax announces stadium plans on Southside”
Sporting Jax released a rendering of its mixed-used stadium project slated for the Southside. Team officials expect Sporting Jax to play soccer matches at the facility in 2028. | Submitted, Sporting Jax
March 2, 2026

Sporting Jax announces stadium plans on Southside

Sporting Jax plans to build a stadium and mixed-use development near St. Johns Town Center.…

Featured image for “JAXPORT shippers rely less on Red Sea during turmoil”
JAXPORT CEO Eric Green addresses more than 600 people during the 2026 State of the Port on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. | JAXPORT
February 27, 2026

JAXPORT shippers rely less on Red Sea during turmoil

JAXPORT does not expect to experience a large effect from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs.…

Featured image for “Civil rights marker unveiled at historic Durkeeville church”
Jacksonville will erect 40 markers as part of its inclusion on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The first was unveiled inside Mount Ararat Missionary Baptist Church because the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke there in March 1961. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 26, 2026

Civil rights marker unveiled at historic Durkeeville church

Jacksonville’s first Civil Rights Trail marker will be erected at Mount Ararat Missionary Baptist Church this spring.…

Featured image for “Jaguars announce two London games in 2026”
EverBank Stadium, seen here in October 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 25, 2026

Jaguars announce two London games in 2026

The Jaguars reaffirmed plans to play in Jacksonville next season, but two home games will be overseas.…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Trailblazers”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Trailblazers

Black Jaxsons who carved pathways, through their service or sacrifice, that opened professional opportunities for others.…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | The Bethel Church”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | The Bethel Church

Known as Bethel Baptist Institutional Church for decades, The Bethel Church in LaVilla has been a predominantly Black congregation whose…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Arts and Literature”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Arts and Literature

Writers, musicians, visual creators and entertainers who brought the African American experience to life or left a lasting mark on…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Sports”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Sports

Coaches and players whose athletic gifts helped bring notoriety to Jacksonville, its schools and some of its oldest neighborhoods.…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Business”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Business

People who created financial independence for themselves and opened up job opportunities for others through entrepreneurship or executive leadership.…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Civil Rights”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Civil Rights

Local champions of the quest for a more perfect union.…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Politics”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Politics

People who won elected office and left a legacy of community engagement and improvement…

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Culture and Uplift”
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Culture and Uplift

People who left Jacksonville, and the world, a better place than they found it. …

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Judiciary”
Blacksonville 100 | People who moved Jacksonville and Florida’s legal community forward through their service and legal victories. 
February 23, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Judiciary

People who moved Jacksonville and Florida’s legal community forward through their service and legal victories. …

Featured image for “BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Education”
February 20, 2026

BLACKSONVILLE 100 | Education

Educators who pursued scholarship, expected excellence from their students, as well as advocates who opened doors for others to be…

Featured image for “Q&A | How Blue Zones Jacksonville fosters community amid financial pessimism”
Blue Zones Jacksonville Executive Director Nicole Hamm smells green onion that was grown at its headquarters. Blue Zones Jacksonville has harvested more than 150 pounds of vegetables since its first yield in in fall 2025. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
February 16, 2026

Q&A | How Blue Zones Jacksonville fosters community amid financial pessimism

Blue Zones Jacksonville released it 2026 Well-Being Index after studying five Jacksonville ZIP codes.…