PirateQ 
When the Pensacola State College men’s and women’s basketball teams play at home next month, it will be on a renovated court with a brand new name.
The (Joe) Ambersley and (Pete) Peña Court was unveiled during a Thursday, Oct. 12 ceremony in Hartsell Arena. The court was named in honor of Peña, the College’s basketball coach for the past 15 years, and his longtime friend and PSC Athletics supporter, Joe Ambersley.
Ambersley and Peña’s actual signatures are inscribed on the court, emblazoned with the PSC Pirate logo.
“To be honored at the institution that you absolutely love is humbling. I just am so thankful,” said Peña, a PSC alumnus. “It came about because of Joe Ambersley. Joe Ambersley is responsible for this. I am lucky to have a friendship like that, and having my name next to his is really an honor.”
Peña said he met Ambersley when he first moved to Pensacola.
“We met, and he was the AD (athletic director) at UWF (University of West Florida) at the time. We struck a friendship that we kept for all these years.”
Ambersley and his wife, Maggie, are longtime PSC supporters. In 2013, the Joseph D. and Margit Amberley Family Foundation donated $1,000 to the College. In 2021, the family pledged $70,750 and was credited for previous gifts toward PSC Athletics. This brought the sum total to $100,000 in order to name the court.
Ambersley thanked his wife and six children, PSC Athletics administrators and PSC President Ed Meadows for the recognition.
“Last but not least, I want to thank my friend Pete Peña for his friendship for the past 43 years. We shared some good times together, and I appreciate him allowing me to be a part of this basketball program. Pete is not only a great coach, but he’s a better person and a role model for his athletes, “ Ambersley said.
He added having his signature on the Pirate basketball court is humbling.
“It is one of my most cherished athletic accomplishments, and I will remember this forever,” Ambersley said in closing.
Dr. Meadows thanked the Ambersley family for their commitment to the College and the student-athletes.
“Our athletes are students first, and we are so glad to receive so much support from the Ambersley family,” Meadows said. “With coaches like Pete and supporters like Joe, we know our athletics program has a bright future.”
The Peña name is synonymous with Pensacola State. Over his career at the College, more than 50 of Peña’s basketball players have moved on to NCAA Division 1 programs. In 2017, Peña attended a Final Four Game where former PSC Pirate Hassani Gravett was a guard on the University of South Carolina’s Gamecocks.
Peña’s wife, Brenda Peña, is a PSC alum, former head softball coach and 2020 PSC Athletics Hall of Fame inductee.