"All of our athletes, whether you are in NIL or not, you are getting basic financial literacy," Anderson-Duzan said. "If the deal is over the threshold of $12,000, actually closer to $13,000, they do a one-on-one session with me and go over those basic understandings of budgeting, savings and taxes.

Click to expand...

Originally it was 99% pass through to athletes. With the financial growth it’s 90% with 10% to overhead which they say is standard for large collectives (and better than Mission Control IIRC)

it seems like the Kingdom’s approach is healthy for the athletes and hopefully sustainable. We’re lucky to have it!

Wondering if this may factor into whether a potential athlete seeking a scholarship/NIL would even consider signing with ANY college/university in Mississippi?

Your thoughts?

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In the world of the transfer portal, building strong relationships can eventually pay off down the line.

That was the case with UCF and Amari Kight. When the Alabama offensive tackle hit the portal, he already had a strong familiarity with Gus Malzahn and Herb Hand who both recruited him during their time at Auburn.

"It was crazy," Kight said of the transfer recruitment process. "As soon as I entered the portal, my phone just blew up. It was all over the place. You wake up and people are texting you. It was hectic. Coach Malzahn and Coach Hand were among the first people to reach out. We kept the relationship going and that's what led to me coming here."

His final decision this time around came down to UCF and Auburn.

"(Coach Malzahn) recruited me in high school.," Kight said. "You get that bond. I remember that from high school, him and Coach Hand. I felt like this is a place I could come to grow and they could get the most out of me as a player and as a person.

"I think for me, it was getting a fresh start and getting around people I can trust."

Kight already felt a strong bond with Hand, his position coach.

"He's a real people person," Kight said. "I remember that from recruiting. I did enjoy him when he was at Auburn. My family loves him. I feel he's a really good coach. I can learn a lot from him. He can help me improve as a player. Not only that, but as a man."

His former teammate at Alabama, wide receiver Javon Baker, also doubled as a recruiter.

"(Javon told me), we're going to have fun, but work hard at the same time," Kight said. "Let's change the program around and go win it all."

Kight is looking to lock down a starting job at UCF. The 6-foot-7, 318-pounder said he can play either tackle position. He was the backup left tackle at Alabama and saw limited action - 83 snaps in five games - and graded near an elite level (88.9) according to PFF.

"I feel like I'm really versatile and athletic," Kight said. "I'm really good in the run and in the pass. I also feel like one of my strengths is I don't get too high or too low. The moment isn't too big for me, if that makes sense."

Kight will have two years of eligibility remaining at UCF.

"I just want to win," Kight said. "I want everybody in the o-line room to improve and grow. Just push each other to get to where we want to be."

The ultimate goal would be the NFL. He said he looks up to a couple former Alabama teammates, Jedrick Wills Jr. (Browns) and Landon Dickerson (Eagles), who are both finding early success in the league.

"Those are the guys who took me under their wing when I was younger and showed me the ropes," Kight said.

The early transition to UCF has been great, Kight said.

"I've loved it so far. It's a real family feel. Me and the guys get along pretty well."

The UCF Knights Softball team is poised to make another run at the AAC crown and beyond in 2023. Hear from some of the key players who will help contribute to that goal, including Micaela Macario, Jasmine Williams, Angelina DeVoe, Macy Miles, Chloe Evans, Kennedy Searcy, Ashleigh Griffin, and Sarah Willis.

From the Sons of UCF: Click here to watch.

Where are they now?

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This is Dave Massengill. If you know right from wrong you will appreciate this. Florida can do better tha DeSantis and his ilk. You can too; don't take it any more. Football is not that important in the grand scheme of life.

Go vote for UCF if you haven’t already! You have until 10am. This is the finals.
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Kansas, Texas and then UCF.

UCF is 51 nationally.

Howdy. Looking for 2-3 tickets to Saturday’s Tulsa game. Thanks!

Taylor Hendricks affirming first-round status​

I traveled to Cincinnati over the weekend to see the UCF freshman play in person for the first time. The 19-year-old Hendricks was a later-blooming and perhaps under-evaluated high school prospect out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and finished his career as a consensus four-star recruit after winning back-to-back state titles. He wound up picking Central Florida over bigger-name offers due in part to the fact that the Knights were also willing to take his brother on scholarship. So while he wasn’t a buzzy name in NBA circles before this season, this certainly isn’t a case where a prospect is coming out of nowhere—it’s more a testament to his development than anything else.

I was quite impressed with Hendricks’s showing against Cincinnati on Saturday: His team lost due in part to a huge turnover problem, but Hendricks played a pretty complete game as a catalyst for the Knights. He scored 21 points on 14 shots and made four threes, also adding eight rebounds, a block and a steal. Hendricks has great size, plus the length and athleticism to defend multiple frontcourt positions, and he’s a generally active player who doesn’t shy away from contact and makes an effort on the glass. He’s also a really promising shooter who happens to be 6'9" with projectable tools. When those types of stretch bigs come into the NBA already understanding how to play inside—and when they don’t really need the ball a lot to make a huge impact—that typically creates a really high-value floor as a positive contributor.

Hendricks probably doesn’t have a starry ceiling, as he’s not a creative player off the dribble and likely won’t have much offense run through him. On the flip side, UCF doesn’t run much for him anyway, so it’s possible there’s a bit more here; Hendricks passes pretty well and has great feel overall for playing without the ball. He is also a reactive off-ball defender who reads the game quickly and often puts himself in the right place ahead of plays developing. All this stuff figures to translate pretty quickly going up a level. Hendricks is not an exceptionally explosive athlete by NBA standards, but his anticipation skills and positioning help cover for that.

Oversize 3-and-D frontcourt pieces are always useful, and, at this point, Hendricks doesn’t appear to be a particularly complex eval for teams—it seems pretty safe to say that he’ll come off the board in the middle of the first round. It’s not wild to think he could sneak into the lottery, and my guess would be he’ll be off the board by pick No. 20 or so. If he continues to trend upward, Hendricks should be a safe bet to return value on a rookie contract. Seeing him in person and understanding his physical impact on the game was worth the stop.

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John Rhys Plumlee is better known as UCF's starting quarterback, but baseball was always the first love for the Hattiesburg, Miss., native.

He was a two-sport player at Ole Miss and finally will make his debut for UCF Baseball this season. When he transferred in a year ago, Plumlee was already past the portal deadline to be immediately eligible to play baseball.

"I'm really excited," Plumlee said. "Super fired up. You come in with the mindset of playing both and that was my plan. It stung not being able to play last season, but I think it was better for me in the long run. I got to play spring ball with football and ultimately will get to play spring ball again this year. As far as baseball, I'm really, really excited to get back on the diamond for sure."

After spending the summer and fall exclusively on the football side, Plumlee said it's been a process to get re-acclimated to baseball. Hitting is the biggest component, just "knocking off the rust" and seeing velocity on a consistent basis. He intended to spend some time in the batting cages during the football season, though that became harder to do as the grind picked up.

Plumlee's background is playing center field though he can man any of the outfield spots.

In two seasons at Ole Miss, Plumlee appeared in 60 games with 20 starts. He hit for a .267 average with four doubles, a home run and eight RBIs during the last season he played in 2021.

"At the end of the day, I want to do whatever it takes," Plumlee said. "Whatever my role needs to be to help this team win. Whether that's being an everyday starter in center field, left field or right field, or a base runner, whatever it is, I want to help this team make a regional and make a run in the tournament."

Plumlee believes this UCF team is definitely NCAA Tournament worthy.

"Obviously you've got to have the players to do it and I think we do," Plumlee said. "Last year the injury bug hit us. We have the guys and the mindset to put in the work necessary to accomplish the goals we want. I think this team is checking all the boxes."

UCF will open the season with a three-game series against Siena Feb. 17-19. The last time Plumlee saw live action was in June 2021 during Ole Miss' run to the Super Regionals.

"I can't remember a time when I didn't play baseball," Plumlee said. "My earliest memories are on the baseball field with my dad, going to the cages and hitting. I've always been drawn to it. I'm really, really excited to finally have the opportunity to do it again."

Didn’t see a thread so figured I’d start it.. GO KNIGHTS!

UCF Softball held first Softball Media Day Sunday. Knights open season Thursday night against Georgia.

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What

No. 18 UCF Softball opens season Thursday night against No.12 Georgia. Here is in-depth chat with Coach Ball-Malone

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Going to the movies will now be like buying an airplane ticket.

Get ready to raise your donation level and lower your expectation level. At least for the first year or two.
Let’s start with the athletic budget at UCF, which ranked near the top of the American Athletic Conference but will be near the bottom of the Big 12. It’s no secret that the existing members of the Big 12 have been around a lot longer than UCF, which means they have been cashing their annual $30 million Power 5 TV checks for quite some time.

It’s not like UCF can just snap its fingers and start spending at the rate of, say, Kansas, which allocates about $95 million per year on athletics compared to UCF’s $60 million.

“The first basketball coach at Kansas was James Naismith — the man who invented the game,” notes UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir. “We’re going to be competing against programs that have been playing sports since the late 1800s. These are programs with long, storied histories. We’re behind some other schools because of the [TV] distribution dollars they’ve been receiving for years and years.”

UCF, once it starts getting its full allotment of Big 12 TV revenue in 2025, will eventually catch up, but in the meantime the Knights will have to rely on more donations, ticket sales and other revenue streams. During his National Signing Day news conference on Wednesday, football coach Gus Malzahn was not bashful about asking fans to start donating to a collective — “The Kingdom” — that raises NIL money and distributes it to UCF athletes and recruits.

“I really want to encourage our donors to help us with the collective,” Malzahn said. “This is a new age of college football and we want to continue to recruit at a high level and to keep our top players [from entering the transfer portal]. We’re going to need help [from donors] with that.”

Malzahn has even admitted that he is giving up some of his coaching duties (like play-calling) so he can concentrate more on fundraising. Of course, he isn’t judged on how much money he raises; he’s judged by how many games he wins. And, quite frankly, UCF fans have been spoiled ever since Scott Frost and Josh Heupel posted back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons in 2017 and 2018. There is a vocal fraction of UCF fans who seem to think going unbeaten should be the norm instead of the rarity.

Many entitled UCF fans grumbled when Heupel won “only” 10 games in his second season and grumbled even more when the Knights finished with 9 wins under Malzahn last season even though they advanced to the conference championship game.

Hopefully, UCF fans realize that winning 8 or 9 games in the Big 12 this season would be considered a major success. Granted, there’s the remote possibility the Knights could run the table in its inaugural Big 12 season, but that’s a pipe dream.

UCF opens its first Big 12 season by playing the last two conference champions — Kansas State and Baylor — and will face eight conference opponents who were in bowl games last season.

A case could be made that the Big 12 was the deepest conference in college football last season and that was with Oklahoma and Texas enduring subpar seasons. This will not be like UCF’s first season in the American when the Knights ran the table (in 2013) in the conference and ended up in the Fiesta Bowl where, ironically, they manhandled Big 12 champion Baylor.

Make no mistake about it, this time it’s gonna be a lot tougher on a weekly basis when UCF is playing much better teams in front of much larger crowds. Here’s all you need to know: UCF finished No. 1 in average attendance in the American last season, but if the Knights had been competing in the Big 12 they would have been dead-last in attendance. Even if you take departing members Texas and Oklahoma and their huge crowds out of the equation, the Big 12's average attendance was 22,000 fans per game more than the American.

“We’re not tiptoeing into the Big 12,” Mohajir said when I asked him if fans should temper their expectations this season. “We’re going in to win it — this year, next year, every single year. ... From a fan standpoint, being optimistic is always a good thing.”

I agree.

Knight Nation should be optimistic, but also realistic.

In Year 1 of the Big 12, UCF fans should just enjoy the journey without worrying about the final destination.
Bianchi

Time for Cam to send his QB to Gus!! All of the recruiting sites had Auburn as his top choice. With the recent commitment from Walker White to Auburn, hopefully we will get a look.

Tulane seems to have magic on their side...as they just won back to back games to move into 2nd place. (They had an announced crowd of 2,328 at last night's thrilling game).

Recruiting update with Ffrench after his UCF visit: