As UCF approaches its inaugural season as the youngest member of a Power 5 conference, the athletics department is taking a look back to commemorate this special moment in history. The following feature is a part of UCF鈥檚 12 for XII series 鈥� 12 stories that define UCF and the meteoric rise of the Knights in their journey to the Big 12 Conference.
May 24, 2023. Big 12 Business Summit. Arlington, Texas.
Eric DeSalvo 鈥�09, UCF associate athletics director of #content, settles into his seat among the crowd of marketing and sales leadership staff from around the Big 12 Conference as the league鈥檚 commissioner, Brett Yormark, takes the stand for his opening remarks.
鈥淗e starts it off and he goes, 鈥楾hese are the four things that are my pillars: innovation, creativity, disruption and taking risks,鈥欌�� DeSalvo recalls. 鈥淎nd I immediately think, is he talking about himself or UCF?鈥�
Being 鈥渂old鈥� and 鈥渋nnovative鈥� and 鈥渄isruptive鈥� might just sound like hot buzz words for brands to adopt in 2023. But in UCF鈥檚 case, it鈥檚 authentic. The Knights actually are all of these adjectives because they鈥檝e had to be.
Without the resources of longer-established universities 鈥� University of Florida was founded in 1853, UCF in 1963鈥�
Without a longstanding history of fandom and donor support 鈥� University of Texas鈥� alumni association was organized in 1885. UCF鈥檚 in 1975鈥�
Without decades of nationally televised games and promotional broadcasts 鈥� Ohio State has hosted ESPN鈥檚 College GameDay a record 22 times, UCF once鈥�
UCF has had to strategically rely on its youth to find ways to break through the noise in a state that boasts three other Power 5 institutions.
Enter: The benefit of big and the power of social media.
Building a Brand
Established in 1963, UCF鈥檚 meteoric rise to the Big 12 Conference makes it the youngest Power 5 institution in the country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a modern athletic department. I think it鈥檚 the future of higher education. It鈥檚 the future of college sports,鈥� says Zack Lassiter, vice president of athletics for Abilene Christian University who served as UCF鈥檚鈥痵enior associate athletic director of external operations from 2012-15.
But it wasn鈥檛 always necessarily this way.
DeSalvo knows UCF鈥檚 brand arguably better than anyone. The son of UCF graduate Joe DeSalvo 鈥�75, he grew up going to UCF games in the mid-1990s at the Citrus Bowl and went on to graduate from UCF himself. He has worked for the athletic department since 2011 鈥� first in communications before he transitioned to what is now known as the #content department in 2013.
He says in his youth, he would have described UCF as having 鈥渁 lot of potential鈥� and 鈥渙n the brink.鈥�
鈥淔or a long time, UCF was 鈥淯C-If鈥� 鈥� If we only didn鈥檛 get a phantom holding call against Georgia. If we didn鈥檛 miss the extra point here. And there were so many of those games across all sports that you were like, you鈥檙e right there 鈥� if only,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut you saw the potential. You were definitely on the cusp.鈥�
On3 National College Football host Andy Staples, who moved to Central Florida as a middle schooler and graduated from Lake Mary High School, echoes the same sentiments.
鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 think of UCF in the same way you would have thought of Miami or Florida State or Florida,鈥� Staples says. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 go to the campus and you didn鈥檛 see a lot of UCF gear. It didn鈥檛 feel like a destination-type campus. We went there a lot for science fairs or somebody would be having their graduation at the arena 鈥� it didn鈥檛 feel as much like a place that people say, 鈥業 grow up wanting to go to UCF,鈥� or 鈥業鈥檝e been a 香港六合彩开奖结果 fan my whole life.鈥� You just never would expect anybody to say that back in the 鈥�90s. Watching it change over the decades has been pretty amazing.鈥�
鈥� 鈥業鈥檝e been a 香港六合彩开奖结果 fan my whole life.鈥� You just never would expect anybody to say that back in the 鈥�90s. Watching it change over the decades has been pretty amazing.鈥� 鈥� Andy Staples, On3 National College Football host
When former Athletic Director Todd Stansbury recruited Lassiter to join UCF鈥檚 athletic department in 2012, the west coast native didn鈥檛 have much familiarity with UCF.
Lassiter made it a point to ask a lot of questions and listen to campus counterparts, young alumni and students to gain a better understanding of how the university had gotten to where it was so quickly.
鈥淲e were young, but we were big, and so in that sense you could tell that, that was something that we could probably do better than anyone else,鈥� Lassiter says.
Indeed, UCF鈥檚 enrollment in 2012 just tipped 60,000. Today it鈥檚 more than 68,000. The university confers more than 18,000 degrees annually, and its alumni base clocks in at more than 368,000 鈥� nearly half of which still live in Central Florida.
Perhaps the most important stat is that the average alumni age is 42 years old. So, by the time that Lassiter joined the fold, social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter, founded in 2006) and Instagram (founded in 2010) were starting to really take off in the sports world and UCF鈥檚 biggest fan base was very active on social media.
It was the perfect combination.
鈥淧erception is reality. And if you feel like you鈥檙e getting hit up by a bunch of 香港六合彩开奖结果 fans on Twitter, their reality is you are because the numbers are there between our enrollment and alumni,鈥� DeSalvo says. 鈥淥ur fanbase can celebrate the big moments with big numbers. They can pile on to somebody who shows some disrespect. They can win a Twitter poll like no other. By always showing up, they鈥檝e backed up what is on paper.鈥�
So, the department decided to lean into social to stand out. UCF Athletics hired a full-time social media manager, Keal Blache 鈥�11, who served a short stint. When he vacated the position in 2013, Lassiter approached DeSalvo about the opening because of DeSalvo鈥檚 penchant for being creative with the social accounts in his role at the time as the communications contact for the volleyball and baseball teams.
鈥淚鈥檒l never forget 鈥� I think I鈥檓 at (former UCF basketball player and athletics staff member) Mike O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 wedding. And Todd Stansbury鈥檚 there and he goes, 鈥楬ey you鈥檙e moving over to the social role, right?鈥� I鈥檓 like, 鈥榊eah.鈥� He goes, 鈥楢lright. Push the envelope.鈥� OK. Todd is telling me to push the envelope. I鈥檒l do my best.
鈥淚 can thank Blake Bortles and Storm Johnson and J.J. Worton 鈥�14 and Terrance Plummer 鈥�21 and that crew for helping me push the envelope because there鈥檚 no greater year one than going to the .鈥�
In the last decade, UCF has had three athletic directors 鈥� all of whom DeSalvo says have continued to buy-into the 鈥減ush the envelope鈥� mentality 鈥� four football head coaches and four university presidential leadership transitions. But the same voice on social media, which has benefitted UCF immensely.
鈥淚f there is somebody better at what Eric has done and what he has built, I haven鈥檛 met him. And there were a lot of other talented people that were a part of that. But I think what made him so great is he believed it,鈥� Lassiter says. 鈥淗e could do it in a way that could connect, and a lot of our folks loved that it was a 香港六合彩开奖结果 person doing this. That鈥檚 the authenticity of what social can be at its best 鈥� how do you become yourself in a way that galvanizes and gets people excited? He ran with it in ways that I hope 50 years from now if there鈥檚 a story about who were those individuals that played a part of that, I think Eric deserves a ton of credit for what he did. I think he had a lot of really talented people around him, and he was given kind of the keys to the kingdom so to speak, and we took off.鈥�
Those talented people are who DeSalvo credits for the team’s ability to not only stay relevant but maintain UCF鈥檚 status as one of the best brands to follow.
鈥淭he staff is key. I can’t have all the ideas. The ideas can come from anyone 鈥� from the AD (athletics director) to the interns, and many have over the years,鈥� DeSalvo says. 鈥淲e also have a work environment to where it鈥檚 loose, but they are well aware of who our brand is. I always say, ‘There鈥檚 no bad ideas.’ I also get to say, ‘We don鈥檛 say no around here a whole bunch.’ If it鈥檚 trending and there鈥檚 a way we can insert UCF鈥檚 brand into this conversation and it makes sense, let鈥檚 do it.”
The Tweets That Made Us
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic Senior Writer: Not everyone realized this as early as UCF, where social media is about fun. It鈥檚 about engaging and having fun, maybe going viral. But it鈥檚 about doing things that are different and not just having no personality. They always had personality, and I think that was immediately embraced by the fan base that was very online and very ready to engage on any topic.
Eric DeSalvo: The tweet was on a whim. I鈥檓 with (former Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications) Dan Forcella and I drafted it before the playoff selection show had gotten to it. We were wanting it to be Bama. And it happens, and I hit send. It really put us out there. It鈥檚 my favorite tweet I鈥檝e gotten to send.
Eric DeSalvo: That was designed by (former graphic designer) Channing Curtis. We kept seeing the Elmo version, and I asked him, 鈥淗ey can you just put Knightro in his place?鈥� The first time we ever got to use it 鈥� he made it that day 鈥� we cracked the top 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Andy Staples: I use Knightro gifs pretty frequently. I think Knightro with flames behind him is a very effective way of getting your point across. Those folks are very online. They鈥檙e very savvy. They know how to get our attention in the media, and they know how to keep the discussion going. They will defend UCF tooth and nail. They will not let you get away with slandering UCF in any way, shape or form. Which I appreciate. And there are other fan bases that are like that. But [UCF] seems to be a little more in on the joke than some of the others. The more established fanbases, you get people who are just mad at you. UCF Twitter, they know what they鈥檙e doing. And they know they know what they鈥檙e doing.
Eric DeSalvo: I wasn鈥檛 at that game 鈥� I was at my mother-in-law鈥檚. But the game was on ESPN3. You could actually rewind, thankfully. He catches that ball. I鈥檓 losing my mind.
That was the No. 1 Vine for us for a long time. That one was getting so much national play.
That鈥檚 up there because it was so iconic.
DeSalvo: I joke that my iPhone that shot Danny White saying 鈥渘ational champs, undefeated鈥� should go to the (UCF Athletics) Hall of Fame.
Nobody knew Danny was going to say that. We had a plan in place where we would continue to challenge the CFP. That鈥檚 what we were doing and needed to do for our team. (Senior Executive Associate Athletics Director of Brand Advancement and Chief Branding Officer) Jimmy Skiles took precedent from when he saw the year Auburn wasn鈥檛 in the national championship game and were undefeated 鈥� they had national championship rings made for their team. It was on the front cover of Sports Illustrated. And he remembered it. If they could do that back then, why can鈥檛 we?
So, we crafted messaging for like “undefeated champions.” We didn鈥檛 straight up say national champions. (Former graphic designer) Chris Stoney made some motion graphics, “13-0. Only undefeated team, who鈥檚 next?”
We knew if we didn鈥檛 do anything by the time our game ended and the playoff game started that day, we would be kind of irrelevant in the grand scheme of games. It would be a nice win and move on.
People should know Danny looking into my phone wasn鈥檛 anything new. I kind of conditioned him to do that, especially at road wins. I would go live at Facebook right as the clock would hit zero to take fans behind the scenes. A lot of the time we鈥檇 be walking by Danny as we went to the locker room. So, it wasn鈥檛 anything new for him to see my phone get shoved in his face.
He just quickly says those magic words. Oh boy. Here we go.
Andy Staples: Don鈥檛 run afoul of UCF Twitter. That鈥檚 all I got to say. This is a very passionate, very aggressive online fan base. Which listen that will fit right in (the Big 12). The good thing about UCF is that passion will match with Kansas State and Oklahoma State and Iowa State 鈥� they are extraordinarily passionate people. They really love their teams. These are groups that will really appreciate one another.
Charging On
As social media has served as one of the tools to help define UCF鈥檚 brand over the years, one constant has been the Knights鈥� ability to rise up, to band together, to believe in its potential 鈥� to Charge On.
As a rallying cry, Charge On was introduced during the Stansbury and Lassiter era.
“It wasn鈥檛 as though there was one calling card that really captured the energy or the belief of a 香港六合彩开奖结果 fan 鈥� like 鈥楪o Knights!鈥� was something to where, well how many other Knights are there in college athletics?” Lassiter says. “And I remember thinking that in social media hashtags were really important. What is that we can do?”
鈥淥bviously a decade later it鈥檚 become something that I feel is the perfect, simple way to describe who UCF is.鈥� 鈥� Zack Lassiter, UCF鈥檚鈥痵enior associate athletic director of external operations from 2012-15.
And then Charge On surfaced. Lassiter recalls the idea came from an alum, who suggested it because the phrase is part of the lyrics in UCF鈥檚 fight song.
鈥淲hen the idea was proposed, it seemed to make too much sense,鈥� Lassiter says. 鈥淭his describes who we are. There鈥檚 a great history behind it. It鈥檚 incredibly nimble and flexible in how you can apply it certain ways.鈥�
So, Lassiter conducted an experiment. He walked around UCF Athletics鈥� main administration buildings and starting using the term without explanation to elicit genuine reactions from the staffers.
鈥淣obody could figure out a way to say why that wouldn鈥檛 work,鈥� he says. 鈥淥bviously a decade later it鈥檚 become something that I feel is the perfect, simple way to describe who UCF is.鈥�
There is still so much of UCF鈥檚 story to be written. More traditions to carve out. More pushing the envelope unapologetically.
And what makes DeSalvo and the rest of the gatekeepers of the brand excited about the next chapter is the union with the renegades of the Big 12.
鈥淲e鈥檙e finally in a league that is exactly where we should be 鈥� its identity is completely us,鈥� DeSalvo says. 鈥淣ot only do we get to do this stuff here and try to do it as big as possible, now we have the backing of a Power 5 league that is going to help just throw gasoline on the fire and get it out there further.”
