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.
This feature was originally published Oct. 12, 2022 in the lead up to the 香港六合彩开奖结果 football team鈥檚 sixth space game. It is included in the 12 for XII series because it captures the role space and space research has played in the university鈥檚 story. The seventh installment of the annual Space Game will be held on Nov. 11, 2023, when UCF hosts Oklahoma State.
It鈥檚 Oct. 4, 2022 鈥� less than 10 days away from the 香港六合彩开奖结果 football team鈥檚 Space Game, and although the order was placed back in March, the Knights鈥� uniforms have yet to arrive.
鈥淓very day I wake up with anxiety,鈥� says Brad Anderson, director of equipment operations. 鈥淓specially with how much this fan base, the players, the coaching staff, the community all love the Space Game 鈥� it can鈥檛 not 丑补辫辫别苍.鈥�
Twenty-four hours later, the uniforms start to arrive and a collective sigh of relief can be felt throughout the UCF Athletics Association (UCFAA) administration buildings; from the equipment room to the AD鈥檚 office to the cubicles that house the #brand designers who created the uniforms and the brand experience staff charged with the in-stadium experience.
So what exactly does it take to pull off the Space Game every year?
A lot of planning and a little bit of stardust.
More Than a Gimmick
Picture this.
The 香港六合彩开奖结果 football team just thumped Georgia Tech, 27-10. Thousands of fans are still glued to their seats in FBC Mortgage Stadium. Then, along the horizon in the eastern evening sky, it appears.
An orange flare 鈥� the unmistakable streak of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink darting upward and out of the atmosphere.
The PA cues up Elton John鈥檚 1972 hit 鈥淩ocket Man.鈥� Everyone starts singing along.
There鈥檚 no denying it. This is SpaceU.
With the university鈥檚 origin directly tied to supporting the space program in the 1960s, it鈥檚 easy to understand why this week鈥檚 Space Game means so much to the university, the athletics program and its fans.
UCF鈥檚 win against Temple on October 13, 2022 marked the sixth installment of the game and the fifth anniversary of the first full SpaceU uniform 鈥� which went on to win the 2018 Uniform of the Year.
Along the way, the Knights have picked up more uniform accolades (the 2019 Helmet of the Year and 2021 Uniform of the Year) and space-inspired games and gear have now spread across all Knights鈥� teams. Coincidentally space travel has become cool again, and other schools are following suit with their own takes on the initiative.
Perhaps, most importantly, UCF has continued its strong tradition of conducting important space research 鈥� from producing its own simulated Martian soil to more than a dozen projects aimed at getting people back to the moon safely, many of which directly support NASA鈥檚 Artemis program.
It seems that in a timespan faster than the speed of light, the Space Game has become not only a fan favorite, but a nationally relevant event.
鈥淲e鈥檝e tried to stay as authentic as possible, and I think that鈥檚 why this game has grown to be as popular as it has,鈥� says Jimmy Skiles 鈥�06, senior executive associate athletics director. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 using space as a gimmick or a 鈥榗ool鈥� theme. This is UCF鈥檚 story. And every year we鈥檙e getting better at telling it.鈥�
All-in On Outer Space
Although the , the concept for the game was first discussed in 2014 when Skiles re-joined the UCFAA as assistant athletic director for fan development. He says he batted around the idea with some of his creative and brand experience colleagues, but they felt the timing wasn鈥檛 quite right.
That changed in 2016 when a new uniform line was unveiled, and excitement renewed around 香港六合彩开奖结果 football with the hiring of Scott Frost as head coach.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique part of the UCF story that it was too good of an opportunity not to use the athletics platform to amplify,鈥� Skiles says.
UCF鈥檚 proximity to the Space Coast and NASA鈥檚 Kennedy Space Center has allowed the university to cultivate and provide talent for Central Florida and the growing U.S. space program for decades. Nearly鈥�30% of Kennedy Space Center employees graduated鈥痜rom UCF, which has long been鈥痶he鈥痶op supplier of aerospace and鈥痙efense graduates in the nation.
You can see the rings of Saturn and more from the on campus. Two鈥疷CF grads have gone on to become astronauts. We have a space podcast. The 50-yard line at the football stadium lines up on the same latitude as NASA鈥檚 historical Launch Complex 39A by design. The Knights鈥� throwback mascot, 鈥� which appeared on the 1969 student handbook 鈥� is an orange-astronaut hybrid.
Many of UCF鈥檚 faculty and researchers are NASA veterans and hail from some of the biggest, most important programs in U.S. space history. Seventeen鈥疷CF researchers have asteroids named after them, and UCF even has a planet named in its honor.
鈥淥ur involvement in space exploration has rocketed along since NASA provided our very first research grant. We are tremendously proud of the world-class space research carried out here 鈥� missions to the moon and the outer planets, advancing the rapidly developing space industry, designing new space instrumentation and communication, and much more,鈥� says Michael D. Johnson, provost and vice president of academic affairs. 鈥淭he annual Space Game celebrates UCF’s distinctive beginning and our simultaneously expanding prominence in space exploration and in athletics. This game reminds us that we have much to celebrate and that the best is yet to come.鈥�
Stellar Style
A key component to the uniqueness of this annual celebration is the team鈥檚 uniforms 鈥� the culmination of nearly a year鈥檚 worth of work behind the scenes from several different departments that allows the uniforms to shine.
鈥淚 think the thing that probably would surprise most people is that we do the design work in-house,鈥� says Emma Schneider, who served as director of #Brand design and created the 2021 and 2022 uniforms. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the things that make it really special. It鈥檚 been my favorite project to work on, far and away. I just love seeing the whole thing start from this one concept and explode to touch every creative department within UCF, and then all the graphics and merchandising roll out that follows. As a designer, it鈥檚 the project that has everything in it and that makes it really rewarding.鈥�
In previous years, the theme has been inspired by various milestones: the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The space shuttle. The 2022 uniforms are a nod to deep space and exoplanets. Integral to the design is exoplanet UCF 1.01, a discovery made 10 years ago by UCF alumni Kevin Stevenson 鈥�12PhD and Nate Lust 鈥�07 鈥�14PhD along with 香港六合彩开奖结果 Pegasus Professor Joseph Harrington.
#Content designer Josh Brdicko is originally from Iowa and has had a creative drive for as long as he can remember. When his dad brought home NCAA Football 06 one day, Brdricko and his twin brother spent the first two hours 鈥減laying鈥� the video game by creating teams 鈥� color schemes, jersey designs, logos.
He was drawn to UCF when he saw the first SpaceU uniform in 2018. He says it was a professional goal to work with the brand and he got to live out that dream after getting hired in 2021 and collaborating this year with Schneider.
鈥淭he Space Game was a big part that made me excited to work at UCF as opposed to the other Florida schools,鈥� Brdicko says.
Shortly after last year鈥檚 Space Game, Brdicko and Schneider, along with #content designer Sahid Alpizar (who worked with UCFAA from 2019鈥�22), began their research for this year鈥檚 uniforms. Schneider says she felt a lot of pride in reclaiming the Uniform of the Year award last year and felt a responsibility to knock it out of the park again.
In December they presented their ideas to leadership and Anderson, who ensures the uniforms are compliant from a rules and regulations standpoint.
鈥淏rad is just as important as us in executing the design because he knows what we can do,鈥� Brdicko says.
鈥淲e had one idea, and he was like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 illegal. We can鈥檛 do that,鈥� 鈥� Schneider interjects with a laugh. 鈥淭he stuff we design is just made in Photoshop. It takes a few clicks. He鈥檚 got to figure out how to actually make it in real life. I have no idea how he does it.鈥�
Adds Brdicko: 鈥淭he collaboration with all the departments is huge in executing this.鈥�
From Photoshop to the Field
While there is always a lot of hype surrounding the unveiling of the Space Game uniforms, they don鈥檛 just appear game-ready. That鈥檚 where Anderson comes in.
In addition to Nike, UCF employs four different vendors to create name plates, patches, facemasks and helmet decals resulting in the finished product. Anderson is in charge of coordinating all of the moving parts, and he says it鈥檚 always a photo finish to game day.
Once the jerseys are completed and in UCF鈥檚 possession, that鈥檚 when Anderson and his equipment operations team of CJ Bates and Kenny Yerves hunkers down.
Jerseys are hung in number order. The trio meticulously checks that each name is spelled correctly. Ensure duplicate names 鈥� like Baker and Lee 鈥� have the correct first initial incorporated. Each number is placed correctly. No numbers 鈥� like 8, for instance 鈥� are flipped. Numbers match on the front, back and sleeves.
On repeat for more than 120 jerseys.
Anderson will then go through a second time on his own through every single jersey to review the checklist again before they鈥檙e paired with their helmets and stocked in the locker room.
鈥淲e鈥檙e pulling 16-17-hour days, four days a week throughout the season,鈥� Anderson says. 鈥淧eople get excited when they see the finished product, but it didn鈥檛 just appear. It took 20 people鈥檚 vision and hard work coming to life to get it in that player鈥檚 locker and onto the field. So seeing the team鈥檚 and fans鈥� reactions to the uniform is a very good moment of appreciation and satisfaction for all the work that went into it.鈥�
That work is further rewarded by in-depth storytelling that artfully shows off every meticulous detail. The uniforms are highlighted in photo and video shoots set against incredible backdrops including the , and .
鈥淲e set a standard and expectation in the roll-out of the first full uniform in 2018 that we鈥檝e continued to build on every year,鈥� says Eric DeSalvo 鈥�09, associate athletics director of #Content. 鈥淭he uniforms are incredible on their own, but we wouldn鈥檛 be doing them or the team who produced them justice unless we told the story. And the story is all in the details.鈥�
Into Orbit
Just like the uniforms, the merchandise and retail collections also are coordinated nearly a year in advance to hit the shelves in time for the game the following season.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 great about it is now it鈥檚 not just Nike making the product. Nike may be the only one who has the insight of what the uniforms are going to look like, but now we have other partners, your FloGrowns, that have jumped in with the Citronaut and Space Game,鈥� Skiles says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always pushing for more Citronaut product to be readily available year-round.鈥�
With the uniforms and merchandise coordinated, Skiles then turns his attention to the in-game experience. The brand experience and video production team are challenged to find ways to make the Space Game feel different from any other game.
鈥淲e try to have a fully immersive experience 鈥� from the songs the Marching Knights play to the lighting in the tunnel for the players, to the video board鈥檚 visuals,鈥� Skiles says.
As the Space Game continues to evolve, Skiles says the department is invested in continuing to keep telling the stories of what UCF students, faculty and alums are doing in space.
After the 2018 matchup against Temple, he vividly remembers hoping that the broadcast inspired the next generation of astronauts, engineers and researchers to dream of attending UCF.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my hope with the Space Game 鈥� that not only does it inspire more people to check out UCF and the SpaceU brand, but also attracts the best quality students,鈥� Skiles says. 鈥淚t’s not just about cool uniforms to get football recruits here. It鈥檚 about telling the story of what our people have already accomplished and are working on for the future. And hopefully inspire future students across the world to say: 鈥楽paceU 鈥� that鈥檚 where I want to go.鈥欌��
