On the rooftop of a swanky hotel on the West Side of Manhattan, it’s clear things are about to change for UCF. A spirited group of alumni gathered to meet with coaches of the football and men’s and women’s basketball teams, and AD Terry Mohajir. The Knights are just about to finish their life cycle in the American Athletic conference and start anew in the Big 12. It’s fitting that they’ve taken their show on the road in the city commissioner Brett Yormark calls home.
The final conference matchup against rival USF will come this weekend at the AAC baseball tournament. UCF’s movement has been noticed across its home state as well: In Tallahassee earlier this month, as Florida State saber-rattled over revenue concerns, FSU AD Michael Alford said the fact that UCF will soon draw more revenue than his own school (and Miami) will in their conference media agreement is “not acceptable.”
The Knights are certainly moving up quickly in the college sports world, continuing to draft off their success on the field, like the 2017 claimed national championship in which they capped the year off by beating their current coach, Gus Malzahn, at his former school, Auburn. On the field in the Big 12, Malzahn knows that things are going to be different, especially with road games at Kansas State, Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Cincinnati, plus a nonconference date with Boise State.
