As you know ESPN has a pre-game show that picks one school each week to host live from. In addition to hosting the show live, they put that game on primetime in the best time slot. Well last week after UCF handled Navy and Cincy took care of the cows of usf ESPN announced it was finally coming to UCF and hosting gameday. In order for you to fully understand what this means to the school, you need to understand the brand and how it began.
How it Began
In order for you to understand where UCF is as a brand now, you have to understand where this all started. It began at the beginning of 2017 with the Knights coming off a 6-7 season and a bad loss in the auto nation cure bowl against Arkansas State. The expectations of the season were for UCF to finish 2nd behind the “better” usf team. Well as the season would play out UCF would complete the single best season in school history undefeated. All throughout the year all they kept hearing was you were 6-7 last year you can’t just have one good season and automatically have respect. They also heard you haven’t beat anybody. Well January 1st, 2018 Peach Bowl that all changed UCF would slay a mighty beast from the “prestigious” SEC. This would lead the best marketing strategy ever in history led by Athletic Director Danny White declaring UCF national champs.
The National Champs Branding
When Danny White did that he started a ripple effect that would be one of the greatest marketing plans ever. Here we are 10 months removed from that January 1st game and people are still arguing over whether or not UCF is champs or not. NCAA record books show they are because the Colley Matrix poll ranked them number 1 at the end of the season. This season the Knights are 10-0 and once again are still not seriously being considered for the College Football Playoffs. Here is where I come in on this UCF will never get an invite to the invitational playoffs that are for power 5 schools.
More important than the CFP
This is why yesterday was the most important day in UCF history and it will be way more important than getting to CFP will ever be. Look at the atmosphere yesterday look at the number of students and fans that showed up. This was a scene that will not soon be forgotten on the minds of recruits. It will be remembered that UCF had gameday at their campus and it was a fantastic scene. Yes recruits will always look at Alabama’s and the Ohio States of the world but now if you are looking and you can be a starter at UCF why wouldn’t you choose that school. The facilities are top notch and as you seen on college gameday it was the best scene on memory mall. So not only did the Knights clinch the east division of the AAC but the Knights won the entire day and that is way more progress than the CFP will ever be.