New Nike deal already paying dividends for UCF
Our long national nightmare is over UCF fans. UCF has new uniforms. Not only new uniforms, but some of the best new u informs that Nike has produced. The design is sleek, connects the school with the Florida Space Coast, and is a throwback to UCF's history. For all the fears from the older fans had about getting new uniforms, the new uniforms are not gaudy. The uniforms are even better than what most UCF fans could ever fathom. In addition it appears that atleast UCF players will be able to have their names etched into the back of the uniforms. Needless to say the new uniforms mask the more important story: finally UCF is being taken seriously by Nike. After years of being treated as a also ran in Nike's stable of college football teams. The new deal with Nike has already paid dividends for UCF.
It would be naive to think that Scott Frost was not one of the main reasons for this new nike bounty. Everyone knows that Frost came from Oregon and that he is friends with Nike Owner Phil Knight. Of course Frost did not have to reach out to Knight to get new uniforms. He could have been a coach that just came to UCF and ignored the cries of the fans. After all if you were to believe the pundits, Scott Frost already has one foot out the door. So he surely wouldn't care about reaching out to Nike, right? Well once again Scott Frost defies supposed conventional wisdom. He listened to the fans and brought the needed changes to this program. Sure new uniforms may seem silly to larger programs, but to UCF fans who had to endure the whatever the hell shade of gold that was, these new uniforms are a game changer. This shows the change of mentality from O'Leary who would not put players names on the uniforms because he was worried the players would get too worried about themselves. That was an old school mentality. These uniforms are one of the first implementations of Frost's new school mentality. Frost continues to be a beloved figure despite the team not playing a game yet.
Some UCF fans still do not see the big picture of why these new u informs were so important. These fans do not see that the new uniforms are THE essential recruiting tool. Historic powerhouse programs like Ohio State, Notre Dame have even gotten not the new uniform business. The program realized that uniforms were the latest evolution for college football and that they needed to change or in essence die. Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith summed it up best "Recruits are impressionable today and have a great deal of materialistic interest." The recruiting boost to the programs that have implemented new u informs has been well documented, So if these historic teams can forgo history in the sake of recruiting why can't UCF. You see coming off a wi less season UCF needs to find anyway to attract recruits. Call it smoke and mirrors, but to reestablish this program, UCF needs to pull out all the stops to get recruits. These uniforms are a major factor in that process. If you can not see that, then you as a fan are just antiquated.
Of course none of this would have happened if Todd Stansbury was still athletic director. Stansbury had no spine when he was at UCF. He bent whichever way Dr.Hitt and George O'Leary wanted him to. His idea of being innovative was ripping off FAU for the cabana idea. Hell if he was still athletic director we would be talking about Brent Key as head coach with the same old crappy uniform. His departure was a grand exorcism for UCF. It was Danny White that brought this deal together. It was White that brought in Scott Frost as a mysterious candidate. You see White had the foresight to know that hiring Frost meant that Nike would be close behind. That meant more name recognition and brand enchantment. That was something UCF desperately needed given the athletic department state. White has been all about improving the brand whether it be at Buffalo or UCF. The hiring of Frost was part of the plan to improve the brand.
The UCF-Nike partnership now extends through 2022. Sure many fans would want the money to be better, but beggars cannot be choosers. The deal does promise to allow UCF to finally have an improvement in uniforms that fans have longed for. But the deal offers another opportunity: better brand recognition for recruits. If UCF can become Nike's latest pet project, this means the school can become an even better option for recruits in the state of Florida.
