UCF’s proximity to the Space Coast and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center has allowed the university to cultivate and provide talent for Central Florida and the growing U.S. “It’s a unique part of the UCF story that it was too good of an opportunity not to use the athletics platform to amplify,” Skiles says. That changed in 2016 when a new uniform line was unveiled, and excitement renewed around UCF football with the hiring of Scott Frost as head coach. He says he batted around the idea with some of his creative and brand experience colleagues, but they felt the timing wasn’t quite right.
And every year we’re getting better at telling it.” All-in On Outer SpaceĪlthough the Space Game debuted in 2017, the concept for the game was first discussed in 2014 when Skiles re-joined the UCFAA as assistant athletic director for fan development. “We aren’t using space as a gimmick or a ‘cool’ theme. “We’ve tried to stay as authentic as possible, and I think that’s why this game has grown to be as popular as it has,” says Jimmy Skiles ’06, senior executive associate athletics director.
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. Perhaps, most importantly, UCF has continued its strong tradition of conducting important space research - from producing its own Martian soil to more than a dozen projects aimed at getting people back to the moon safely, many of which directly support NASA’s Artemis program. Coincidentally space travel has become cool again, and other schools are following suit with their own takes on the initiative. Since then, the Knights have picked up more uniform accolades (the 2019 Helmet of the Year and 2021 Uniform of the Year).
Nasa space shuttle shirt full#
This year marks the sixth installment of the game and the fifth anniversary of the first full SpaceU uniform - which went on to win the 2018 Uniform of the Year. With the university’s origin directly tied to supporting the space program in the 1960s, it’s easy to understand why this week’s Space Game means so much to the university, the athletics program and its fans. The PA cues up Elton John’s 1972 hit “Rocket Man.” Everyone starts singing along. Then, along the horizon in the eastern evening sky, it appears.Īn orange flare - the unmistakable streak of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink darting upward and out of the atmosphere. Thousands of fans are still glued to their seats in FBC Mortgage Stadium. The UCF football team just thumped Georgia Tech, 27-10. (Photo by Conor Kvatek) More Than a Gimmick This year marks the sixth Space Game and the fifth one with full custom uniforms. So what exactly does it take to pull off the Space Game every year?Ī lot of planning and a little bit of stardust. 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’s office to the cubicles that house the #brand designers who created the uniforms and the brand experience staff charged with the in-stadium experience.
“Especially with how much this fan base, the players, the coaching staff, the community all love the Space Game - it can’t not happen.” “Every day I wake up with anxiety,” says Brad Anderson, director of equipment operations. 4 - less than 10 days away from the UCF football team’s Space Game, and although the order was placed back in March, the Knights’ uniforms have yet to arrive.
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