UCF Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White's

Letter to Knight Nation

Knight Nation:

It’s safe to say we are experiencing a unique time in college athletics, not just here at UCF but everywhere in the country. The last four months represent a period unlike anything we have seen—and in certain ways we have more questions than answers about what lies ahead for athletics on our campus.

With that said, our staff has been working tirelessly to prepare for the return of sports at UCF, even in the midst of some uncertainty. Our student-athletes have been returning to campus in waves for voluntary workouts. The NCAA has approved a phased calendar for preseason football, and we currently expect all of our fall sports teams to begin official practices in August. There are no guarantees, but we are focused on preparing to host events this fall, even if we don’t yet know all the details and specifics as to how those contests will happen. We expect more clarity in the next few weeks.

The June 1 return of the first group of UCF football student-athletes for voluntary summer workouts prompted all of us to devote much attention to our health and safety protocols in light of COVID-19. We now are preparing to transition these protocols to game days for our various sports. We will follow the guidance and direction of our state, county and UCF health and safety professionals. We are fortunate to be collaborating with Orlando Health as far as COVID-19 testing for our student-athletes, and we have constant access to Orlando Health medical experts—including those who specialize in infectious diseases—as well as our own medical staff. All of those highly qualified individuals are now informing our decisions on how to make our game days and our athletic facilities safe for the return of fans this fall.

I maintain my optimism that we will be able to play sports in 2020-21. UCF plans to offer classes on campus this fall, including a combination of in-person and on-line classes. However, please know that, we alone will not be making decisions about how fall season unfolds. We are actively working with the American Athletic Conference on plans for the return of football games and other sports—while state and local government officials will give guidance relative to the number or percentage of fans that, for example, could attend a football game anywhere within the state or region.

In summary, there are multiple factors at play in this process, many of which are outside of our direct control. Our goal remains the same--to provide safe, memorable experiences at UCF Athletics events for all fans. Once we receive a decision on the percent of capacity allowed inside the Bounce House, our team will finalize the various contingency plans we have in place and publish them so fans can make arrangements to enjoy game day in Orlando.

I know many of you--our students, fans, alumni and season-ticket holders--are curious as to what the fan experience will be for football, soccer, volleyball and other sports. We continue to finalize specifics for all aspects of game days for individual sports, and we will provide those details on a timely basis as those seasons approach. All fans will be required to follow state and county public health precautions which may include physical distancing, masks and other guidelines. At this time, the specific precautions for this fall and their impact upon the logistics of viewing a game remain unknown. Public health guidance—particularly in Florida--continues to evolve and our planning always will be responsive to those public health orders.

We will provide more information as soon as specifics are confirmed about the fan experience for fall events, and this will include but not be limited to:

• Tickets

• Parking

• Tailgating

• Pregame Fan Activities

• Stadium Entrances

• Concessions

• Seating Options

• Merchandise Sales

• Safety Protocols and Cleaning Measures

As soon as additional game day protocol details in all sports are finalized we will share them with you. Additionally, we will update links to our game day, tickets, parking and other web pages on UCFKnights.com at https://ucfknights.com/facilities/spectrum-stadium/1 with any and all additional information as it becomes available.

Please know how much we appreciate and thank you for your continued philanthropic support of UCF Athletics. Your attendance at our home events and your purchase of tickets is incredibly impactful, as any of our coaches and student-athletes can attest. The adjustments being made by all of us in support of health and safety are not simple, yet they are extremely important.

Also, we understand many of you already have paid for your 2020 football season tickets. In the event capacity restrictions don’t allow all fans to attend, we will offer and communicate several options for season-ticket members.

Finally, you can help us improve the chances of sports returning to UCF this fall. Make smart and informed decisions about when and where you go, wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands. Following all those health guidelines can help us have athletics on our campus in 2020-21 and beyond.

In the meantime, please stay safe Knights! Updated information relative to UCF Athletics will be on the way as soon as it becomes available.

Go Knights! Charge On!

Danny White

Vice President and Director of Athletics