UCF football: 4 reasons why you need to buy stock in the Knights

Get in on the ground level before UCF leaves AAC for Big 12 in July 2023

Another reason to buy some stock in the UCF football team: the Knights are officially headed to a Power 5 conference.

College football realignment has been the talk of the sport for the better part of a year now, initially triggered by Oklahoma and Texas defecting from the Big 12 to the SEC.

To replace those teams, the Big 12 invited UCF (as well as fellow AAC mates Cincinnati and Houston, plus independent BYU).

There’s little doubt the move was made possible because of the efforts and successes of previous head coaches Scott Frost (2016-2017) and Josh Heupel (2018-2020). Excluding Frosts’ first-year rebuild in 2016, the Knights went 35-4 across three seasons.

Jumping from the Group of 5 to a Power 5 conference means more revenue, better visibility on national TV, easier recruiting pitches, and a better shot at having a seat at the table if and when the College Football Playoff expands.

UCF Football Coach Gus Malzahn is proven, reliable and stable

Current Head Coach Gus Malzahn has continued the upward trajectory of the UCF football program.

The former Arkansas State and Auburn head coach is a proven winner and gets results. He’s an outstanding recruiter and has a track record of beating the best teams in the country when he led the Auburn Tigers to an SEC Championship in 2012 and an appearance in the 2014 BCS National Championship game.

He’s got an impressive resume and built up a ton of social capital and cachet over the years. It’s a great thing Athletic Director Terry Mohajir inked Malzahn to a long-term deal with complex buyout clauses, because rival teams may have tried to poach him after a successful nine-win season in his first year in Orlando.

Malzahn is reportedly under contract through the 2025 season, which will afford him plenty of time to get acclimated to a new conference and make his mark just as he has in the AAC.

It’s time to buy some stock and hop on the bandwagon and join Knight Nation.