WACO, Texas — It’s about an hour before UCF is about to kick off with Baylor and UCF athletics director Terry Mohajir is wrapping up a pregame appearance on the Knights’ radio broadcast.
UCF is more than halfway through its first season under Scott Frost, who returned to the program following an eight-year absence.
Expectations outside the program were low, but that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm within the walls of the Wayne Densch Center.
“The culture is changing,” Mohajir told a group of reporters on site.
UCF failed to qualify for the postseason last year, snapping a streak of eight straight seasons with a bowl appearance. In the offseason, Gus Malzahn resigned, leaving after four seasons with the Knights.
“We were very reactive over the last three years. I was reactive. The coaching staff was reactive because no one really knew about the landscape of college athletics, where the rules were kind of catch as you can,” said Mohajir.
“We’re starting to see a little more stability, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
The college landscape underwent a seismic shift this summer with the introduction of revenue sharing, a byproduct of the House settlement that essentially introduced a pay-for-play model. Schools, like UCF, now have a $20.5 million annual cap to consider when filling out their team rosters.
“You’ll see that as we settle into this new area of rev-share, we’ll have some consistency,” Mohajir explained. “I’ve seen a lot of really good things. I think we’ve been in every game talent-wise. We’ve experienced some inconsistency in certain games. Scott will tell you that. Talent-wise, we’re on the right track.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Knights, who replaced nearly 70 players on the roster, mainly through the transfer portal. While much of the time leading up to the season was spent on X’s and O’s, a considerable amount of time was spent installing a new culture within the program.
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“It’s the positivity that attracts new players who want to come and play here,” said Mohajir. “You get the Florida discount [no state income tax], people want to live in Florida. The future’s very, very bright in our program.”
Still, it’s been a climb for the program, particularly with the transition to the Big 12 in 2023.
UCF just started receiving a full share of the conference’s annual media rights money after only receiving half through its first two seasons. That, coupled with the growing athletics budget, has forced the school to play catch-up, especially with the new rev-share model.
“You look at some of the other programs in our league and you’re not just going to build from season to season. You have to sustain a philosophy,” Mohajir said. “You must maintain some level of stability and momentum.”
Part of that philosophy is already on display with the program hiring Trent Mossbrucker as general manager.
“He doesn’t report to football, he reports to the administration,” said Mohajir. “It’s good for Scott because when the players want to talk money, he sends them upstairs [to Mossbrucker].”
Mohajir said they’ve already started modernizing the athletic department as part of a new strategic plan.
“We’re creating this cap and evaluation department. We’re going to add some more folks here down the road. You still have the academic components. You can’t be totally like the pros, but we will definitely have a whole unit that’s just dedicated to the last year in the offseason,” he added.
“So, we have administration and rev-share and then you have the valuation and the cap management. We already have some people who are capologists, but now we have to marry the valuation and the negotiation together.”
The challenge is transitioning from reacting to news, such as a player seeking a new contract or engaging in bidding wars with schools over free-agent players, to having a system in place to handle those issues effectively.
“When I said reactive, you’re always trying to chase,” Mohajir said. We need to secure another X amount of dollars to retain this player. You’re never thinking ahead; you’re only being reactive, trying to save players or trying to keep them on your roster. It’s very reactive. You’re not envisioning the future. You’re envisioning backward.
“If you’re a school that has a robust collective, it’s a little easier. We have X amount of dollars.”
That’s been the challenge, particularly in a league where some schools have much deeper pockets. Texas Tech, for example, reportedly paid more than $28 million this offseason on its current football roster, thanks, in part, to booster Cody Campbell. The Red Raiders are ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll.
Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.
