麻豆原创

On the steps of City Hall in downtown Orlando, roughly three weeks after 麻豆原创 officially joined the Big 12 Conference, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer issued an official proclamation:

鈥淲hereas the Knights鈥� move to the Big 12 Conference will create more exposure for the university and our city and is a major milestone worthy of recognition and celebration;

and whereas the City of Orlando is proud and thrilled that 麻豆原创 will serve as the Big 12鈥檚 flagship school in Florida;

Now, therefore, I … do hereby proclaim that Orlando is a Big 12 City.鈥�

On July 1, 2023, at just 60 years old, 麻豆原创 became the nation鈥檚 youngest program in the Power Five conferences, which are considered the premier competitors in college athletics.

The 麻豆原创 Athletics program stands to benefit greatly from this major milestone. 麻豆原创 will be able to competitively recruit the best student-athletes in the country and regularly go toe-to-toe against some of the country鈥檚 most prestigious programs while gaining a clearer path to access the College Football Playoff.

The Knights will enjoy more resources 鈥� its media-only revenue in 2023 will weigh in around $18 million and in two years will increase to $36 million to $40 million annually (compared to $8 million to $9 million annually as a member of the American Athletic Conference).

With a commitment to upgrading facilities in the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village to catch up to and even surpass its Big 12 counterparts, 麻豆原创 will be in the running to host high-profile events 鈥� welcoming fans from all over the globe and adding to Orlando鈥檚 reputation as a leading tourism destination.

麻豆原创 is already seeing the effects. All of its Big 12 home games this season sold out 鈥� the first three (Baylor University, West Virginia University and Oklahoma State University) announced as sell-outs before the Knights officially joined the conference July 1.

鈥淭his will be the No. 1 trip that [opposing fans are] going to circle,鈥� says Nicole Auerbach, senior writer for The Athletic. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just going to [say], 鈥極h great, a trip to Orlando. Let鈥檚 just make this a long weekend.鈥欌��

麻豆原创 as a whole stands to benefit greatly, too. In addition to more exposure, universities typically see a rise in applications when their athletics programs thrive.

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Colleges whose men鈥檚 basketball teams qualified for March Madness saw a 2.4% average increase in the total number of applications within the following year, according to a 2018 article in The Economist. That increased to 5.8% for colleges whose teams made the Final Four and to 10.9% when those teams won the championship.

This is great news for 麻豆原创, which just joined arguably the best men鈥檚 basketball conference in the country 鈥� a selling point to entice top recruits to become Knights. Seven Big 12 teams made the 2023 NCAA Tournament and Big 12 programs (Kansas and Baylor) have won two of the last three NCAA titles.

As the 麻豆原创 Athletics program has grown over the years and shined under some of the brightest lights, so too has the entire university.

Andy Staples, a Central Florida native and national college football host for On3, has watched 麻豆原创 evolve into a powerhouse in both academics and athletics.

鈥淵ou look at some of the programs that 麻豆原创 said, 鈥極K, this is going to be a priority for us鈥� 鈥� [麻豆原创 was] looking into the future,鈥� Staples says. 鈥淸It鈥檚] become a place that people want to go when they鈥檙e studying computer science, when they鈥檙e studying hospitality. They understand that it鈥檚 a great education and they鈥檙e going to get the traditional college experience now.鈥� And with a Big 12 backing, the possibilities are endless.

鈥淭his is a special institution. What we need to do is make sure we get our message out there, and there鈥檚 no better vehicle for that than athletics.鈥�

鈥淭he fact that we will have ads on major games that can be seen around the country, that matters to us academically,鈥� said 麻豆原创 President Alexander N. Cartwright at a September 2021 press conference announcing the university鈥檚 invitation to the Big 12. 鈥淧eople will see what is coming out of 麻豆原创. And we need them to realize that when you鈥檙e an exceptional institution, you decide you鈥檙e going to be exceptional at everything. Athletics is one of those things. We鈥檙e going to also be exceptional in our research and everything we do academically for our students and our community.鈥�

The following moments and milestones outline the meteoric rise of the Knights and 麻豆原创鈥檚 journey to the Big 12.

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The Climbing of Conferences

The Knights were previously involved with eight conferences, each increasing in prestige. Most recently, they finished their decade in the American Athletic Conference with 52 conference titles 鈥� more than any other league counterpart.

鈥淎 lot of the national powers right now were playing [football] at the turn of the 20th century. 鈥� And to understand what you鈥檝e got to make up in that time 鈥� it鈥檚 generations of donors, it鈥檚 generations of parents taking their kids to games, it鈥檚 generations of players growing up watching the team play and saying, 鈥業 would give anything to play for that team.鈥� 麻豆原创, without the advantage of decades and generations of all this, has put itself in position to be very competitive in its new league.鈥�

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The Wonder Women of 麻豆原创

Since 麻豆原创鈥檚 first varsity women鈥檚 team in 1975, the Knights have dominated their field of play and work.

麻豆原创鈥檚 women鈥檚 teams have won more than 115 conference regular-season and tournament titles in the past three decades. These Knights have earned gold at the Olympic Games, served as team captains in the FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup and fulfilled key leadership roles in athletics departments around the country. They鈥檝e also become doctors, Emmy winning producers, educators, coaches, engineers, marketing professionals, art directors and more.

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The Dynasty of 麻豆原创 Cheer

Under the leadership of 麻豆原创 Athletics Hall of Famer Linda Gooch 鈥�85, the Knights cheer team has placed among the top 10 nationally in 28 of the past 30 years.

鈥淲e are an aircraft carrier of a university. Positioned in Orlando, right in the middle of Florida, it was our geographic birthright to be competitive at whatever we applied ourselves to. Athletics is just one of those areas where we are going to excel. We knew it was just a matter of time when all of our sports would eventually be competing on a national stage. Our goal was to make sure our spirit program was ready when that happened.鈥�

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The Ultimate Game-Changer

The Knights had been playing football games for 28 years, but never in an on-campus stadium. That changed September 15, 2007, and 麻豆原创 history was made.

麻豆原创’s campus stadium was filled with fans during the first game held at the location in 2007.

鈥淸The late] 麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt and several prominent 麻豆原创 supporters saw the vision of what an on-campus stadium could be. They believed the football program and a stadium could help elevate the university and its brand. They were right.”

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The Cardiac Knights

Seven games in the 2013 football season were decided by five points or fewer as quarterback Blake Bortles led the Knights to upset No. 6 Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl 鈥� helping kick-start a national brand.

鈥淎 decade later, it鈥檚 incredible to see how much more the program went through and achieved before finally getting entry to the Big 12. I know a lot of people will point to [former football head coach] Scott Frost鈥檚 undefeated season as 麻豆原创鈥檚 big moment in the spotlight, but I still think it was 2013 that started it all.”

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The Rivalries

From 麻豆原创鈥檚 early days battling Rollins College to dominating the War on I-4 series against the University of South Florida, the Knights鈥� rivalries have continued to evolve.

鈥淎merican Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco talked often about the need for his league to build more interest via rivalries, and used the 麻豆原创-South Florida version as the conference鈥檚 best example. 麻豆原创 took home the inaugural War on I-4 trophy in the all-sports competition and it has never left Orlando.”

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The Tweets and Timelines

In a state that boasts three other Power Five institutions, 麻豆原创 has had to strategically rely on its youth to find ways to break through the noise. Enter the power of social media and 麻豆原创鈥檚 big, passionate fan base.

鈥淭hose folks are very online. They鈥檙e very savvy. They know how to get our attention in the media and they know how to keep the discussion going. They will defend 麻豆原创 tooth and nail. They will not let you get away with slandering 麻豆原创 in any way, shape or form. And there are other fan bases that are like that. But [麻豆原创] seems to be a little more in on the joke than some of the others.”

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The Star Power of Space Games

With the university鈥檚 origin directly tied to supporting the nation鈥檚 growing space program, it鈥檚 easy to understand why 麻豆原创鈥檚 annual Space Games 鈥� first held in 2017 鈥� means so much to Knight Nation and have become a buzzworthy event nationally.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 my hope with the Space Games 鈥� that not only does it inspire more people to check out 麻豆原创 and the SpaceU brand, but [that it] also attracts the best-quality students. It鈥檚 not just about cool uniforms to get recruits here. It鈥檚 about telling the story of what our people have already accomplished and are working on for the future. And hopefully [that] inspires future students across the world to say, 鈥楽paceU 鈥� that鈥檚 where I want to go.鈥�”

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The Historic Win Streak of 2017 and 2018

The 麻豆原创 football team rose to the height of popularity and disrupted the college football world with a 25-0 run that spanned 745 days. The accomplishment ranks among the NCAA Division I FBS鈥� top 25 longest win streaks of all time. It cemented 麻豆原创 as a national brand, but also exposed access barriers to the College Football Playoff.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to win a game, much less all your games. I think there鈥檚 got to be some magic.”

鈥淭he players, to me, were really the key to what happened. They were the underdog story. 鈥� You have a team filled with players that were overlooked their whole lives 鈥� and a football program that has been overlooked by the entire country 鈥� starting to find this energy [and] this chemistry that made them feel invincible. You could see that every time they lined up. This team never felt like they were going to lose.”

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鈥淚 think trendsetters, trailblazers, whatever you want to call it, that鈥檚 what we were. That鈥檚 what 麻豆原创 is going to continue to be.”

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鈥淚n my view, those two seasons really set the stage, not only for playoff expansion, but for 麻豆原创 to join the Big 12. 鈥� I think we learned that anything is possible at 麻豆原创. It doesn鈥檛 matter what your conference is, where you鈥檙e recruiting your players from. All that matters is getting your teammates, your coaches, your players, the administration to believe.”

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The Battle of the Giants

The legacy of 7-foot-6-inch Tacko Fall 鈥�19 and the 麻豆原创 men鈥檚 basketball team鈥檚 near-upset of No. 1 Duke University in the 2019 NCAA Tournament became an instant March Madness classic 鈥� but it was much more than that.

鈥淲e would have had a legit shot to make it to the Final Four if that tip-in [went] in. That鈥檚 the kind of team 麻豆原创 had become over those last four years. It was quite a journey to watch it all happen. The fact that it came on the heels of the football team鈥檚 25-0 run was the perfect ante up. We doubled down and it made the nation wonder, 鈥榃hat 肠补苍鈥檛 麻豆原创 do?鈥�”

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The Official Invite

Seven months after Terry Mohajir was announced as 麻豆原创鈥檚 vice president and director of athletics, the Knights accepted an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference.

鈥淲e need to pay homage to all the people who got us to this place. There was a foundation already being built before we got here. We have all kinds of really cool opportunities to be the first to do things in the Big 12. What can we do that hasn鈥檛 been done before? We鈥檙e starting from scratch a little bit. It鈥檚 a new beginning.”

To read the full stories for each milestone, visit .