It's no secret that I am a proud student of the University of Central Florida. Sure, our football team sucks unlike no other, but I am still proud to be a knight. As a UCF Knight, I feel like there is some random facts that every UCF student should know, and here they are:
1. UCF has gone through four different mascots.
Allow me to educate you, my fellow knights! Before Knightro came to be, UCF had 3 different mascots. The citronaut was FTU's first mascot in 1969, but it was met with much disapproval with the students at the time. The student's counter mascot was Vincent the Vulture, which was inspired to the many vultures present to the young campus. The Citronaut/Vulture argument lasted over a year until it was brought to President Millican for a solution. Our school needed a nickname for our young football nickname, which is where the term "knights" were born. Our next mascot, "Sir Wins A Lot" was born, but was eventually retired for an actual horse and rider. Then the dragon themed mascot Puff made it's debut, following Puff, Mack the Knight made his debut in the 25th UCF anniversary. It wasn't until 1994 that Knightro became our current mascot of UCF, and it has remained this way ever since.
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2. UCF manages over 500 acres of land for conservation purposes.
If you don't believe me, check out the arboretum near Garage C and walk the trails. It's a very peaceful setting and it's pretty cool UCF is conserving this area. If you need a really easy way of burning calories, I highly recommend the trails.
3. UCF is one of the few schools that has students from every county in Florida.
With over 60,000+ students, to no one's surprise, UCF is a school that has a very good example of diversity, and to have students from every county in Florida is really impressive.
4. The "Pegasus Seal" Legend
Every student knows that if you step on the seal in the Student Union during your undergraduate years, you don't graduate! So the solution? Make sure you don't step on that seal! Better to be on the safer side of things! Of course, you can step on the seal so you can take your awesome graduation pictures! Our seal is very sacred, so make sure to respect it in the highest regard!
5. UCF's founding date is June 10th, 1963.
Founded as Florida Technological University, UCF was founded on June 10th, 1963. Although established in 1963, the university did not open until 1968. FTU was not renamed to the University of Central Florida until 1978! With our school being only 52 years old, we are one of the youngest universities in the state of Florida!
