[19] Prominent residents and local leaders began lobbying the Florida State Legislature to increase access to higher education on the Space Coast.

[citation needed] On January 24, 1964, the board of regents purchased 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of remote forest and pasture land along Alafaya Trail (SR 434) in northeast Orlando for $500,000 as the site of the new university.

[21] With the consultation of a citizen advisory group, Millican chose the name Florida Technological University, as well as co-designed the school's distinctive Pegasus seal.

[citation needed] Entering office in 1978, the university's second president, Trevor Colbourn, recognized the diversification and growth of UCF's academic programs away from its strictly technological and scientific beginnings.

Among the university's first partners were Lockheed Martin and the United States Navy, and Colbourn led the push to found both the Institute for Simulation and Training and the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers in 1986.

[citation needed] In March 1992, John C. Hitt became UCF's fourth president, ushering in an era of unprecedented growth and prominence for the university[according to whom?].

has seen enrollment increase by over 40%,[30] the acceptance rate for first time in college students falling from over 60% to near 40% in 2008[outdated statistic], and the doubling of expected annual expenses.

On September 13, 2018, UCF admitted to misappropriating money intended for educational and operating expenses to build the new $38 million Trevor Colbourn Hall, leading to the resignation of CFO Bill Merck.

[36] Newly appointed president Dale Whittaker, who was a provost at UCF during Hitt's tenure, resigned in February 2019 after just seven months in office over allegations that he also knew about the misappropriation of funds.

[citation needed] In addition, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management is located away from the main campus, in close proximity to the heart of Orlando's tourism industries near Universal Studios and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

Upon completion of construction, the campus could accommodate as many as 5,000 upper division, professional, and graduate students and faculty members in the health-related programs, and include up to two million square feet of research and instruction space.

[85] In addition, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Central Florida as the 14th most innovative school and 8th best in online bachelor's program in the nation.

[citation needed] Every member of the inaugural class received a full scholarship, including tuition and basic living expenses, for their entire four years at the university, valued at over $160,000.

Most of the print and media collection is housed in the John C. Hitt Library, which is located on UCF's main campus and is open to students, faculty and the public seven days a week.

[119] The project upon completion will include the construction of a four-story automated retrieval center, increased quiet study space, and the creation of additional research and writing facilities on the fifth floor.

[126] The university has made noted research contributions to aerospace, optics, modeling and simulation, digital media, engineering and computer science, business administration, education, and hospitality management.

Spirit Splash began in 1995 when then-Student Body President Miguel Torregrossa was pushed into the Reflecting Pond by one of his cabinet members and fellow students followed suit.

Spirit Splash was made possible in part by weight testing performed on the Reflecting Pond in preparation for President Richard Nixon's visit to the university to speak at its 1973 commencement.

It was determined that the best way to protect the president would be to hold commencement in the pond itself, after being drained, so that Secret Service agents could be stationed on the roofs of the adjacent buildings.

[147][failed verification][148][149] Residents of the Towers Communities and Rosen College Apartments sign annual contracts to rent their apartments for a full academic year (fall, spring, and summer), whereas residents of all other standard housing communities on the main campus sign academic contracts to rent their rooms only for one or two semesters at a time.

[citation needed] As the region's sole PBS affiliate, the station broadcasts to an estimated population of 4.6 million people in its aerial viewing area.

Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

Advertised as "Bringing the Knights home", the newly developed athletic village on the north end of campus known as Knights Plaza, consisted of a new 10,000-seat indoor sports venue now known as Addition Financial Arena, the new 45,000-seat football stadium known as FBC Mortgage Stadium, a new softball complex, and the first Division I indoor football practice facility in the state.

[192] The athletic complex surrounding Knights Plaza also includes Jay Bergman Field, the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium and numerous practice facilities.

In 2017, the Knights finished with the only undefeated season in the FBS after a third AAC Championship win and a victory over the eighth-ranked Auburn Tigers in the 2018 Peach Bowl.

[citation needed] The 2008–09 UCF men's team featured senior Jermaine Taylor, who was one of the nation's top scorers averaging over 20 points per game.

[199] Following a 10–0 start to the 2010–11 season, and being one of nine unbeaten teams, the Knights led by coach Donnie Jones and guard Marcus Jordan were nationally ranked for the first time in program history.

[200] In the 2016-17 season, newly hired head coach Johnny Dawkins took the Knights to a semi-final berth in the NIT for the first time in school history.

[206] Alumni have also achieved success as executives for many Fortune 500 companies, including Google, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Busch Entertainment Corporation, Harris Corporation, Darden Restaurants, Ericsson, the Orlando Magic and Texas Rangers, Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Yahoo!.

[207] The faculty at UCF includes a number of notable and prestigious members, including two former United States ambassadors (Harriet Elam-Thomas and Ulric Haynes), a former United States congressman (Louis Frey Jr.), a former vice president of Walt Disney Creative Entertainment (Ron Logan), and a former Davis Cup tennis player (Kareem Al Allaf),[208] to name a few.