UCF fans raise nearly $27K for NIL collective by voting to abolish brief but divisive gameday tradition

UCF used a hot-button issue among Knights fans as a perfect opportunity to raise money for its official collective, Kingdom NIL. The collective raised nearly $27,000 for NIL endeavors after fans voted with their wallets to get rid of a singalong tradition, according to FOX 35 Orlando. 

Starting in the 2021 season, UCF played Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” at the beginning of the fourth quarter as a singalong for fans. While some fans enjoyed the tradition, others wanted it to go away. UCF’s collective decided to put it to a vote: Either click a button and “Donate to keep the song” or “Donate to retire the song.” 

UCF players even got involved. Star running back RJ Harvey posted on Twitter to get rid of the song; receiver Xavier Townsend posted to keep it. It was a painfully close vote, decided by barely $1,000. Ultimately, $14,017 was spent to kill the song with $12,900 spent to keep it. 

“To raise that much money while having some fun doesn’t happen a lot,” Kingdom NIL executive director SJ Tuohy told FOX 35. “I think at least on the surface, to me, everybody had a fun time and everybody was a good sport and that doesn’t happen a lot.” 

UCF has not shied away from using nontraditional means to engage the fans. For the 2022 spring game, players sported custom QR codes on the back of their jerseys, directing fans to a specific bio page that included social media handles, charities and player merchandise stores now allowed through NIL. 

Notably, UCF boasts one of the youngest alumni groups of any major football power. The university has 350,000 alumni, but the average age of a UCF graduate is only 38 years old. 

“They’re engaged, they’re involved in social media, they’re active,” UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir told…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ucf-fans-raise-nearly-27k-for-nil-collective-by-voting-to-abolish-brief-but-divisive-gameday-tradition/

Author : Shehan Jeyarajah

Publish date : 2023-12-21 21:50:19

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