June 8, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UKnighted, an educational program focusing on athletics, is scheduled to debut Wednesday on UCF TV. UCF Athletics and UCF TV have partnered to produce the show, which aims to help youngsters succeed in school, sports and life.
The 30-minute program will air at noon, 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. this Wednesday. New episodes will be broadcast each Wednesday during the summer. Visit UCF.tv for air times.
According to UCF director of video services John Kvatek, who is serving as co-executive producer alongside UCF assistant vice president for operations and television services Richard Payne, the goal of UKnighted is to educate teenagers on a wide range of topics in regards to higher education and college athletics: how to get there, how to succeed while there and career planning.
"When we approached UCF TV about producing a unique series directed towards teenagers, they jumped onboard pretty quickly," Kvatek said. "Our goal is to encourage young people to `Do the Knight thing.' The show tells them that succeeding in school, choosing good role models and staying physically active has great rewards. And since we are at UCF, we wanted to show that our university is a great place to do all of that and can be a springboard to doing something rewarding after college and sports."
Episodes will feature a variety of guests, including UCF student-athletes, coaches and faculty members, and professional athletes.
All five of UKnighted's hosts either attended UCF or are current students. Scott Adams, who serves as the radio voice for the UCF women's basketball team, is featured on the program, as is former Miss UCF and current Orlando Magic dancer Megan Clementi. Former UCF men's basketball standout guard Mike O'Donnell is also a host, in addition to students Steven Helmkamp and Gina Thomas.
Nate Kalaf of the UCF video services staff is the program's producer and editor.
During the 2008-09 academic year, UCF Athletics and UCF TV partnered to produce UCF SportsKnight, a weekly show that focused on all of the school's athletics programs. UCF TV is available on Bright House Networks Digital Cable Channel 1.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.