ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) - UCF Athletics has enjoyed plenty of success in competition, in the classroom and in the community as of late. Similarly, recent accomplishments in fund-raising have been well documented. On Wednesday, UCF Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White announced yet another major gift, the largest ever to the Knights men's basketball program.
Central Florida Cable Communications - and CEO Kevin Gault and President Robert Kohn - pledged $350,000 to help enhance basketball operations through the UCF Men's Basketball Excellence Fund.
"As we continue to pursue national competitive success in basketball, we're excited that these families have made such a significant investment in Coach Dawkins' vision of what's possible at UCF," said Mark Wright, Deputy AD for Championship Resources. "We invite anybody who is interested in supporting UCF Basketball to join the team by making a charitable gift and buying season tickets."
Both Gault and his wife Simone, and Kohn and his wife Melissa, are excited at the chance to support the UCF men's basketball program in this fashion. Melissa Kohn is an alumna of UCF, having been a member of the dance team while in school, and has spent time working in the admissions department.
"As both fans of the sport as well as supporters of UCF Athletics, we're excited by the opportunity to help the basketball program better compete for the best recruits in order to help grow a team we have embraced," Gault said. "We strongly believe in the leadership of this program, its vision, and that it will achieve great success in the future. In order to aid them in reaching this success we are giving all we can to the present. It is our hope that this donation will inspire others to do the same in recognition of this program."
These and all gift commitments are included in UCF Athletics' participation in the UCF IGNITE Campaign, which publicly launched in 2016 and is slated to end in 2019. The goal is to raise $500 million university-wide. UCF Athletics has now surpassed $80 million in commitments to the IGNITE Campaign with a goal of $85 million.
"We are so thankful to the Gaults and the Kohns, and Central Florida Cable Communications, for the generous support of our program," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "It truly means a lot to have members of the community invest in what we're doing at UCF. Commitments like this can truly make a difference in what we're aiming to accomplish."
TICKETS FOR 2018-19
Fans excited for the upcoming 2018-19 UCF men's basketball season can purchase tickets today by calling (407) 823-1000 or online here: https://ucfknights.co/mbb1819tix.
SUPPORT THE EXCELLENCE FUND
Those interested in supporting the UCF men's basketball program are encouraged to give to the Excellence Fund. For more information contact Director of Development, Major Gifts, Kevin Wilson at (407) 823-4542 or by email at kwilson@athletics.ucf.edu.
