Not Everything Pauses for UCF Athletics

There are no more games on the spring schedule.
 
There are no practices on the calendar.
 
All but a few UCF student-athletes have returned home, at least for the remainder of the spring semester—and Knight coaches and athletic staff are working from their own homes indefinitely.
 
Yet not everything relative to UCF athletics has ground to a halt.
 
The lights remain on in the UCF athletic training room--led by director of sports medicine Mary Vander Heiden--with a small number of student-athletes staying on campus to rehab from injuries.
 
While UCF playing and practice facilities are vacant, the grass continues to grow. So Brian Barton, senior associate athletics director for capital projects, facility and event management, and his staff still have work to do. It may not involve the same hours a normal spring would require, but Barton continues to oversee a work schedule designed to keep athletic fields up to date and buildings clean, sanitary and in tip-top shape.
 
"The turf crew is working a regular schedule," says Barton. "They see this as a unique opportunity to work on the fields without interruption. That's a great way to look at it—it's refreshing.
 
"Robert Sample and all the turf guys now will have more time on the fields than they normally have, especially in the absence of successful spring seasons that can run long. We have a chance for our fields to be in the strongest position we've ever been heading into a fall—and there will be benefits for years to come.
 
"None of us know when we're coming back, but everyone wants the fields to be in the best possible condition when we do."
 
Classes are now happening online and the Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership—normally packed with students—is empty. Yet associate athletics director for academics Tara Helton and her staff in academic services for student-athletes are as busy as ever.
 
"Nothing stops for us—whether it's advising, tutoring or mentoring," she says. "We actually are preparing to do registration for the next semester remotely beginning this week.
 
"The biggest difference is trying to conduct our services via other platforms, like ZOOM meetings, when most of our interaction normally comes face to face. We have strong relationships with our student-athletes and it's hard because we're used to seeing them on a regular basis.
 
"But this is not just us at UCF—it's not a hurricane where maybe it's just affecting Florida. This is the entire nation doing this.
 
"Everything is fluid and changing rapidly.
 
"This is our new normal for a while." 
 
Open as well is the Garvy Nutrition Center, still supplying "grab and go" meals for the limited student-athlete population still on campus (many of those are international students and a few others with extenuating circumstances).
 
The UCF student-athlete welfare and development staff continues to provide resources to that on-campus international student-athlete population to keep those individuals engaged, encouraged and informed. Ongoing are virtual SAAC (student-athlete advisory committee) meetings, resume workshops, virtual community platforms and virtual career development opportunities so that student-athletes are conducting business as close to normal as possible.
 
The human resources staff has programming in place to keep UCF athletic staff engaged (events such as virtual coffee breaks and trivia days as well as professional development sessions) so there remains that feeling of connection with co-workers.
 
The UCF championship resources, ticket sales and corporate partnership staffs remain fully engaged with benefactors and the Knights' fanbase to provide customer service and prepare for the 2020-21 sports seasons. Those staffs, even working from home, are fully integrated with the telephone system and donor/ticket software systems while connecting remotely.
 
Coaches cannot travel for recruiting until after April 15 (at least) and no on-campus visits are permitted during that span. That means UCF athletic graphic designers and social media specialists are as important, if not more important, than ever as coaches strategize how to maintain communication with prospects. In the absence of games for the time being, it's almost as if all 16 UCF sports are in their off-season mode. Yet content in general remains a priority.
 
The communications, content, marketing and video staffs are working together to create all those materials for UCF fans during this unprecedented time. In the absence of live Knight sports to show and report on, those groups are providing a variety of forms of entertainment to Knight Nation. Examples include scavenger hunts on social media, coloring book pages and re-running past great UCF games with commentary from Knights' play-by-play veteran Marc Daniels.
 
Budget preparation for 2020-21 is ongoing, as is work to identify the effects of the coronavirus on overall financials for UCF athletics. 
 
Construction continues on the Roth Athletics Center, pushing hard for summer completion. 
 
And there's lots more going on behind the scenes for vice president and athletics director Danny White, his executive staff and the rest of UCF's athletic administration and coaching staffs—albeit much of it on cell phones and laptop computers on kitchen tables and in family rooms.
 
Maybe most important, everyone connected with UCF athletics is being vigilant and cautious in relation to the realities of the coronavirus and maintaining social distancing. Since most staff members are working from home, they continue to comply with health experts' recommendations and mandates.
 
Meanwhile, most Knight student-athletes, for now, have scattered to their homes all over the globe.
 
Yet, one way or the other, the business of athletics at UCF keeps humming along.