The UCF Athletic Association and FBC Mortgage, LLC, have combined on a naming rights agreement for the Knights' home football stadium that takes effect beginning with the upcoming 2022 season and will brand the UCF football venue as FBC Mortgage Stadium.
The 10-year, $19.5 million deal means UCF football teams will play their home games in FBC Mortgage Stadium through the 2031 football season. The new arrangement begins July 1--following its approval today by the UCF Board of Trustees.
"It's an exciting day for UCF Athletics and for FBC Mortgage to be able to collaborate on the naming of our football stadium," says Terry Mohajir, UCF vice president and director of athletics.
"Sellouts have become the norm at UCF. Our game day experience has been widely recognized--and I believe it is second to no one. Knight Nation has established the atmosphere at FBC Mortgage Stadium as one of the best in the country.
"We are building the future of college football here at UCF. This represents the next step for us as we reimagine our football campus—and we're excited to have FBC Mortgage join us on our journey."
"FBC was founded in 2005 in downtown Orlando, and we are very proud to partner with our hometown university, UCF," says Rob Nunziata, FBC Mortgage co-CEO. "We would like to thank the UCF athletic department, especially athletics director Terry Mohajir and assistant athletics director Malik Thomas who worked very hard to make this sponsorship a reality…Go Knights!!"
"With many of our employees having attended UCF, this was a natural fit for FBC Mortgage--and it also helps us achieve our national growth expansion with a great partner in UCF," says Joe Nunziata, FBC Mortgage co-CEO.
The first UCF football game to be played at FBC Mortgage Stadium will be the Knights' 2022 season opener Thursday, Sept. 1, against South Carolina State (7 p.m. ET on ESPN+).
"On behalf of our football program, I would like to express our appreciation for the support of FBC Mortgage," says UCF football coach Gus Malzahn whose first Knight team in 2021 finished 7-0 at home.
"This provides a legitimate boost to us when it comes to creating a great homefield advantage. We take tremendous pride in the environment at our home football games--and this only adds more luster to that."
The crown jewel in UCF's impressive athletics complex, the Knights' football venue--first known as Bright House Networks Stadium--opened in 2007 and became Spectrum Stadium in 2017. The on-campus facility provides UCF one of the top venues anywhere in the Southeast. After spending the previous 28 seasons at the Florida Citrus Bowl (now known as Camping World Stadium) in downtown Orlando, the Knights made their debut in the new on-campus facility on Sept. 15, 2007, facing Texas. A capacity crowd was on hand for the game, which was televised live nationally on ESPN2. Two seasons later when UCF played host to Miami on Oct. 17, 2009, a facility-record 48,453 fans were on hand for the contest.
It has played host to conference championship games (Conference USA or American Athletic Conference) after the 2007, 2010, 2017 and 2018 regular seasons. Located on the north side of campus, the stadium features luxury boxes, a large club lounge and a natural grass playing surface.
UCF's gameday football facility has added an impressive series of enhancements over the last seven years:
--2015: The stadium enjoyed its first major renovation with the addition of the Carl Black and Gold Cabana. This east-side premium area quickly became one of the signature UCF game-day experiences. The Cabana is a 10,000-square-foot, Florida-themed social area and lounge located between the 30-yard lines.
--2016: The video board was upgraded to a 114-by-36-foot LED display. It features a Daktronics 15MM HD pixel layout for excellent image clarity. The display also has variable content zoning, allowing it to show one large image or be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, statistics, scoring, graphics, animations and sponsorship messages.
--2017: The Carl Black and Gold Cabana was expanded via 2,921 additional chair-back seats and an open-air sun deck. Eight field-level cabanas also were added at the south end zone with access to the enclosed air-conditioned J and J Rosengren Lounge. The concourse between sections 108-113 was converted into the Stadium Club. That 3,344-seat premium area on the west side of the stadium provides access to dedicated food and drink options, as well as other amenities. In addition, a ribbon display in the south end zone was unveiled, with that display measuring more than seven feet high by 199 feet wide.
--2018: Field-level cabanas were added at the north end as well as south loge cabanas.
--2019: North loge cabanas debuted, and an additional 1,000 premium chair-back seats were added on the east side of the stadium, increasing the capacity of the Carl Black and Gold Cabana for a second time.
About FBC Mortgage, LLC:
FBC Mortgage, LLC ("FBC") is a top 20 national mortgage lender headquartered in Orlando, Florida. FBC is licensed in 49 states and has more than 1,000 team members nationwide. FBC specializes in residential mortgage lending through its retail and wholesale/correspondent channels and offers purchase, refinance, construction and renovation loans. Its focus is on providing its customers and business partners with industry best practices and service. Many of the nation's largest real estate firms and home builders rely on FBC for their mortgage needs, along with a large referral base of satisfied past customers. FBC has won numerous national awards for its strong company culture and outstanding service, such as the Top 100 Mortgage Company, Best in Loan Delivery, Top Company for Working Families, and it is consistently ranked as a Best Place to Work. Visit FBC at www.fbchomeloans.com or call 1-866-413-2563 to schedule a free mortgage consultation. To see FBC customer service reviews and see what customers are saying about FBC please visit www.RateYourLender.com.