This years Space U jerseys were inspired by “powering humankind’s return to the moon,” sported by the UCF football team during Mission VIII against Arizona on Saturday in FBC Mortgage Stadium.
Courtesy of UCF Athletics
At 3:21 p.m. Sept. 18, students gathered at the UCF campus bookstores to witness the unveiling of the 2024 Mission VIII Space U uniforms.
As bookstore staff revealed the jerseys, students immediately rushed to catch a glimpse at what the UCF football team would be repping for the Space U game against Arizona.
Upon closer inspection, students would notice a few striking details about the jerseys. The new jerseys were black, with a gray splatter texture fading up from the bottom. The numbers outlined with gray and shadowed in classic Canaveral blue, with a constellation pattern adorning the cuffs.
Every year, UCF Athletics reveals a new design for the Space U jerseys that the football team sports during its annual Space U game.
“‘Reach for the stars,’ that is the motto, that’s in our logo,” Melissa Yopack, general manager for the UCF campus bookstores said. “I think the Space U jersey kind of embodies that and all the research that UCF is doing out in the community that obviously supports athletics, but supports UCF as a whole.”
While the jerseys themselves are a fun way to celebrate the Space U game, the jerseys also represent UCF’s long history with space, specifically the Space Coast.
“Twenty years ago, it was so much smaller of a school—people would be like, ‘Central Florida who?'” Yopack said. “Now, everybody knows who UCF is.”
UCF was founded in 1963 and was originally called Florida Technological University. The university was founded with the mission of providing support for the growing U.S. Space Program at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, according to the UCF Athletics website.
As of 2023, there are 191 faculty and students working on NASA projects, and currently 29% of Kennedy Space Center employees are UCF alumni.
Space U was an idea developed by Senior Executive Associate Athletics Director and Chief Branding Officer, Jimmy Skiles, and his colleagues, according to an article by UCF Today.
Although the first Space U game didn’t debut until 2017, Skiles first discussed the concept of Space U in 2014 when he was the assistant athletic director for fan development.
The first Space U jerseys were unveiled in 2018. The original jerseys were black and featured a constellation pattern on the sleeves and Canaveral blue outlining the numbers, much like the 2024 ones.
Yopack recalled the first unveiling of the Space U jerseys. She said there was a line wrapped around Down East Plaza drive from the UCF Barnes and Noble, and that the jerseys were sold out on the very first day.
Since then, UCF has adopted the concept of unveiling the jerseys at 3:21 p.m. Yopack said students will still arrive early in the day to witness the reveal, and the first jersey sold at the UCF Campus Bookstore this year was at 3:25 p.m.
Senior game design major Nolan Krames was the student who purchased the first 2024 Space U jersey.
“I threw it on immediately, wore it out of the store, and I can’t wait to wear it at the Bounce House,” Krames said.
Krames and junior economics major Pierce Gambino both said they noticed how the jersey’s design encompasses past designs while browsing in the UCF Campus Bookstore.
“I like how the numbers have the blue from last year, they had the constellations from the year before, and then the black,” Gambino said. “I think it was ’20. Just all of it together, taking the best from every year. I think it looks really good.”
While Krames and Gambino both appreciated this year’s unique design, they said they also appreciate UCF’s unique tradition as a whole.
“I think it’s awesome,” Krames said. “I love when teams have special edition uniforms, but I think having it be just one year and then switching it up, having a new one release, I think that’s really cool. It’s cool that UCF gets to stand out in that regard.”
Since the space game jersey’s were first introduced, Yopack said that sales for the jersey have consistently exceeded years prior.
“We basically every year have almost doubled the year before sales on the unveiling day,” Yopack said. “And then we’ve never had a year of the space jersey where we didn’t sell out before the game, or at least on game day.”
At this years Space U game against Arizona, several students were seen sporting the new jerseys, as well as jerseys from years prior. The Knights would extend their winning streak in space games to eight wins, pummeling Arizona in a 56-12 victory.
Yopack said she knows next year’s jerseys won’t disappoint, as every year the designs have been polarizing; but she did have one small request.
“I like this year’s jerseys, don’t get me wrong; I wish there was more blue in it,” Yopack jokingly said. “Maybe if they do white, maybe do the constellations in blue.”
Yopack, as well as the rest of Knight Nation will have to wait in anticipation until next year’s space game to see what UCF Athletics has planned for the 2025 installment of the Space U jersey.