UCF ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT: DEVOS BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

The DeVos Sports Business Management program is ranked among the nation's best.  It now has a minor program to go along with a Graduate Degree.   Our comprehensive curriculum provides a unique, team-based, integrative business approach and a global sports network in a hands-on environment. The DeVos program offers students the opportunity to earn their Masters in Sports Business Management and a Masters in Business Administration. Focusing on ethics, diversity, leadership, and community service, the DeVos Program attracts some of the brightest and most committed students from across the country and across the globe.



We are proud of the work of our past and present students, and look forward to seeing what the newly admitted Class of 2013 will bring. Some of the major accomplishments of DeVos students are:

• We have gone from the newest program on the block to being named one of the top five programs in America by the Wall Street Journal, Sports Business Journal and ESPN the Magazine.
• The Class of 2008, in conjunction with the National Consortium for Academics and Sport, formed the Hope for Stanley Foundation, which is dedicated to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their homes and lives in New Orleans.
• Class of 2008 students visited Rich and Helen DeVos, program benefactors, at their home in South Florida as the students were recognized for their community service involvement and academic achievements.
• Our team of students competed in a case competition this year at the prestigious National Sports Forum against three of the other five top teams in the country, and returned with a first place finish. Only one other team had a woman as part of their group. The DeVos team had three out of four women.
• The Class of 2007 went on the Inaugural Class Trip to Atlanta. The trip, which was funded by the second year Sport Marketing client-based projects, allowed the students to meet with executives from the Atlanta Hawks, Georgia Tech Athletic Department, Coca-Cola, the LPGA, and Velocity Sports, and visit the Martin Luther King Center.

DeVos students and graduates are business leaders committed to using the power of sport to improve life in a more-inclusive society. The program is the premier "living classroom" in sports business management education.

Happy Birthday Ne'

PROUD TO BE A UCF KNIGHT!

18 HOME GAMES HIGHLIGHT UCF SCHEDULE

The defending Conference USA champion UCF women's basketball team will face a challenging schedule in 2011-12 that features non-conference games against some of the nation's premier programs. Head coach Joi Williams announced the Knights' slate Wednesday, and the schedule includes 10 total contests against teams that participated in the postseason a year ago.

UCF will play 18 regular-season contests at the UCF Arena, highlighted by an in-state showdown with Florida State on Dec. 30. The Seminoles won 24 games in 2010-11, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. NCAA Tournament participant Hartford will also visit the UCF Arena on Nov. 26. UCF will play two road games during non-league play, including a Dec. 20 matchup at Notre Dame. Last season, the Fighting Irish went 31-8 and advanced to the national championship game.
 

The Knights, who won 22 games last year, are led by senior guard Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.). Patrick averaged 10.7 points and dished out a team-high 134 assists in 2010-11. UCF returns seven players from last season's squad, and also welcomes several talented newcomers to the team.
 
Season tickets, which start at only $45 for 18 home games, are currently available by calling (407) UCF-1000. Special community packages are also available by calling (407) UCF-1000.
 
The Knights will open the campaign on Nov. 12 at South Alabama. The team will play its first game of the year at the UCF Arena on Nov. 18 when Florida A&M comes to Orlando. The contest against the Rattlers is the first of nine-straight at home for the Knights. The long homestand, which includes the UCF Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 25-26, concludes on Dec. 18 against Virginia Tech.
 
"The great thing about our non-conference schedule is that we have so many games at home. This year we are really striving to get some consistency going into conference play," Williams said. "We will play some great teams like Florida Gulf Coast, Hartford, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. We will be tested."
 
UCF will play eight league contests at home, starting with a Jan. 5 game versus East Carolina. The Knights will also host Southern Miss (Jan. 15), Rice (Jan. 19), SMU (Jan. 26), Tulsa (Feb. 2), UAB (Feb. 12), Memphis (Feb. 19) and Marshall (March 1) for league games.
 
UCF will face a big challenge at the end of the regular season when it travels to Houston to face the Cougars on Feb. 26. A year ago, Houston won 26 contests and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The C-USA Championship will be held in Memphis, Tenn., and starts on March 7.
 
"We had a lot of teams in Conference USA that went to postseason play last year," Williams said. "That makes our league a lot stronger and a lot more exciting. It is going to be competitive."

UCF'S LSU CONNECTION

The following was written by Brandon Naidus for www.UCFAthletics.com

This past June, former LSU women's basketball assistant coach Bob Starkey joined the UCF women's basketball staff in the same capacity. Starkey's new co-workers were long-time friends Joi Williams, Greg Brown and Richard Fortune. One of his new co-workers was one of his former players.

Khalilah Mitchell was the UCF's graduate assistant the past two seasons. This offseason, Williams promoted her to director of program development. Prior to joining UCF, Mitchell played for Starkey at LSU. She is just one of two players (men or women) to be a part of five NCAA Final Four Teams. Starkey and Mitchell are excited to reunite.
 
"We reunite that Bayou connection that we had back at LSU," Mitchell said. "It is great to learn from him, first as a player and now looking at it from a different side of coaching. It is very informative. I am learning a whole lot and I'm enjoying it."
 
Starkey said, "Obviously she learned some basketball along the way from playing. Now she is in a position to hopefully take some of the things she learned and teach it as well. Any time one of our former players goes into coaching, it is a big thrill for me. It means a lot for me to actually see her do that.
 
"In her five years that she played at LSU, she was by far the most popular teammate on that team. She did not have a single person that did not like her. She related very well to every player on that team and every one of them adored her." Starkey spent 22 seasons with LSU's basketball programs. He spent the last 13 with their women's team. During his tenure at LSU, he worked with players such as Shaquille O'Neal, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Temeka Johnson.
 
After suffering a season-ending knee injury in her freshman year, Mitchell went on to play four more years with LSU. After her final season, 2007-08, she earned a position at UCF as a graduate assistant.
Starkey sees the same promise in Mitchell as a coach that he saw in her as a player. "She is a great people person. She cares about people, which is why I think she is going to be a great coach."

UCF GARNERS TOP 5 RANKING IN "UP-AND-COMING" SCHOOLS IN THE NATION

The University of Central Florida is the No. 4 “up-and-coming” school in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 best colleges rankings.

UCF achieved its highest ranking in the “up-and-coming” list, which recognizes national universities that “recently made the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities.” UCF tied for fourth with Clemson University in South Carolina on the list of national schools to watch.

UCF also ranked among the top 100 public universities overall, coming in at No. 97.

“Best Colleges 2012 Edition” ranks more than 1,300 colleges and universities nationwide in more than a dozen categories considering factors such as graduation rates, academic reputation and SAT/ACT scores. The report, known as a guide for helping parents and students choose schools, ranks private and public colleges and universities.

“The rankings are proof of the hard work and dedication of UCF’s staff and faculty members, and these rankings also reflect the talent and work ethic of our students,” said UCF President John C. Hitt.  “I’m proud of the contributions made by all the members of our UCF community who are building one of America’s great metropolitan research universities.”

The annual rankings reflect UCF’s commitment to quality growth and providing students with access to a high-quality education. The approximate SAT score of 1,249 posted by the fall 2011 freshman class puts UCF in the top 20 percent of colleges and universities nationwide for SAT averages. The fall freshman class also includes a UCF-record 74 National Merit Scholars.

In March, U.S. News & World Report named UCF’s graduate-level counseling program in the College of Education one of the 12 best in the country. Engineering, Education, Computer Science, Healthcare Management, Social Work, Speech-Language Pathology Nursing and Public Administration all made the top 100.

In other recent rankings, Kiplinger and The Princeton Review have recognized a UCF education as one of the best values in the country. UCF also ranks among the top 25 colleges in the nation least likely to leave graduates in debt, according to a Newsweek article. Last month, Forbes named UCF one of the top 50 most-affordable colleges and universities in the nation.

COACH MEYER LEAVES KNIGHTS WITH STRONG THOUGHTS ON LEADERSHIP

Our team had the good fortune of taking in the morning session of Coach Don Meyer's Leadership Seminar this past week in Orlando.  We asked each of our student-athletes to list at least once concept that resonated strongly within them.

BRYEASHA BLAIR: Something that Coach Meyer said that really hit home was that every captain isn't a leader. A leader is not only someone who leads by example but someone who also motivates.

STEPHANIE TAYLOR: Two big things I got from Coach Meyers’ lecture are you have to have a strong desire to succeed & also you have to be a follower first in order to be a leader. I also remembered him saying that usually the right decision is the toughest decision.

GEVENIA CARTER: Coach Meyer talked about discipline and how a lack of it is detrimental to the team. Not only as a team, but as an individual first and for most you have to seek, find, and simply do whatever is required to better you for your team. "There is nothing more harmful to your team than the lack of discipline." - Coach Meyers.

RACINE DAVIS: What I got from Coach Meyer's Leadership Seminar was that “you get adrenaline from what you’re passionate about.” I love that quote because cause it's so true. You put the most energy into what you love to do. Another thing I got from the seminar was in order to lead you have to be servant.

LEONELLA MONTALVO: I really enjoyed how he emphasized being thankful for today. I think this applies to many things in life including basketball and outside of basketball. If a person is willing to be thankful for today, then they will be willing to give their best effort in everything they do.

 AARIKA JUDGE: At Coach Meyer’s seminar I learned that the right decision is often the hardest decision to make. Also, you should always be at your best because while you may not see others they’re always watching.

ERIKA JONES: During the Leadership Seminar one thing that hit me was when he said you have to be the person you want to follow. It made me look at some of the things I do and decisions and make.  

SARAH GREEN: One thing that really resonated with me was the quote Coach Don Myer gave that said, "Peace is not the absence of trials, torments, and storms, but the calm in the midst of them." When adversity hits, which it always will, there has to be one person that can calm everyone down and bring the focus back to the process.

MEGHAN KEOUGH:  One of my favorite quotes he said was to "watch the way you treat people on your way up the ladder of success, because they'll be there on your way down." I think that this goes along with what he said about leadership. In order to be a leader, you must have followers and you must have served. A leader must be strong and confident, but also understanding and have earned the respect of her teammates.

He also said adrenaline comes from passion. Your mind and body can do amazing things when you have a deep passion for something. You hear of people picking up cars to save their child's life when they are trapped underneath. This is adrenaline. If you can play with intensity and fire, you will be able to push your body to places thought unimaginable.

KAYLI KEOUGH: The thing that I got from Coach Meyer that I want to apply to my life is his concept of N.B.A.: Next Best Action.  It's easy to complain about the present situation, but God has your world a certain way for a reason and it is my job to just continually move forward. We can't change outside factors but we can take the appropriate action to better ourselves and the people around us regardless of difficulties.

ANDREA HINES: I learned from Coach Meyer that in order to be a good leader you have to be a good follower first. Another was that you can have anything you want, but not everything you want.

ASHIA KELLY: The one thing I learned from Coach Meyer was the right decision is often the toughest decision. This means to me that although it may be difficult right now, the effects of this decision will bring excellence later.

KNIGHTS GETTING IT DONE IN THE WEIGHT ROOM

Né Carter: The weight room is where we go to get stronger and build endurance to endure throughout our season. We do many different things to strengthen our legs such as squats and vertimats. With squats we go slightly below a 90 degree angle and power up, helping build power in our legs. With the vertimats we have straps connected that causes resistance. We hold the straps as we jump in the air causing us to be pulled back down faster. This helps us with quickness and strength in our legs.  Our team has been extremely dedicated in the weight room this year.  We learned a valuable lesson last year of the important of being at our maximum best physically and we know that strength training is a great starting point for us.  We get our workouts in early in the morning which is a great way to start the day!