Backed by high student-athlete graduation rates, UCF looks to a new academic center, not only to improve their athlete’s academic achievement but also prepare those students for a successful career after college.
In the 2013 football season the Knights held second among the BCS teams for highest graduation rates, with 83% of its football players earning their diplomas, only behind Stanford University. The rate for all student athletes ran higher, at 89%, tying Alabama for tenth place among all seventy bowl teams.
The decision to build the center comes from an effort to support student athletes in a way that other universities are not looking towards.
“One of the things that I think sets us apart in many ways is our belief that while our industry has been so focused on graduation rates, graduation should really be the beginning and not the end,” UCF vice president and director of athletics Todd Stansbury told Forbes.
Dubbed the Wayne-Densch Student-Athlete Center, the 22,500 square foot facility will be built adjacent to the Bright House Networks Stadium. Funds are still being drawn to support construction of the center but development can be expected before the closing of the 2014 year. The Wayne-Densch Charitable Trust is donating $4 million to support construction and design phases.
Wayne M. Densch has been a longtime contributor to UCF, donating $1 million that went towards athletic scholarships in 1985 and $2.5 million in funds to the Wayne Densch Sport Center in 2003.
“The Wayne Densch Charitable Trust has been a stalwart supporter of UCF Athletics for decades,” said UCF President John C. Hitt in a release. “This generous gift represents another milestone in the outstanding partnership between UCF and the Wayne Densch Charitable Trust to support our student-athletes.”
Athletes who take advantage of the center can expect their chances of success to increase intrinsically as well as attract attention from local businesses and industries partnered with UCF. As the headquarters for the personal, professional, and academic development of the five hundred student-athletes it will serve, the center will include a multi-purpose classroom which will hold 200 students, a computer lab, tutoring and mentoring rooms, study space and conference and resource rooms.
“The whole idea of this leadership center is to expand the horizons of our student-athletes… we want to show them what other options may be available to them and really help them understand the value of the network, and that while you’re a student-athlete people want to know you and you’re interesting,” Stansbury told Forbes. “Not only are we asking corporate partners to help us with developing programming that addresses their specific needs, but also we want them to be engaged in teaching the programming as well.”
UCF has shown an investment in its athletes, not just providing for them during their respective seasons, but preparing and guiding them for a successful future.
“The time to expand your network is while you’re a student-athlete, not after graduation when you’re just another person looking for a job,” Stansbury told Forbes.
The Wayne-Densch Student Athlete Center expects to open its doors in either October or November 2015.
