South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Contract details of UCF’s 3-game series with UF
The University of Florida Athletics Association will pay the UCF Athletics Association
$800,000, when the Knights travel to Gainesville on Oct. 5, 2024, for the first matchup of a three-game series that was announced in July, according to records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
When the Knights host the Gators at UCF’s on-campus football stadium on Sept. 14, 2030, Florida will receive $250,000, the game contract, signed by Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin and UCF AD Terry Mohajir, shows.
UCF will receive $200,000 when the Knights return to The Swamp on Sept. 3, 2033, according to the contract. These payment details were first reported by Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday.
The contract, however, also reveals information regarding visiting team tickets, sideline passes, radio and TV rights and what would happen if either school backed out of a game contract.
If either ends the contract for the
2024 and 2030 games, that school breaking the contract would owe
$2.5 million to the non-breaching party. That number drops to $2 million for the 2033 game.
However, if the first two games are played and UCF breaches the contract for the last meeting, the Knights would owe Florida $5 million, according to the document.
These buyout numbers were agreed upon to be as reasonable and they “contemplated liquidated damages, regardless of notice.” The schools agreed that in the event of a breach by either party that the actual damages would be of an uncertain amount and thus those numbers above were finalized.
The contract also mentions what would happen if the Southeastern Conference requires Florida to play nine or more conference games in any particular season.
If the SEC, which will be adding Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12, requires more conference games, the two sides will negotiate a “mutually agreeable” alternative date for any of the three games that can’t be played, according to the contract.
As for tickets, the visiting team will receive 5,000 to offer for sale to its fans and supporters, including the visiting team band, for each game. All proceeds from ticket sales are to be paid to the home team 30 days after receipt of the ticket invoice, the document said.
Any tickets that have been delivered to the visiting team, but not sold, shall be returned to the home team no later than 30 days prior to each game.
The cheerleaders and mascot(s) of each team shall be admitted free of charge provided they are in uniform, and their attendance shall not be included in the game report unless otherwise agreed upon by both institutions.
The contract also includes typical details regarding radio, television and broadcast rights.
On-field and replay officials for the games shall be arranged for, and paid by the home team, according to the contract.
Finally, the contract includes traditional force majeure language as seen in normal game contracts. In the event of a flood, hurricane, tornado, or other weather-related occurrences, along with health-related issues such as a pandemic, or other emergencies, neither school would be considered to have breached the contract.
The three-game series, which includes a nine-year gap between the first and second matchup, was announced over the summer.
The move was first reported by the Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi.
The two programs first met in 1999, with Florida winning 58-27. The two met again in 2006 as the Gators blanked UCF, 42-0.
The two will meet soon enough in the Gasparilla Bowl, with the Knights (8-4) facing the Gators (6-6) on Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. inside Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on ESPN.