‘Your Brand is Go For Launch:’ UCF using new law to recruit more student-athletes

ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida is using a new strategy to recruit more student-athletes which leans on a Florida law allowing college athletes to make money from sports fame.

Last year Florida’s legislature passed a bill allowing college student-athletes to make money for their name, image and likeness. That bill was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“A place where your brand can make a splash,” a narrator states in a new social media recruitment video from UCF athletics.

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The narrator in the recruitment video said Central Florida features some of the biggest brands in the world, referring to Universal Studios and Walt Disney World.

In the recruitment video, the narrator also said the school has never been afraid to explore new frontiers while playing footage of a NASA launch out of Brevard County.

“You have a place to be seen, a place to be heard,” UCF states in a video.

The school notes how populated Central Florida is and stressed there is no NFL team in Orlando.

“You are the headline, and that’s just the beginning,” the narrator said.

UCF said the school has the highest social media engagement of FBS schools since 2017.

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The university said they will also teach athletes how to build their brand and assist them with a brand logo. Athletes will also have free access to UCF student legal services if any issues come from a player’s brand.

UCF also said the school guarantees job placement or grad school placement once a player earns an undergraduate degree.

According to the law, athletes can make money through social media and paid endorsement deals. It will go into effect in July.

Colorado and California have passed similar bills.