Terry Mohajir talks UCF's Big 12 momentum, CFP expansion and more
UCF Athletic Director Terry Mohajir joined David Smoak on the Tuesday edition of the ‘Smoak Show’ on 365 Sports, touching on his program’s Big 12 success, Johnny Dawkins and Scott Frost, private equity, CFP expansion and the ongoing $90M Roth Tower upgrade.
The interview began with talk of change as college athletics has seen a monumental shift these last few years between NIL/revshare and the transfer portal.
“I think change is inevitable in our business,” Mohajir said. “Change is inevitable with our athletes, our coaches, administrations, college campuses, legislators, boards, so you have to adapt. You can sit there and cry in your drink, or you can just adapt. I think that’s what we have.”
Mohajir said the constant changes have made long-range planning more difficult, but not impossible.
“It has been a little challenging to have strategic plans because the rules keep changing,” Mohajir said. “But you just have to have Plan A, B and C and then go from there. I really believe that we’ve attacked this, especially not only have we done a really good job from a UCF standpoint, but transitioning to the Big 12.
“I told all of our fans, I said, the most important thing right now is patience, continuity and stability. It’s extremely important right now.”
Mohajir said he’s comfortable with UCF’s place in terms of resources.
“We’re competitively resourced, no excuse. Do we have the most money in the country? No. Do we have the least money in the country? No.
“You got to do what you’ve always done. You still got to evaluate and develop and you’ve got to coach kids up with kids that want to be coached. That’s never going to change. I don’t care how much money you pay them. So as an evaluator and a coach, you have to have those three principles. You’ve got to have an evaluation, development, and kids you want to coach and kids that want to be coached, period.”
Mohajir spoke of UCF’s Big 12 adjustment and believes there’s solid momentum throughout the department. Seven of UCF’s eight spring sports have been ranked in the top 25 and he noted that the Knights could have 10 of their 16 teams reach NCAA postseason competition this year if baseball continues on its current trajectory.
“We feel really good about it,” Mohajir said. “We’re working on football. Basketball made a leap this year. Women’s basketball, I think we’ve got a really good coach that’s going to really compete at a high level in this league, and football’s on the right track.”
Mohajir praises Frost, Dawkins for evaluation
Tying in to his earlier comment about evaluation and development, Mohajir says football coach Scott Frost and men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins have done a great job finding players to fit their systems.
With Frost, Mohajir pointed to the challenge of rebuilding a football roster that had a significant amount of turnover.
“When Scott Frost came in, he had 70 new players,” Mohajir said. “I think that guy behind the center is always the big piece, and I think he’s kind of solved those issues. He’s done a really good job evaluating.”
Mohajir said Frost also appears to be in a good place personally as he continues his second stint leading the Knights.
“I think anytime you’ve had traumatic experience like (Nebraska), you have to take a step back and self-reflect, and I do think he loves it here,” Mohajir said. “I think his family loves it here. I think he loves coming into the office. Just seeing that smile, you can tell he loves it. He’s a ball coach. That’s what he is, a ball coach.”
Mohajir also praised Dawkins for their NCAA Tournament season despite losing players to the portal and larger NIL opportunities elsewhere.
“Johnny Dawkins has had a bunch of guys that were not highly sought after in the portal,” Mohajir said. “They’ve all left for millions of dollars, and he’s still maintained to have two back-to-back 20-win seasons. You see a lot of momentum there, so we’re really excited about him as well.”
UCF passes on taking Big 12’s private equity deal
Mohajir also discussed the Big 12’s partnership with RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital, and UCF’s decision not to take capital through the arrangement.
Mohajir stressed that UCF’s decision was not a reflection on the partnership itself. He said he remains supportive of Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s approach and believes the league’s relationship with RedBird can help create new revenue opportunities.
“I’m very supportive of what Brett has done,” Mohajir said. “We looked at it ourselves a couple years ago. I went to New York. We met with them two or three times, Weatherford and RedBird.”
Ultimately, UCF decided not to take the capital.
“I think we were the first ones to come out to say that we were not taking the capital,” Mohajir said. “That was just a decision our institution made.”
Mohajir said he believes each school will make its own decision based on its own situation.
“I think it’s great that they offered it,” Mohajir said. “I think most schools are probably just thinking, hey, listen, we’re going to sit back and watch and see what happens over the next couple years. We’re not going to do it, but that’s no reflection on the partnership at all. That’s just an individual institution decision.”
He also praised Yormark’s commercial vision for the league.
“I think Brett Yormark is as good as any commissioner in the country when it comes to commercial business,” Mohajir said. “I think him partnering with them, we have a real strong opportunity to enhance our revenues, and we’re already seeing it.”
Mohajir said the Big 12’s makeup — large public universities, strong private schools, AAU institutions and a footprint across four time zones — gives the league opportunities to create value.
“We travel over four time zones, so the networks can choose marquee games in different time zones,” Mohajir said. “We have huge institutions. Arizona State and us are the top three biggest institutions in the country. We have great private schools. We have traditional institutions that are AAU. We’ve got a great makeup.”
Mohajir cautious on CFP expansion
Mohajir also weighed in on the larger postseason expansion conversation, including the future of the College Football Playoff.
While he sees potential benefits in expanding access and generating additional revenue, Mohajir said he is cautious about growing the playoff too far if it reduces the importance of the regular season.
“I think it’s a little bit of both,” Mohajir said. “I do think there are some opportunities for additional revenue, and everybody’s kind of looking for that. I do think that our leaders and the commissioners are really looking for more access, and I think the institutions are looking for more access.”
As for the CFP format, Mohajir made clear he was speaking only for himself and UCF.
“I like 12,” Mohajir said. “I would be fine with 16. I think I’d have to study 24 a little bit more.
“The one thing really special about college football, having played, having coached and now been an AD, is that every week matters. The more access you give, will every week matter?”
Mohajir said he would want to know more about how automatic qualifiers and access would work in a larger model. He also questioned whether expansion could eventually create a path for teams with mediocre records to remain in playoff contention late in the season.
“What we don’t want is where you could be a .500 team going into the last four weeks and still have a chance to get in the playoffs,” Mohajir said. “In my mind, I don’t know. I’m sure other people would disagree with me, but I would debate them on that.”
Mohajir also said he has concerns about weighted voting in CFP decision-making.
“Right now, I think there are weighted votes of the CFP, which, to me, I don’t really agree with,” Mohajir said.
Roth Tower construction, Sky Suites and rocket launches
Mohajir also spent time discussing the ongoing Roth Tower project, which is slated for completion in August.
“It’s been fantastic,” Mohajir said. “I’ve been very fortunate in college athletics to be able to do what I’ve been able to do. I’ve coached in bowl games, but also built a stadium from scratch with towers. This is my third tower project.”
The new club space clocks in at 15,000 square feet, up from the previous 4,000, nearly tripling the footprint.
Mohajir said nearly 20 percent of UCF’s stadium will now be premium seating, while the school still maintains entry-level price points for young families.
UCF has also added Sky Suites, which Mohajir described as 12-person spaces with their own club-style experience.
“They have their own bartender, their own bar and all that kind of stuff and their own food,” Mohajir said. “It’s basically indigenous to Florida. We’re bringing the resort feel of Florida plus enjoying college football in a different way.”
Mohajir said UCF’s 50-yard line points directly east toward Cape Canaveral and Launch Pad 39A, creating an opportunity for suite holders to use the space for rocket launch viewing events.
“We can have launch parties up there,” Mohajir said. “All kinds of things that go on with SpaceX. It never gets old. I look outside my window, I can see a rocket launch periodically, and it never gets old.”
A young, emerging fan base
Asked to describe UCF’s fan base, Mohajir went back to the school’s relatively young history.
“I’d say youthful,” Mohajir said. “We have 400,000 living alumni. I think over 90 percent of our alumni are still living. Don’t forget, we’re a very young institution.”
Mohajir noted that UCF was founded in 1963, and the first intercollegiate sport began in 1970, making it far younger than most of its Big 12 peers.
“We’re young,” Mohajir said. “The average age of our living alumni is 40. So I would say we’re an emerging fan base, and we’re very youthful, very passionate.”
Mohajir said that passion comes with plenty of input from fans, but he views it as a strength.
“I get a lot of advice, as you can imagine, from a lot of our fans, and it’s okay,” Mohajir said. “I know they’re very passionate. They’re just very prideful.”
Mohajir said he views himself as more of a builder than a caretaker, which is part of what drew him to UCF.
“My background is, I’m a builder,” Mohajir said. “I’m a foundation builder. I’m not really a caretaker-type AD. Having the opportunity to do a lot of things or be the first to do a lot of things is very exciting.”
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