We can learn a lot from what the University of Central Florida did with their winning coaches
Shout-out to the University of Central Florida (UCF) and all the businesses out there doing the right thing!
As many of you probably know, UCF finished their undefeated season by beating Auburn in their bowl game—the Peach Bowl. A perfect 13-0 season. Impressive, but not the part I’m excited about right now.
The thing is, the UCF coaches had a clause in their contract that said if they won the National Championship, they would receive a bonus. They didn’t win the championship, but they weren’t likely to, and the team went 13-0, including a Peach Bowl win, so the university paid out the championship bonuses anyway.
How cool is that?
And know this—many of these coaches are going with Head Coach Scott Frost to Nebraska. In other words, paying these bonuses isn’t about retaining talent, because a lot of the talent has already said they’re leaving for unrelated reasons. UCF went above and beyond to reward winning coaches, just because it was the right thing to do.
All businesses can learn a lot from UCF. The school paid out money it wasn’t obligated to pay to people who weren’t going to stick around, simply to say thank you for a job well done. The successful season UCF had, I’m sure, led to the university making a lot of money, which makes it easier to share revenue. Regardless, in a high-stakes business (college football), you don’t always see this kind of goodwill. My hat’s off to them.
Sure, much is wrong with the college football system, from unfair pay scales to the overall structure of the sport, but when somebody does the right thing, as the University of Central Florida just did, we should take notice.
All business owners and entrepreneurs can follow the school’s lead.
Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.
Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.