What we learned: UCF AD White talks Frost, bowl plan
Following the announcement that Scott Frost is taking the Nebraska job on Saturday, Central Florida Athletic Director Danny White addressed some key questions about the future at UCF.
What will Frost's role be for their upcoming New Year's Six Bowl game?
It's never easy to say goodbye
It's never easy to lose an up and coming coach like Scott Frost, but Central Florida Athletic Director Danny White completely understood the situation.
White addressed the media shortly after UCF's AAC Conference Championship Game win over Memphis. He had a pretty good idea this day was coming, and he's had a plan in place for quite some time in case Frost decided to leave Orlando.
“We obviously have announced that Scott has chosen to go back to his alma mater,” White said. “Very difficult decision for him obviously as you saw some of the emotion from the press conference following the game.
"I can say I’ve been talking to Scott throughout the season, and he’s been conflicted, and the reason he’s been conflicted is he see how special of a place this is. This is a unique opportunity we have here to build a perennial top 25 athletic department and a perennial top 25 football program.”
With that said, White is very grateful for the work Frost has done in building the foundation for UCF's program going forward.
“I want to thank Scott and his wife Ashley for their contributions to the program,” White said. “I don’t think anybody expected the turn around to happen in just two years, and obviously the opportunity and the pull to go back home.
"I understand the connection with one’s alma mater. I understand his decision, and now it’s my job to prepare as I have been. I think any good athletic director is proactive and prepared. I can tell you I’ve been proactive and I’m prepared.”
What about the bowl game?
Probably the biggest piece of information revealed by White on Saturday was the plan for the upcoming New Years Six Bowl game.
White said that Frost will still have a part in the game plan, working with interim head coach Troy Walters while he's back in Lincoln starting his new job.
White added that all of the assistants that will follow Frost to NU will also coach the bowl game.
“We are going to work on the details of what happens on game day of the bowl game,” White said. “Scott is not going to be in the state for some of this time period, so the team needs a leader day-to-day, and that will be Troy Walters. We’ll figure out exactly how the day of the bowl game unfolds, but Scott is committed to doing whatever the right thing to do is to give us the best chance to win the bowl game.”
UCF is more than likely heading to the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, which kicks off at 11:30 am CST as a lead-in to the College Football Playoff semifinal games.
“The current football staff and Scott are committed, as they should be, because they understand the kids deserve their commitment because we have a pretty special opportunity to make this season even more historical winning the New Year’s Day bowl game we are expected to be invited to tomorrow,” White said.
“His mind is very focused on preparing this team, and his staff is focused on preparing this team to compete in the bowl, and they are going to coach them in the bowl. There’s nobody else that can do it. You can’t bring in new coaches and expect them to be as competitive as we want to be.”
This wasn't about money, it was about going home
White made it pretty clear Frost's decision wasn't just about money. Frost will make $35 million over 7 years, which makes him the third-highest paid head coach in the Big Ten.
However, White said this decision was about coming home.
“I don’t think it’s about a bigger school, I think it’s about alma mater,” White said. “This place is really unique as I said before, and Scott understands that. It was very hard to walk away from the opportunity that he had here. I don’t think it had anything to do with the size of Nebraska’s budget or the conference they are in.”