UCF Knights Unveil New Space-Themed Alternate Uniforms

The UCF football program will once again wear space-themed alternate uniforms during Saturday’s game against Tulane (2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2).

Mission IV: #UCFinSpace🚀🌌 pic.twitter.com/c70b8BYbBg
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) October 22, 2020

This marks the fourth straight year the Knights have worn space-themed uniforms (hence the Mission IV monicker), and while the previous iterations were either black or white, this year’s set is primarily gray. It carries over several familiar design pieces, such as the Canaveral blue accents and a map of constellations in the number to represent the roads and buildings on campus.

The jerseys also feature contrasting sleeve caps with markings based on the Directional Flight Guidance Menu used by NASA to pilot space shuttles and the Citronaut – the school’s first unofficial mascot – on the base of the collar.

The pants, meanwhile, include a pattern from the exterior of the Arecibo Observatory telescope in Puerto Rico, which is the largest fully operational radio telescope on the planet and is under UCF management, as well as a circular navigation grid pulled directly from the campus map.

Last but not least, the black helmet features one of the most unique stripes in college football history, displaying the blueprints from the Orion space capsule – a craft designed to carry humans deep into space. It’s capped off with the “Countdown County” area code (321) on the front bumper in recognition of the Space Coast, “Reach For The Stars” on the back bumper and the Knights’ primary logo on both sides.

UCF was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University with the mission of supporting the space program at nearby Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Knights are 3-0 all-time in their annual space game.