Citronaut

Citronaut
University University of Central Florida
Conference The American
Description Anthropomorphic orange
First seen Fall 1968 (1968)
Related mascot(s) Knightro, Glycerin (retired)[1]

The Citronaut was the first mascot of Florida Technical University, which later became The University of Central Florida. The mascot appeared on the first student handbook in 1968–1969.[2][3] After one year, students petitioned the Student Government to establish a new mascot for the university. In 1970, students approved "Knights of the Pegasus" as the second official university mascot, which remains to this day.[1]

History

The Citronaut was designed by Norman Van Meter, the brother-in-law of FTU's then-president Charles N. Millican in an attempt to combine the two major themes of Central Florida at the time: the space program and the citrus industry. UCF was founded in 1963 to provide personnel to support NASA at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. As the academic scope of the university broadened, it was renamed to The University of Central Florida in 1978.[4][5] Additionally, Florida produces approximately 100 million boxes of citrus annually.[6]

Modern Appearances

Since 2014, the Citronaut has experienced a renaissance in university publications, athletics programing, and merchandise.[7][8][9]

May 10th, 2014 - UCF Baseball proclaimed Citronaut Day[10]

September 19th, 2015 - UCF Men's Soccer played in fauxback Citronaut uniforms [11]

Spring 2016 - Knights in Space [12]

Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 Knightro is born. UCF Athletic Association. Archived 2007-10-27 at the Wayback Machine.
    2. ↑ UCF Receives Knighthood. UCF Athletic Association.
    3. ↑ One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for UCF. Pegasus
    4. ↑ "Facts About UCF - 2000–2001". University of Central Florida. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
    5. ↑ "UCF Enrollment Projections 2012-17". University of Central Florida. Archived from the original on December 12, 2005. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
    6. ↑ Perez, Marvin (24 March 2015). "Orange Juice Enters Bull Market With Biggest Rally Since '98". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
    7. ↑ Knights Baseball Team Welcomes Back the Citronaut. University of Central Florida.
    8. ↑ Citronauts on Top. UCF Athletic Association.
    9. ↑ Knights in Space. University of Central Florida.
    10. ↑ http://today.ucf.edu/knights-baseball-team-welcomes-back-citronaut/
    11. ↑ http://www.ucfknights.com/news/2015/9/19/Citronauts_on_Top.aspx
    12. ↑ http://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/knights-in-space/
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