Citronaut
| Citronaut | |
|---|---|
|
Original Mascot of the University of Central Florida[note 1] | |
| University | University of Central Florida |
| Conference | The American |
| Description | Anthropomorphic orange |
| First seen | Fall 1968 |
| Related mascot(s) | Knightro, Glycerin (retired)[1] |
The Citronaut was the first unofficial 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 an official mascot for the university. In 1970, students approved "Knights of the Pegasus" as the official university mascot, which remains to this day.[1]
Since 2014, the Citronaut has experienced a renaissance in university publications, athletics programing, and merchandise.[4][5][6]
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.[7][8] Additionally, Florida produces approximately 100 million boxes of citrus annually.[9]
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Notes
- ↑ Then-Florida Technological University.
References
- 1 2 Knightro is born. UCF Athletic Association.
- ↑ UCF Receives Knighthood. UCF Athletic Association.
- ↑ One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for UCF. Pegasus
- ↑ Knights Baseball Team Welcomes Back the Citronaut. University of Central Florida.
- ↑ Citronauts on Top. UCF Athletic Association.
- ↑ Knights in Space. University of Central Florida.
- ↑ "Facts About UCF - 2000–2001". University of Central Florida. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
- ↑ "UCF Enrollment Projections 2012-17". University of Central Florida. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
- ↑ Perez, Marvin (24 March 2015). "Orange Juice Enters Bull Market With Biggest Rally Since '98". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 25 March 2015.