ORLANDO, Fla. — Former college quarterback and NFL player Scott Frost has been named the University of Central Florida's new head football coach, officials announced Tuesday.
"UCF is an excellent opportunity for me because our student-athletes can succeed immediately, both competitively and academically," Frost said. "We've had great recent success -- I vividly remember watching the Fiesta Bowl victory. With our student-athletes, football staff, facilities, fans and supporters, I know we will bring exciting and winning football back to Orlando."
Raw: UCF football coach press conference
During Frost's seven seasons at the University of Oregon, the Ducks have made two national championship game appearances and been PAC-10/PAC-12 conference champions four times. As quarterbacks coach, Frost helped develop Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota into a Heisman Trophy winner.
"Scott is a winner and innovator who's directed one of college football's most exciting offenses at the University of Oregon," said Danny White, UCF's vice president and director of athletics. "His attitude and experience are exactly what we need to ensure the Knights compete and win at the highest levels. I couldn’t be more excited to bring Scott and his fiancée, Ashley, to the UCF family."
Frost, 40, has been around football at the collegiate and professional levels for more than two decades. He started as a freshman quarterback at Stanford before transferring to Nebraska. As starting quarterback for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, he left with a 24-2 record, including an undefeated season and the national title in 1997.
In 1998, Frost was drafted by the New York Jets, and would go on to play as a defensive back and special teams standout for the Jets, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Frost will take over the UCF team that did not win a game in 2015, but won the American Athletic Conference's championship each of the prior two seasons. The Knights finished No. 10 in the country in 2013 and beat Baylor in the 2014 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Academically, UCF's football program ranks No. 1 among public universities in the Football Bowl Subdivision – and No. 6 among all FBS schools – with a Graduation Success Rate of 90 percent.