It isn’t common for a publication to write specifically about another publication. However, on February 9th, the unfortunate announcement was made that Black and Gold Banneret, UCF’s SBNation website, is being shut down at the end of the month. It’s now the end of the month, and as someone who wrote for the Banneret from 2020 to 2023, this was very sad news.
Over the years, I moved from site to site. Sometimes by choice and sometimes not. A couple of years prior, before Jeff Sharon merged the original Black and Gold Banneret site into SBNation, he asked me to come on board, and I declined. The reason was that I wanted to cover UCF with my long-time friend Kyle Nash, and we finally had that opportunity. We covered UCF in 2018 and 2019 for BlueHQ Media. At the end of 2019, Jeff and I met back up. This time, I was ready to make the jump.
An All-Star Lineup
During the 2019 Gasparilla Bowl, while I was still with BlueHQ Media, long-time UCF media personality Trace Trylko offered me a challenge to write about the top rivalries of the American Athletic Conference. I like a challenge, so I took him up on it. That became my first article for the Banneret in 2020.
I joined a who’s who of UCF. Jeff Sharon was the managing editor. His right-hand man was Eric Lopez. Those two have been intertwined with UCF sports for decades. Third was Brian Murphy, known for his sharp wit, always sporting a stylish hat and a wheelchair. I definitely could not carry the hat style Murph does.
We also had others join the team. Eventually, I helped bring Kyle over from BlueHQ Media. I already knew what he brought football-wise, but he excelled with basketball, too. Bryson Turner was a student who joined and focused on the other Olympic sports.
That’s one thing Black and Gold Banneret was the best at: Complete UCF Knights coverage. No sport was left behind.
Worthy Memories
We had some fun times. We had a Twitter message thread for the team that had some epic arguments. It was usually Jeff and Eric arguing about something. Those two act like an old married couple, and some of the stuff they would argue about would be completely ridiculous. Don’t ask me for examples. In my old age, I barely remember what I had for breakfast. Ok, I’m not that old.
Jeff and I enjoyed trolling South Florida. Little did we know how far UCF would rise and South Florida would fall after writing this.
It was my work with the Banneret that led me to be on ESPN’s Our Time: UCF Football in 2021. How we got there was comedic. The show sampled some of our podcast audio after the Louisville game, and they attributed my audio to Eric. Eric claimed that it was the best he ever sounded! It turns out it was the only game the SID wasn’t able to do quality control for. After reaching out to a producer of the show to let him know, it ended up planting the seeds, and the director contacted me to be interviewed for the show. That’s a whole story in itself. To this day, I wish I had the unused portions of the interview. The director died covering less than six months later, covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rest in peace, Brent Renaud.
There were other funny moments and conversations. The Eric Lopez doppleganger thing happened again. I was covering a UCF basketball game in Tampa against South Florida. Eric submitted a credential request on my behalf. What name was on my credential when I got there? Eric Lopez. They put a new sticker over the name, but I kept that South Florida credential.
I’m still trying to figure out how Murph lost his wheelchair in Tulsa. Many years later in 2023, I got to see him while attending a Rays game, and he was working in the press box for MLB. I was seated in the section next to the press box, so we were able to make contact. I recognized a second person also covering that game from the box. Small world.
Ending of a Tenure
In 2023, UCF joined the Big 12, and everything changed. At the time, we were not guaranteed a second seat for football games, so I made other scheduling plans for the season. I ended up being reassigned as something more like a columnist for the site. In retrospect, I struggled a bit with this change.
Like all sites, we operate with a limited budget, so allocated resources can sometimes lead to difficult decisions. Ultimately, I got demonetized midseason so a young journalist could be monetized. I get it. I don’t live in Orlando and it limits my availability. These young writers are aiming for a career in this field. I already have a nine-to-five career that pays the bills. For me and many others, writing is something I enjoy doing out of love of the craft.
It’s worth noting that during this time, multiple sites were shut down and SBNation stopped its podcast arm, allowing shows to go independent. We did it with the KnightShift podcast. KnightShift had been the name we used for live postgame shows, but we recycled it to include the weekly show. Our having to move finances around was a sign of things to come. It was the second time during my tenure that we had to do so.
The timing stunk as it was a week before my birthday. Happy birthday, Andrew. Could I have stayed? Sure, but at the time, I was hurt and needed a break. Stepping away from the Banneret opened other doors. I had planned on taking the rest of the year off, but an expected conversation turned into a cup of coffee with the Sons of UCF. I was then able to monetize and get back into the press box with Last Word on Sports. During that time, I met Mike Gittens and helped him get Locked On UCF off the ground. Here we are now with UCF KnightsZone.
Still a Net Positive
Despite my exit from the Banneret, I think very highly of the site and people. They’re like family. I am proud of the time and work I did with the Banneret. In my time at the Banneret, I was fully or partially credited with over three hundred articles. I covered many games, including multiple bowl games. I got to collarboate an co-write pieces with some excellent minds.
This past football season was the last for the original Roth Tower. At the last game, there were Sharpies available for signing the wall. It was going to be demolished with the rest of the old tower, so it was a way to say “I was here”. I wrote one for myself. Jeff then wrote one and listed all the names of the Banneret crew that worked games at the Bounce House. Little did we know that was the final football game for the site.
The site might be closed, but its impact can still be felt. Jeff is the PA guy for UCF sporting events. ELo does many ESPN+ broadcasts for UCF and is one of the premier names in college softball media. Murph writes for MLB.com. Kyle covers the Orlando Magic and has been building the Duval Dive for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bryson now runs the UCF SI site. Others who have worked for the site have moved up in the media world as a result of their time there. Black and Gold Banneret was an incubator for sports media success.
Thank you, everyone, for the memories. Long live Black and Gold Banneret.
