Let’s get the bad news out of the way: We here at Black & Gold Banneret have been informed that as of the end of this month, we will be shutting down. After more than a decade, on February 28th, we must furl the banner. The site will stay up, but we will no longer be able to produce new content.
As for why this is happening, we are a victim of the reality of advertisement-supported media in 2026: the business model is dead. We aren’t the first outlet that this has happened to, and we won’t be the last.
Obviously, I’m sad. I founded the site in the fall of 2015, with the aim of creating a place where I could cover all UCF sports the way I thought they should be covered. I wanted it to be fun, honest, and high-quality. I wanted to tell the stories that weren’t being told about UCF sports in other places, just like I did with UCF SportsKnight back in the day, and even further back when I was a student. We were committed to not just football, basketball, and baseball, but soccer, volleyball, softball, golf, tennis, cheer, and everything else we found interesting.
I’m really proud of that, especially our women’s sports coverage. We’ve seen women’s sports grow a lot in the last decade, and I’m thankful we were able to be a small part of that. The t-shirts are true: Everyone watches women’s sports. We’d know.
I hoped to tell the college sports world what I already knew: that we were a major program worthy of major recognition. I think we achieved that in some small way. I only wish we could do it more.
Despite that, I’m incredibly thankful. And I’m going to try to list those I’m thankful for here:
First, thank you to my wife for giving me this idea and for putting up with me being on my phone for way too much of the last decade trying to keep on top of things.
Thank you to all the members of the UCF sports communication staff, past and present. You took us as seriously as we did and allowed us the time and access to build this project into a true media outlet.
Thank you to all of the coaches at UCF across all sports for their time, candidness, insight, and support. We are in your debt for helping make us smarter every day.
Thank you to all of UCF’s student-athletes, past and present, for their greatness on the field of play and your insight off of it. Without you, there is no us. Thank you for allowing us to share the joy you have given us watching you perform for our alma mater.
Thanks to Matt Brown, Caroline Darney, and Beth Maiman at SB Nation. You took a chance on us, supported us, and opened up our envelope to audiences we never would have reached otherwise.
Thank you to my great friend and partner in crime, Eric Lopez. Softball Woj. America’s finest softball play-by-play man. We argue all the time, but it’s because we both want the best for UCF. You’ve made me better by challenging me every day. We are not done yet.
Thank you to Brian Murphy, the finest writer I’ve ever worked with. You showed me what a real journalist is, and I’m grateful to have learned from you.
Thank you to Kyle Nash, the Student of the Game himself, for being my sounding board and demanding excellence from not just me, but all of us.
Thank you to Bryson Turner, the Hardest Working Man in Sportsbusiness, and the single most productive human I’ve ever known, who did all of the dirty work for years and enjoyed it the entire time. You made me want to be a better editor every day.
Thank you to Don Strouble, Donny on the Drums, for renewing my faith in the power of asking good questions. You bring out the best in everyone you work with and helped me think more deeply about everything we do.
Thank you to Andrew Gluchov, the Leroy Jenkins of UCF sports media, my comic foil and brilliant creator who showed me what it was like to take my work seriously while not taking myself seriously.
Thank you to Jake Ferraro, the Road Warrior, who showed me what dedication really looks like. Your selflessness is beyond description.
Thank you to Cassidy Mills, Steven Brown, and Bree Salamanca, our trio of interns this year. Your futures are bright indeed, and I’m glad we had a small hand in launching them.
Thank you to Nick Porcelli, who had the bravery I wish I had at his age and used it to do great work everywhere he’s been. Keep killing it.
Thank you to Anthony Lenahan and Zach Goodall, whose talents we had for but a short time but who made us better in those times and then went on to bigger and better things. I continue to be your fan.
Thank you to Luke Sarris, Savage Luke, who set a high standard for journalistic and analytical quality that I still feel like I have to chase.
Thank you to Chas Short, my Burnett Honors College brother, who shared in my belief in smarter sports journalism and showed me the path toward it.
Thank you to Jeremy Brener and Dani Medina, the most productive people I’ve ever seen in this business. To this day I still don’t know how you both did so much for us in such limited time. I’m still in awe.
Thank you to our brilliant photographers, led by Derek Warden, Brenna Johnson, and Noah Goldberg. You are all remarkable artists who brought our words to life.
Thanks to all of those who had a hand in our journey, whom I forgot to mention by name here because there are a lot of you and I’m human and forget things, but you know exactly who you are and I hope you;ll forgive my absent-mindedness.
Finally, and most importantly, thank you to all the UCF fans who followed, read, listened to, and watched us through the last decade. You are who we did this for.
Regrets are part of life. I believe anyone who says they have no regrets is lying to themselves. My biggest one with Black & Gold Banneret is that I didn’t start it ten years earlier. I don’t know if that would make this moment any different, but let it be a lesson to all of us: Don’t be afraid of starting something because you don’t think you’re smart enough to figure it out.
As for what will happen next, I don’t know. I’m not in the right frame of mind right now to figure it out. Personally, I might do some more UCF-related stuff, but I have some other projects I’ll have more time to commit to and develop now. More importantly, I’ll have more time to commit to being the best dad, husband, and teacher I can be.
But we will finish these last days as best we can. Our commitment to quality coverage of UCF Athletics will endure to the end.
In the meantime, please follow all of us individually on social media and keep tabs on KnightShift on YouTube.
We’ve come a long way since the fall of 2015. This chapter is coming to an end. A new chapter is forthcoming. We’re just turning the page.
We did good work here, and I hope you think so too.
Charge on.
