Guide to Social Activities, Belonging at UCF

Earning your degree is just one, albeit important, part of the college experience. Just as significant are the connections you make, the communities you join and the experiences that shape your time as a Knight.

This guide is a resource to help you develop a sense of belonging, find community and build lifelong friendships while studying at UCF.

Every year, students vie for special-edition rubber ducks at the Homecoming Week tradition, Spirit Splash.

Marquee Events

Whether you're studying at UCF Downtown, the Academic Health Sciences Campus, Rosen College of Hospitality Management or the main campus, you'll have plenty of opportunities to get involved. The UCF events calendar is a great place to find the most up-to-date information on upcoming activities and events.

Some signature events have become beloved UCF traditions with not-to-be-missed programming:

• Pegasus Palooza, UCF's annual welcome week, greets new and returning students to campus with a variety of events including notable headliners at Comedy Knight and Concert Knight.

• UCF Homecoming Week, featuring Spirit Splash, kicks off Monday, Oct. 19, and concludes with the UCF football team's matchup against BYU on Saturday, Oct. 24.

• Space Game, a football game unlike any other in the nation, pays tribute to our UCF's roots as America's Space University. This year's matchup against Baylor on Friday, Oct. 30, marks 10 years of the Space Game.

• UCF Celebrates the Arts, held each spring at Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, showcases the artistic talents of UCF's faculty and students in performances, exhibitions, presentations and interactive experiences.

• Gather Luncheon, a community-building event in the spring hosted by Wellness & Health Promotion Services and Dining Services, brings hundreds of students together for a free, three-course meal.

The UCF flag football team bested the Florida Gators to win the Fiesta Bowl Classic championship on live, national television in April 2026. (Photo by Patty Kennedy / Fiesta Sports Foundation)

Recreation, Intramurals and Sports Clubs

In addition to its fitness and recreation facilities, the Recreation and Wellness Center has longstanding intramural and sports club programs that allow students to form friendships and win championships, sometimes on the brightest of stages.

The RWC's intramural sports program welcomes all UCF students, especially those who are new to Orlando and haven't met enough peers to form their own team. Thanks to its free agency feature, individuals ca be matched up with others or be paired with an established team.

The sports club includes 45 different sports, encompassing everything from judo to lacrosse to wakeboarding and have produced some of UCF's most notable alumni. Gold medalist Phil Dalhausser '02, who played club volleyball while pursuing his business degree, and bronze medalist Kristen Thomas '16, who began her rugby career as a theatre studies major at UCF, both went on to represent Team USA at multiple Summer Olympic Games.

For more information, visit rwc.sswb.ucf.edu.

The Collegiate Cyber Defense Club is a renowned and highly accomplished defensive and offensive cybersecurity student organization that has seen alums go on to work at some of the world's largest companies, including Google, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon and more. (Photo courtesy of Hack@UCF)

Registered Student Organizations

UCF offers more than 650 registered student organizations spanning academic, professional, cultural and spiritual, social and recreational, and sports interests.

KnightConnect is UCF's official involvement platform where students can explore these organizations or even create a new one. Each organization has its own page with meeting times, contact information, and ways to get involved.

Visit the Office of Student Involvement's webpage to find the organization right for you.

The Elite Epsilon Chapter of Delta Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. was established at UCF in 2005.

Greek Life

The fraternity and sorority experience has long been a part of campus life. Since the 1970s, fraternities and sororities have been providing spaces of belonging for students to grow together during their collegiate years.

Currently our UCF Greek community is comprised of 46 organizations, which all share the values of scholarship, leadership, service and brotherhood/sisterhood.

For more information visit fsl.sswb.ucf.edu.

UCF students wave palm fronds as a distraction tactic during opponent free throws. (Photo by Brooke Morris '22, UCF Athletics)

UCF Athletics - Knightmare Society and Marching Knights

UCF is a member of one of the premiere conferences in the nation, the Big 12. From Fear the Fronds to Zombie Nation, the student section's energy is an integral part of the game day atmosphere and gives the Knights a distinct home field (and court) advantage.

All full-time UCF-enrolled students (except UCF Online) are eligible for free tickets to home sporting events. Please note: all seating is first-come, first-served and admission is not guaranteed. For more information, especially for football and men's basketball student tickets, please visit ucfknights.com/studenttix.

The Knightmare Society is an organization built and run by UCF students and supported by UCF Athletics. Joining the official group has its perks, including football tickets automatically loaded to members' Ticketmaster accounts, a dedicated fast pass entrance at all UCF men's basketball games, and first access to post-season student ticket claims.

Students can also contribute to game-day experiences by joining Marching Knights, a more than 390-member marching band student organization that performs at pregame shows, halftime shows, pep rallies and other fan-fest events. By creating the soundtrack for these dynamic events, the Marching Knights serve as one of the most vibrant and visible forces for school spirit.

Knights work alongside expert faculty on research - like Professor Kareem Ahmed (right) at the HyperSpace Center - that is shaping our future and society. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)

Engage in Research

Undergraduate research provides opportunities to build a learning community with faculty and fellow students while engaging in meaningful work that develops solutions for challenges facing our communities, industries and the world.

In addition to forging connections with peers and mentors, this practical experience allows students to build their professional resumes before they graduate.

Student Research Week, UCF's annual university-wide celebration of research and creative scholarship showcases graduate and undergraduate research. The week is scheduled for March 29 through April 2, 2027, featuring presentations, exhibitions and other events showcasing student research.

For more information on how to get involved with undergraduate research, visit academicsuccess.ucf.edu/our.

Every spring semester, UCF students enjoy free, exclusive access to Universal Islands of Adventure as part of Universal Knights. (Photo by Kadeem Stewart '17)

Explore Orlando

UCF students live in one of the most vibrant destinations in the world, Orlando. Whatever your interest, Orlando likely has it: theme parks, elite sporting events, electric festivals, Michelin-rated restaurants, nearby coastlines and natural springs.

Orlando is what you make it, and there are ways to experience it all on a student budget.

The SG Ticket Center in the Student Union offers discounted tickets to various attractions, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Kennedy Space Center. Every spring semester, UCF students enjoy free, exclusive access to Universal Islands of Adventure as part of Universal Knights.

UCF Outdoor Adventure gives Knights of all experience levels opportunities to go on hiking and camping trips at nearby springs, learn to surf, paddle through bioluminescent waters and more.

Several cultural museums in the area offer free entry, including the UCF Art Gallery on the main campus, Rollins Museum of Art and Mead Garden in nearby Winter Park, and the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida in Maitland. The acclaimed Orlando Museum of Art offers free entry on the third Thursday of each month as part of its Access for All initiative.

Held annually at the start of the fall semester, Visit Orlando's Magical Dining offers a chance to sample some the area's exceptional restaurants at a fraction of the normal cost. Savor three-course, prix-fixe dinners - including at Aurora at the on-campus The Celeste Hotel - for just $40 or $60 per person from Aug. 14 - Sept. 30, 2026.

More Topics

Rosen College of Hospitality Management UCF Athletics student success UCF Downtown Office of Student Involvement