Former UCF AD Steve Sloan, who transitioned football to Division I, dies at 79
The Texas native spent nine years (1993-2002) as UCF's athletic director, helping the Knights move from NCAA Division I-AA to Division I or Football Bowl Subdivision. During his time, UCF teams went on to win 36 Atlantic Sun Conference championships and 26 NCAA Tournament berths.
Steve Sloan, who helped UCF football transition into a Division I program, passed away on Sunday in Orlando. He was 79.
The Texas native spent nine years (1993-2002) as UCF’s athletic director, helping the Knights move from NCAA Division I-AA to Division I or Football Bowl Subdivision. During his time, UCF teams went on to win 36 Atlantic Sun Conference championships and 26 NCAA Tournament berths.
“Steve brings a wealth of athletic experience as a player, coach and administrator. He is a fine individual with an impressive record of accomplishments and a commitment to academic excellence that we believe makes him the perfect person to lead us into a new era of UCF Athletics,” former UCF president John Hitt said when Sloan was hired on July 21, 1993.
Sloan was credited for scheduling high-profile games for UCF, which helped build national recognition for the Knights. Along the way, he energized fundraising, which, in turn, helped stabilize the athletic department.
After a brief time as a DI football independent, UCF joined the Mid-American Conference in 2002.
Sloan started his collegiate athletics career as an All-American quarterback at Alabama under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. He played behind Joe Namath throughout his first three seasons before leading the Crimson Tide to the 1965 national championship his senior season.
After a brief professional playing career with the Atlanta Falcons, Sloan returned to the University of Alabama, where he served on Bryant’s coaching staff from 1968 to 1970. He would leave Tuscaloosa to become offensive coordinator at Florida State under Larry Jones before moving on to Georgia Tech and eventually Vanderbilt, where he became the head coach of the Commodores in 1973-74.
Sloan left Vandy to take the head coaching job at Texas Tech, leading the Red Raiders to a 23-12 record from 1975-77. He left Lubbock for Ole Miss, where he guided the Rebels to a 20-34-1 record in five seasons (1978-1982) before moving to Duke (1983-86).
Following his time with the Blue Devils, Sloan stepped into an administrative role as athletics director at Alabama from 1987-90. He left the Crimson Tide program to become AD at North Texas (1990-92) before arriving at UCF in 1993.
After leaving UCF, he returned home to serve as AD at the University of Chattanooga from 2002 to 2006.
UCF’s media room at FBC Mortgage Stadium is named after Sloan and his wife, Brenda.
Sloan is survived by his wife and son, Stephen Jr.
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com