UCF coach Gus Malzahn earns huge bonus with Gasparilla Bowl victory

UCF football coach Gus Malzahn earned a rather large bonus for his Gasparilla Bowl victory against Florida. The first-year coach is now $25,000 richer thanks to the win over the Gators.

In total, Malzahn earned $50,000 in bonuses during his first season with the Knights. This is in addition to the $2.3 million annual salary that Malzahn earned in 2021.

UCF hired Malzahn this past offseason after he parted ways with Auburn. In eight seasons, he compiled a 68-35 record with the Tigers, including a BCS Championship appearance in 2013. He led the Knights to a 9-4 finish in his inaugural season.

They earned a trip to the Gasparilla Bowl to face Florida, which recently let go of coach Dan Mullen after four seasons. Although the game saw six lead changes up until the third quarter, UCF eventually pulled away. The Knights ended the game by scoring 13 unanswered points. The run was highlighted by a 54-yard touchdown pass from Mikey Keene to Ryan O’Keefe.

After Florida scored a touchdown with 7:58 remaining in the third quarter, the UCF defense tightened up. The Gators did not score the remainder of the game as the Knights went on to claim victory.

After a brutal 0-12 finish in 2015, UCF has quickly retooled itself into one pf the premier Group of 5 programs in college football. The Knights finished the regular season undefeated in both 2017 and 2018. They have now won at least nine games in four of the past five seasons.

UCF is one of four Group of 5 schools set to join the Big 12 conference following the exit of Oklahoma and Texas. BYU, Cincinnati and Houston are set to join the Knights in the conference by at least 2024.

With the competition about to heat up, things will soon get much more difficult for the UCF coach. But right now, Gus Malzahn can enjoy his Gasparilla Bowl victory and the large bonus that comes with it.