A few tears were shed and plenty of laughs went around the room Friday night during the 2015 UCF Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony inside the recruiting lounge at Bright House Networks Stadium.

(Videos of all of the inductees will be made live on UCFKnights.com shortly)

“Tonight is a very special evening for our inductees and our UCF family,” UCF vice president and director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “Tonight is a celebration of the contributions these inductees have made to UCF athletics, and their role in the amazing UCF story. We are thankful for their support and attendance at this event. When we talk about building a brand, the UCF story and how far we’ve come in such a short period of time, these inductees tonight played a major, major role in building this program.”

Even though the Orlando area provided a steady rain, that did not stop everyone from enjoying cocktail hour on the concourse from 6-7 p.m. Once the Voice of the Knights Marc Daniels got the program underway, dinner was served leading up to the official ceremony.

The 1978 volleyball team was first to be recognized as Legendary Knights. That year, it went 55-0 en route to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) Division II national championship. The late Lucy McDaniel was UCF’s first volleyball coach from 1975-78 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. All-American Laura Smith also is already in the Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1999.

“This is a dream come true,” Smith said during the team’s induction speech. “I am humbled and forever grateful to be able to come home again and be selected to tell the story of our championship season.”

Also one of the first members of an inaugural UCF team, Stephanie Best helped the softball program take off during her career from 2002-05. A 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, Best was a three-time Atlantic Sun Player of the Year. She holds the all-time career records in batting average, slugging, on-base percentage, games played, runs, hits, home runs, RBI, total bases, walks and assists.

“I haven’t slept this week,” Best said. “It’s been the best experience ever. … UCF took a huge chance on me. It was a first-year program and the coaching staff was amazing. They treated me so well. Anything I needed on and off the field, the coaching staff and school were there for me.”

Just as impressive with the aluminum bat from 2002-05, Dee Brown’s performance on the diamond for UCF enabled him to be selected in the 10th round of the 2005 MLB Draft by Washington. He was a 2002 Baseball America and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, as well as the 2002 A-Sun Freshman of the Year and a three-time member of the All-A-Sun First Team. Brown is the UCF career leader in hits, RBI and sac flies, while also ranking in the top 10 in games played, at-bats, runs, homers, total bases and hit by pitches. He also suited up on the gridiron, playing 34 games in three seasons for the football team.

“This makes us feel so special to come back to a school we love,” Brown said. “I truly cheer on one team. On Saturday, it’s UCF football time. Everyone knows I love UCF. I’m so proud of this university for the opportunities it gave me and the lifelong friends that I made.”

One of the most decorated athletes in UCF history, Asante Samuel had a brilliant collegiate career before becoming one of the top defensive backs in the NFL. As a Knight, he had 127 tackles, eight interceptions and 38 break-ups (school record) from 1999-02, and ranks in the top 10 in punt return average with a mark of 10.7. Samuel was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team in 2002. He would go on to be taken in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft by New England, win three Super Bowl rings and earn a spot in the Pro Bowl four times in 11 NFL campaigns. He currently holds the NFL Postseason record with four interceptions returned for a touchdown and 228 interception return yards.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be here,” Samuel said. “I have to start off with my mom, she’s not here with me today but she’s looking over me. She pushed me like no other. No was not an answer. She kept me out of trouble. She made sure to motivate me to practice and play hard. Another person was coach (Andy) Cox. I only had one offer at the time before I met coach Cox. There was only one or two scholarships left but he fought tooth and nail to get me in here.

“Thank you to UCF and this will last with me forever. I will always represent UCF to the day I die.”

The weekend’s festivities are far from over, though. The 2015 UCFamily Spring Game, presented by Meritage Homes, will take place Saturday with pregame events to get underway at 11 a.m. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Bright House Networks Stadium.

Information written and provided by UCF Athletics