The Bachelor, college style: UCF students will participate in a new reality dating show

University Business, Oct, 2004

From the makers of the reality TV series The Bachelor comes Big Man on Campus, a new college reality show being taped at the University of Central Florida. Set to air on the WB network next January, the show follows a male UCF student who will date about a dozen female UCF students for several weeks. It's no surprise why UCF was the chosen campus, says Tom Evelyn, a UCF spokesman: "We have good weather, attractive students, and a lively campus and off-campus community."

The university, in turn, will benefit by gaining national exposure to an audience that is the typical age of its incoming students, Evelyn says. But there are risks involved. "Some faculty and administrators think it's a crazy idea," he says. There's concern over how the students will be portrayed, and whether the filming will affect the education process. "We made sure to set specific guidelines and they assured us that the filming would not be disruptive," he says.

The university is also going to receive a location fee of $10,000. "This will either go right back into academics or be used to create a scholarship," says Evelyn. Unlike other reality shows, the end reward for both parties will not be a ring, or a rose, or $1 million. The happy couple, instead, is rumored to receive a scholarship of some sort.