Comedian Daniel Tosh honored at banquet

Comedian Daniel Tosh, known for his antics on his Comedy Central show, Tosh.0, was presented with the prestigious Michelle Akers Award Friday, Oct. 28 at the annual Black & Gold Gala in the UCF Arena. The award is given to those who have brought "global recognition" to UCF.

The gala brought out more than 400 attendees sporting their finest black and gold cocktail attire. Among the various alumni and awardees, 4EVER KNIGHTS, the student alumni association, played an integral part in the set-up and clean-up of the Black & Gold Gala in assistance with the UCF Alumni Association.

In addition to his success with Tosh.0, Tosh is known for his Comedy Central stand-up, Completely Serious, and his recent TV movie, Happy Thoughts. Tosh, a class of ‘96 graduate with a degree in marketing, displays a strong ties to UCF through his continuous visits to the campus and his regular attendance at UCF football games.

Darla Olive, the director of the UCF Alumni Association, described Tosh as an alumnus who could bring a level of popular acclaim to the university.

"Daniel Tosh is the Michelle Akers recipient, and that's for someone who's brought international attention to the university through their accomplishments," Olive said. "He's certainly done that through his Tosh.0. He talks about UCF a lot, good and bad, but he has brought attention to the university, and he's brought a coolness to the university through his fans. We love the fact that there are a lot of young people out there that now know about UCF that might not have known about it before."

As Tosh is known for wearing UCF apparel and discussing major events at UCF on his show, executive director for the UCF Alumni Association Tom Messina felt Tosh was more than applicable for the award.

"Arguably, there's no one more famous right now than Daniel Tosh," Messina said. "His ratings on Comedy Central are beating Jon Stewart, which is mind-boggling. From that standpoint, someone who brings international acclaim to the university, the fact that he wears UCF merchandise on his show, talks about UCF on his show, it's pretty neat. [He] truly is an alum that has brought distinction to the university on a national level or an international level."

The Black & Gold Gala was host to a silent auction, an elegant cocktail dinner and entertainment provided by the UCF Glee Club. The event presented 25 awards, ranging from the grand Michelle Akers Award to the Professional Achievement Award given to alumni from 10 of the 12 UCF colleges.

Other awards presented that night included the 2011 Rising Star Award, the Distinguished Student Award, the Community Service Award, the Service to UCF Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award. The Champions Award, like the Michelle Akers Award in that it is not an annual award, will not be given until next year.

All of the proceeds from the nonprofit event, including the silent auction and the dinner fee, went toward funding student scholarships that will be awarded by the UCF Alumni Association to applicable students. The Distinguished Student awardee, senior Melissa Blette, a double major in marketing and interdisciplinary studies, was also supported by the UCF Alumni Association through one of these scholarships.

Tosh, unfortunately, could not accept his award in person because of on-set filming for a recent episode of Tosh.0. However, Tosh did not leave the audience disappointed as President John C. Hitt showed a short video message from Tosh himself.

"I'm honored to receive the Michelle Akers award, which I have been a huge fan of for a long time. I'm glad that you finally felt I was worthy: it's been three seasons. I guess you were making sure we didn't get canceled," Tosh said jokingly. "I appreciate that. My memories of UCF are fond; I got in when it was very easy to go to UCF. It's now hard to get into, which makes me feel better about myself. Go Knights!"

Messina felt that the gala was a natural addition to the 2011 UCF Homecoming Week.

"We're always really happy to be able to honor alumni," Messina said. "When we tie in the whole campus community [by] including the students, raising money for scholarships and congratulate alumni, to me, it's a perfect event for homecoming week."

Students can catch new episodes of Tosh.0 Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.