Scott Frost knows college coaches are notorious for putting their own health on the back burner. Between recruiting, game planning and everything that comes with running a program, there’s always something more urgent. That’s exactly why UCF is lending support to the 61 Initiative, a preventive health push tied to The Shawn Clark Legacy Foundation.
The program, built around annual screenings before the season, is meant to get ahead of problems that might otherwise go unnoticed. It focuses on both physical and mental wellbeing, with the goal of making routine health checks a normal part of a coach’s calendar rather than an afterthought.
Jonelle Clark launched the initiative in honor of her late husband, Shawn Clark, the former UCF offensive line coach. The effort has already picked up nearly 50 pledges from Division I football programs, including Duke and Georgia.
Shawn Clark died suddenly at 50 on Sept. 21, 2025, after his condition worsened following a medical emergency. His death hit the college football community hard, and many coaches around the country spoke about the impact he had on them.
Frost said during UCF’s weekly press conference before the Knights’ conference matchup against Kansas State that he missed his friend. Speaking with local reporters via Zoom on Tuesday, he pointed to how easily health gets pushed aside in coaching.
"He was such a server of his family and his players," Frost told reporters. "That's where all his attention went, and he didn't carve out time to take care of himself, and then when you work as much as we do, like, it's not easy."
Frost also shared a personal example, saying he didn’t know how to fill out his insurance form until after he stopped playing in the NFL.
He noted that trainers are a key part of a program’s medical support, serving not just players but coaches as well. Still, he said many coaches probably don’t even have a doctor they regularly call their own.
The 61 Initiative is designed to change that mindset. Frost said the idea is to go beyond a basic checkup and make sure screenings are thorough enough to catch as many potential issues as possible.
"We could give a cursory nod to this and just get like little physicals," Frost said. "But there's a lot of things on those that don't show up that could be issues, and we want to make sure we're doing the right thing that is going to catch the most possible problems to keep our guys healthy."
For Frost, Jonelle Clark and the programs signing on, Shawn Clark’s legacy is now tied to a broader message: coaches need to make time for their own health before a crisis forces the issue.
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