UCF Knights football

UCF Knights football
Current season
First season	1979
Athletic director	Keith Tribble
Head coach	George O'Leary
	6th year, 34–40
Home stadium	Bright House Networks Stadium
Stadium capacity	45,301
Stadium surface	Grass
Location	Orlando, Florida
Conference	C-USA
Division	East
All-time record	178–172–1 (.509)
Postseason bowl record	0–2
Conference titles	1
Division titles	2
Consensus All-Americans	2
Colors	Black and Gold
Fight song	UCF Fight Song
Mascot	Knightro
Marching band	Marching Knights
Outfitter	Adidas
Rivals	South Florida Marshall Tulsa East Carolina
Website	UCF Athletics

The University of Central Florida Knights football program, commonly referred to as the UCF Knights, represents the University of Central Florida in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.

The University of Central Florida first fielded a varsity football team in the fall of 1979 as a Division III program, and subsequently completed their ascension to Division I-A, now known as the Division I Football Subdivision (FBS), in 1996. The Knights have appeared in two bowl games, in 2005 and 2007, and were the 2007 Conference USA Champions. The Knights are a member of Conference USA and the current head coach is George O'Leary, who has led the team since 2004. The Knights play their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium, which is located on the main campus of UCF in Orlando, Florida.

History

Humble beginnings: 1979-1997

The program began at the Division III level in 1979, when the school was still widely known as Florida Technological University. Don Jonas, a former professional football player and Orlando dignitary, became UCF's first head football coach on a volunteer basis.

UCF would move up to Division II in 1982. Gene McDowell took over as head coach and athletic director in 1985. During his tenure, the program moved up to Division I-AA in 1990 and was a playoff team in 1990 and 1993.^[1]. In 1996, the program made its foray into Division I-A.

Kruczek era: 1998-2003

In the wake of a federal fraud scandal revolving around improper cellular phone benefits and use^[2], McDowell resigned as head coach on January 20, 1998 and was replaced by Mike Kruczek on an interim basis. He would receive the position permanently later in 1998.

Kruczek guided the team as a Division I-A independent until 2001 and UCF Knights proved to be a scary team on the road. Close losses included 6–10 at Auburn in 1998, 24–23 at Georgia in 1999, and 21–17 at Georgia Tech in 2000. Kruczek's biggest victory would come in 2000 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, winning 40–38 on a last-second field goal by Javier Beorlegui. After finishing 9–2 in 1998, UCF received a tentative verbal agreement to play in the Oahu Bowl. However, the arrangement fell through in the final week of the season, when Miami upset undefeated UCLA. The unexpected result stole UCF's hopes for their first bowl appearance.

After six difficult years as an independent, UCF played its much-anticipated first season as a member of the Mid-American Conference in 2002. They finished runner-up in the East division with a 6–2 record. They finished the season 7–5 overall, completing their 14th winning season in the past 17 years. The excitement however, was short-lived.

After signing a three-year contract extension to begin the 2003 season, Kruczek was fired following a 3–7 start. He was replaced on an interim basis by Alan Gooch before the program hired George O'Leary for the start of the 2004 season. An increasing travel cost burden, and overall disdain with the midwest-based MAC saw UCF begin to explore the possibility of a different conference affiliation. The difficult coaching transition for 2004 saw the team hit rock bottom, going 0–11, blasted even by perennial basement dweller Buffalo. It would be their final season in the MAC.

O'Leary era: 2004-present

Bright House Networks Stadium

In 2005, UCF started their first season as a member of Conference USA. Not expected to improve much over 2004, they surprisingly won their first conference game against Marshall, 23–13, and finished 7–1 in C-USA games, winning the East Division and hosting the first ever C-USA Championship game, which they lost, 44–27, to Tulsa. Shortly thereafter, UCF was invited to play in their first ever bowl game, the Hawaii Bowl, losing to Nevada 49–48 in overtime.

After an anemic 2006 which saw the Golden Knights go a mere 4–8, the team rebranded in 2007 in preparation for its move to its new on-campus venue, Bright House Networks Stadium. They dropped the "Golden" from their name, becoming the "UCF Knights". After defeating a BCS school for just the second time ever, the NC State Wolfpack, they inaugurated their new stadium by hosting and losing to the No. 6 ranked Texas Longhorns. The Knights lost to regional rival South Florida 64–12 in Tampa, but went on to have a 5–1 regular season at home and won the C-USA East again, hosting the Championship game against Tulsa once more. This time, the Knights won, 44–25, and clinched their first Conference USA football title and a berth in the 2007 Liberty Bowl. Following UCF's victory, the Knights received 35 votes in the AP Poll, but did not reach the top 25, ranking 27th. The Knights lost the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN; 10–3 to Mississippi State.

In 2007, Kevin Smith rushed for 2,567 yards, placing him 2nd on the NCAA's all-time single season rushing list behind Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders. Despite this, he was not selected even as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy or the Doak Walker Award. On November 14, 2009, Coach O'Leary lead the Knights to their first win in program history against a nationally ranked opponent, routing out #13 Houston, 37-32 at Bright House Networks Stadium.

Ereck Plancher death

On March 18, 2008, running back Ereck Plancher died after conditioning drills. According to four UCF football players interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel, Coach O'Leary verbally abused Plancher throughout the workout, and continued to push the young man to perform despite what they reported to be obvious physical signs that Plancher was in no shape to continue.^[3] According to the four unnamed players, O'Leary cursed at Ereck Plancher in a post-workout huddle. Plancher collapsed shortly after the workout and was immediately attended by UCF athletic trainers. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he died approximately one hour later.

Subsequent to the Orlando Sentinel article, ESPN's "Outside The Lines" program on November 2, 2008 interviewed players who were at the training session at which Plancher became ill, and which after he passed away, and stated that the session was longer and far more rigorous than O'Leary and other UCF Athletics officials have admitted to publicly. They also alleged that O'Leary and other coaches had initially warned players off from providing assistance to Plancher when he became visibly distressed. UCF medical records appear to indicate that UCF coaches and trainers knew that Plancher had a sickle-cell trait which could lead to problems, and even death, during high-intensity workouts.^[4]

Division history

Coaching history

• Records are through the end of the 2009 Season

Stadium

Bright House Networks Stadium during its inaugural game.

Until 2007, the Knights had played all of their home games at the Citrus Bowl. In 2005, the university proposed building a stadium on campus for the first time. Bright House Networks Stadium was originally planned to open in time for the 2006 football season, but neighborhood opposition delayed the time frame over a year.

Stadium construction began in 2006 and was finished in time for the first 2007 UCF Knights football team home game on September 15, 2007 against the Texas Longhorns. The seating capacity of the stadium is 45,301 with plans for an expansion to 65,000 seats in the coming years. Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the stadium's inaugural season undefeated, including the Conference USA home opener against Memphis. They hosted and won the 2007 C-USA Championship, defeating Tulsa.

Rivalries

UCF, being a relatively young Bowl Subdivision team, has yet to establish any major long-term rivals. South Florida had a rivalry with UCF from 2005–2008, called the The War on I-4. UCF hopes to continue a rivalry within the state seeking short-term contracts with the Miami Hurricanes and the FIU Golden Panthers.

South Florida

UCF played the South Florida Bulls in a four year home-and-home series, from 2005 to 2008. UCF has been defeated at each game, including two home heart breakers in which UCF tied the game late in the fourth quarter only to watch South Florida secure the win. USF has declined to continue the series. However, fans of the series look to the Bowl Season to see a future match up between the two schools. The St. Petersburg Bowl has both the Big East and C-USA as tie-ins.

Sunshine State Showdown

After the failure of UCF and USF to reach a consensus of continuing the series, UCF looked to continue inter-state rivalries with other universities. The Miami Hurricanes signed for a 2 game series with UCF, the first game in Miami and the second game in Orlando. The Hurricanes and the Knights met for the first time on October 11, 2008 at Dolphin Stadium. Miami won 20–14. The two teams faced-off again on October 17, 2009 at Bright House Networks Stadium, with the Hurricanes defeating the Knights 27-7 in front of a record Bright House crowd of 48,453.^[5] There has been no talk of continuing the series. The FIU Golden Panthers have signed a 2 game series with UCF to start during the 2011 season. The two teams will have their first meeting at FIU Stadium in 2011, while the second game will be played at Bright House Networks Stadium in 2012. These series have become collectively known as the "Sunshine State Showdown."

Marshall

The Marshall Thundering Herd has been considered UCF's main rival due to the amount of meetings and the comparable size of the programs. Both teams joined the FBS a year apart and made the switch to C-USA from the MAC in 2005. The similarities and histories between the two programs fuel the fire in this rivalry. UCF's first football victory over Marshall in 2005, ended the Golden Knights' 17-game losing streak. In 2008, UCF played spoiler to Marshall, beating them to allow East Carolina to jump the Herd for the C-USA Eastern Division lead. Since 2002 the two teams have faced off 8 times and UCF currently leads the series 5–3. UCF has not lost to Marshall as C-USA opponents.

Tulsa

Some see a potential rivalry between the Knights and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The teams played each other twice in Conference USA title games and split. The record between the two teams is 2–2, with each team winning once in the regular season and once in the title game.

East Carolina

Another possible rivalry lies with a division rival, the East Carolina Pirates. In 2007, UCF's only conference loss came to a blowout at the hands of the Pirates. UCF later won the conference title that year. In 2008, UCF was looking like they were going to ruin East Carolina's dreams of the Eastern Division title like they did to Marshall, but with a late rally, the Pirates won in overtime making the Pirates the first C-USA team to beat UCF in BrightHouse Networks Stadium.

Championships

2005 Conference USA Championship Game

Conference championships

Divisional championships

Conference championship games

UCF has appeared in the Conference USA Championship Game as the winner of the East twice, both times playing Tulsa of the Western Division.

Bowl games

UCF has played in 2 bowl games in its history and owns a 0–2 record in those games. UCF has been bowl eligible for 3 of the past 5 seasons.

Retired numbers

• 8 Daunte Culpepper - Quarterback, 1995-1998

Notable Alumni and Attendees

Knights in the NFL

Brandon Marshall, Class of 2006

• Atari Bigby - Safety, Green Bay Packers
• Joe Burnett - Cornerback, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Paul Carrington - Defensive End, Denver Broncos ^[6]
• Daunte Culpepper - Quarterback, Detroit Lions
• Steve Edwards - Offensive Tackle, New York Giants
• Travis Fisher - Cornerback, Seattle Seahawks
• Ryan Flinn - Punter, Miami Dolphins
• Doug Gabriel - Wide Receiver, Cincinnati Bengals
• Michael Gaines - Tight End, Detroit Lions
• Cornell Green - Offensive Tackle, Oakland Raiders
• Alex Haynes - Running Back, Carolina Panthers
• Darcy Johnson - Tight End, New York Giants
• Brandon Marshall - Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos
• Mike Merritt - Tight End, Kansas City Chiefs
• Elton Patterson - Defensive End, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Matt Prater - Placekicker, Denver Broncos
• Asante Samuel - Cornerback, Philadelphia Eagles^[7]
• Josh Sitton - Offensive Guard, Green Bay Packers
• Kevin Smith - Running Back, Detroit Lions
• Mike Sims-Walker - Wide Receiver, Jacksonville Jaguars

Knights in the Pro Bowl

• Daunte Culpepper - Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings: 2001, 2004, 2005
• Asante Samuel - Cornerback, New England Patriots/Philadelphia Eagles: 2008, 2009
• Brandon Marshall - Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos: 2009

Knights in the Super Bowl

• Cornell Green - Offensive Tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - XXXVII
• Mike Gruttadauria- Center, St. Louis Rams - XXXIV
• Shawn Jefferson - Wide Receiver, San Diego Chargers - XXIX & New England Patriots - XXXI
• Darcy Johnson - Tight End, New York Giants - XLI
• Charles Lee - Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - XXXVII
• Asante Samuel - Cornerback, New England Patriots - XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII

All-Americans

• Kevin Smith - Running Back, 2007
• Joe Burnett - Kickoff returner, 2008

See also

• University of Central Florida
• University of Central Florida Alumni
• List of UCF Knights football seasons
• University of Central Florida Faculty and Administrators

References

General:

• ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete history of the Game (ISBN 1-4013-3703-1), pp. 194–198.

In-text:

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: University of Central Florida

• Alumni Association
• Official Athletics Site
• University of Central Florida Official Site
• Official Bright House Networks Stadium website

v • d • e University of Central Florida Knights Athletics Conference USA • UCF Knights • Football • Men's Basketball • Women's Basketball • Knightro • Marching Knights Football Seasons Season list • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 Bowls and Tournaments 2005 Hawai'i Bowl • 2007 Liberty Bowl • 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl • The War on I-4 Facilities Bright House Networks Stadium • Jay Bergman Field • The Venue at UCF Arena • UCF Arena • UCF Track and Soccer Complex Coaches George O'Leary (Football) • Kirk Speraw (Men's Basketball) • Joi Williams Felton (Women's Basketball) • Terry Rooney (Baseball) Notable People Keith R. Tribble (Athletic Director) Former Football Coaches Don Jonas • Sam Weir • Lou Saban • Jerry Anderson • Gene McDowell • Mike Kruczek • Alan Gooch Former Basketball Coaches Torchy Clark • Chuck Machock • Phil Carter • Joe Dean University of Central Florida - Orlando, Florida - Founded 1963