| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | October 26, 2013 UCF 62–17 |
| Latest meeting | November 20, 2021 UCF 49–17 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 8 |
| All-time series | UCF leads, 6–2 |
The Civil Conflict (sometimes styled as the conFLiCT [1] ) was the name given by former UConn Huskies football head coach Bob Diaco to Connecticut's annual matchup against the UCF Knights football team of the University of Central Florida. [2] [3] [4] The teams first met in 2013 as members of the American Athletic Conference.
UCF and UConn first met in 2013 after UCF left Conference USA and joined the American Athletic Conference. The first mention of the rivalry and associated trophy occurred after Connecticut's 37–29 victory over UCF in November 2014, which was Diaco's first FBS win as Connecticut head coach. The 2014 game also broke UCF's 11-game winning streak in conference play.
In a press statement Diaco said "We're excited about this game. I mean it. I'm excited to continue this game. With all admiration and respect. All admiration and respect for Central Florida and Coach O'Leary. They're spectacular. But we're excited about this North/South battle. You want to call it the Civil Conflict?" [5]
UCF head coach George O'Leary responded with "My experience is you’re more likely to have a rivalry against a team closer to where you live,” he said. “When you go 10 states away, I think it’s hard." [6] UCF's traditional rivalry has been with the University of South Florida located 90 miles away in Tampa, Florida, while UCF and UConn are 1,214 miles apart.
In response to this statement, Diaco released a statement of his own a week later that same week saying "They don't get to say whether they are our rival or not. We might not be their rival, but they don't get to say whether they are our rival—that is for us to decide." [7]
In June 2015, Diaco had a trophy built for the series and announced it on Twitter. UCF had not been aware of it beforehand. [8] [9] [10] The Knights' head coach and interim athletic director George O'Leary dismissed both the trophy and the motivations for a rivalry between the two teams. [11] Diaco responded by saying, "They don't get to say whether they are our rival or not." [3] [12] The New York Post said that Diaco created the "worst rivalry in sports history." [13]
The teams played three times during Diaco's tenure as head coach and twice following his announcement of the trophy. UConn won in 2014 and 2015. UCF won the 2016 game, and proceeded to exit the field without acknowledging or accepting the trophy. [14] The trophy was then purportedly crated and transported back to Connecticut. Following that game, Diaco said he was "shelving the venture". [15]
In 2016, UCF head coach Scott Frost asked UConn not to bring the trophy and that UCF was officially opting out of the rivalry game. UConn elected to ignore Frost's request and brought the trophy to the 2016 game anyway. UCF went on to beat UConn that year 24–16, however the UCF team did not claim the trophy and it was left unattended on the UCF sideline after the game. [2] Diaco was fired as head coach of UConn at the end of the 2016 season after an 11–26 record over his three seasons as head coach; Randy Edsall, who replaced Diaco, elected to not continue the supposed rivalry. [16] After leaving UConn, Diaco stated that UCF knew about the Conflict and they had been engaged prior to the announcement of the rivalry by UConn.[ citation needed ] UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma said the rivalry "might have been the dumbest thing in the history of sports." [6]
UConn Athletic Director David Benedict, who himself never officially acknowledged the rivalry or the trophy, was asked in 2017 about the trophy's whereabouts. He replied, "I honestly don't know. That trophy was there before I got there. I believe that trophy was commissioned and paid for by coach Diaco. And therefore if it left with him, I don't know that, but if it did that's fine." [17]
During the 2017 meeting in Orlando, the trophy and the claimed rivalry continued to be a subject of ridicule, [18] [19] and the whereabouts of the original trophy were still unknown. [20]
On the eve of the 2021 matchup, UCF posted a video showing what was believed to be an "imposter" trophy on the field at the FBC Mortgage Stadium. [2] [21] [22]
| UConn victories | UCF victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 26, 2013 | Orlando, FL | #21 UCF | 62–17 | ||||
| 2 | November 1, 2014 | East Hartford, CT | UConn | 37–29 | ||||
| 3 | October 10, 2015 | Orlando, FL | UConn | 40–13 | ||||
| 4 | October 22, 2016 | East Hartford, CT | UCF | 24–16 | ||||
| 5 | November 11, 2017 | Orlando, FL | #6 UCF | 49–24 | ||||
| 6 | August 30, 2018 | East Hartford, CT | #11 UCF | 56–17 | ||||
| 7 | September 28, 2019 | Orlando, FL | #24 UCF | 56–21 | ||||
| 8 | November 20, 2021 | Orlando, FL | UCF | 49–17 | ||||
| Series: UCF leads 6–2 [23] | ||||||||
The UCF Knights football team represents the University of Central Florida in the sport of American football. The Knights compete in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and are a member of the Big 12 Conference. Their head coach is Gus Malzahn. The Knights play their home games at the 48,000-seat FBC Mortgage Stadium, which is located on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida, United States.
The UConn Huskies football team is a college football team that represents the University of Connecticut in the sport of American football. The team competes in NCAA Division I FBS as an independent. Connecticut first fielded a team in 1896, and participated in Division I-AA until 1999. The Huskies began their two-year Division I-A transition period in 2000, and became a full-fledged Division I-A team in 2002. From 2000 to 2003, the team played as an independent. The school's football team then joined the conference of its other sport teams, the Big East, taking effect in 2004, through 2019. In 2019, the UConn football team left the American to again play as an independent, as the school's current primary conference, the current Big East, does not sponsor the sport. The Huskies currently are coached by Jim Mora.
Randy Douglas Edsall is a former American football coach, who was the head football coach at the University of Connecticut from 1999 to 2010 and again from 2017 until his abrupt retirement in 2021. He also served as the head coach at the University of Maryland from 2011 to 2015 and as director of football research-special projects for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) in 2016. During his first stint at UConn, he oversaw the program's promotion from the NCAA Division I-AA level to Division I-A. He is the program's all-time leader in wins and games coached.
The UCF Knights are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Since men's soccer is not sponsored by the Big 12, they play in the Sun Belt Conference.
The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2005 to 2008 and now takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, the de facto "rivalry weekend" for FBS football. From 2013 to 2023, when both schools were part of the American Athletic Conference, the schools began competing annually in all sports both schools sponsored. In 2016, the schools officially adopted the "War on I-4" as an official competition series. Each year, the team with the most wins across all sports receives a gold trophy styled after an Interstate 4 (I-4) road sign with the logos of each school. The winner of the annual football game also receives a similar trophy.
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently play in the Big East Conference.
Robert Albert Diaco is an American football coach and a former linebacker. He is a defensive analyst for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He played college football at the University of Iowa for coach Hayden Fry from 1992 to 1995. He then served as the head coach of the UConn Huskies (2014–2016).
The 1983 UCF Knights football season was the fifth season for the team. It was Lou Saban's first as the head coach of the Knights. Looking to bounce back from a winless 1982 season, Saban's 1983 team earned a respectable 5–6 overall record. The Knights competed as an NCAA Division II Independent. The team played their home games at the Citrus Bowl in Downtown Orlando
The 2013 American Athletic Conference football season was the 23rd NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the first after the breakup of the former Big East Conference, which lasted in its original form from its creation in 1979 until July 2013. The charter of the former Big East was retained by The American, henceforth the legal status as the 23rd season overall.
The 2014 American Athletic Conference football season was the 24th NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the second since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, which lasted in its original form from its creation in 1979 until 2013.
Michael Kelly Norvell is an American college football coach who is currently the head coach at Florida State. He has coached at Memphis, Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, and Central Arkansas. He played wide receiver at the University of Central Arkansas from 2001 to 2005 and is the school's all-time receptions leader.
The 2014–15 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies, led by thirtieth-year head coach Geno Auriemma, play their home games at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win their third consecutive NCAA championship.
The 1919 Connecticut Aggies football team represented Connecticut Agricultural College, now the University of Connecticut, in the 1919 college football season. The Aggies were led by first year head coach Roy J. Guyer, and completed the season with a record of 2–6. There was no team in 1917 or 1918 due to World War I. After the first game against New Hampshire, Aggie junior Gardner Dow died of injuries from a tackle he delivered in the fourth quarter. The school would name the Athletic Fields on which many sports competed for him.
The Syracuse–UConn rivalry is a sports rivalry between the Syracuse Orange of Syracuse University and the UConn Huskies of the University of Connecticut. The rivalry started in men's basketball while both schools were members of the Big East conference, and is slowly growing across other sports.
The 1972 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. The Huskies were led by second year head coach Robert Casciola, and completed the season with a record of 4–5.
The 2016 UConn Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut during the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season as a member of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference. They played their home games at Rentschler Field. They were led by third-year head coach Bob Diaco. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in American Athletic play to finish in a three way tie for fourth place in the East Division.
The 2017 American Athletic Conference football season is the 26th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the fifth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference, and the fourth season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5), meaning that the conference shares with the other G5 conferences one automatic spot in the New Year's Six bowl games.
The 2021 UConn Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Huskies competed as an independent, having left the American Athletic Conference following the 2019 season. They played their home games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
This summer, I set out to find the truth behind a modern college football legend. In the years since it disappeared, the idea of the rivalry and its trophy has evolved from a joke to a more earnest appreciation. UCF, which once mocked the idea of the trophy, is now happy to have it.
