The UCF Knights football team competes as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), representing The University of Central Florida in the Big 12 Conference. Since the establishment of the football program in 1979, the Knights have played in thirteen bowl games. UCF has appeared in thirteen different bowl games, with multiple appearances in the St. Petersburg (3), Liberty Bowl (2), Gasparilla Bowl (2), and the Fiesta Bowl (2). The Knights also played in the Hawai'i Bowl, the Cure Bowl, and the Peach Bowl which was a part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). With their most recent win in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl, UCF has an overall bowl record of 6–9 (.400). They are 2-1 in BCS bowl games.
UCF's first bowl game came during the 2005 season when, under the leadership of second year head coach George O'Leary, the team underwent the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA history in his second year with the team. [1] Before O'Leary, UCF had not made a postseason appearance since joining the FBS. As an FCS program, the Knights made the 1990 and 1993 playoffs, and were picked as the preseason No. 1 team to start the 1994 season. [2] Since 2004, the Knights have made 15 postseason appearances in the years 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
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In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivision had avoided using a playoff tournament to determine an annual national champion, which was instead traditionally determined by a vote of sports writers and other non-players. In place of such a playoff, various cities across the United States developed their own regional festivals featuring postseason college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals. Despite attempts to establish a permanent system to determine the FBS national champion on the field, various bowl games continue to be held because of the vested economic interests entrenched in them.
Mid-major is a term used in American college sports at the NCAA Division I level, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the ACC, AAC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC, which are alternatively referred to as "high majors".
The UCF Knights football team represents the University of Central Florida (UCF) 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, making UCF the youngest school among the Power Five conferences. Their head coach is Gus Malzahn. The Knights play their home games at the 45,000-seat FBC Mortgage Stadium, which is located on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida, United States.
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 2007 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fourth season with the school. The season was highlighted by the completion of their new on-campus stadium. The Knights moved out of the aging Citrus Bowl in downtown Orlando, and began playing their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium, located on the main campus of UCF in east Orlando, Florida. In addition, the team changed its nickname from "Golden Knights" back to simply "Knights." From its inception in 1979 to 1992, the football team had been known as the Knights, then used the name "Golden Knights" from 1993 until 2006.
Keith R. Tribble has been president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Jackson Health Foundation (JHF) since 2014. JHF is the fundraising arm of Jackson Health System (JHS). The Foundation seeks private philanthropic funds to improve JHS facilities, they provide equipment, technology, and support its priority projects. The Foundation's fundraising efforts allow JHS to provide medical care to patients, regardless of financial need, improve health care delivery, enhance the "hospital experience" for patients, and promote wellness and preventive medicine. Since joining JHF, Tribble and his team have secured over $40m in charitable contributions.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 10 conferences and 134 schools in FBS.
George Joseph O'Leary is a former American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1994 to 2001 and the UCF Knights from 2004 to 2015. He was famously hired in 2001 to be the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish but resigned after five days for lying on his resume. O'Leary was an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 2002 to 2004, and an assistant coach for the Syracuse Orange and San Diego Chargers.
The 2012 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Knights played in the Eastern Division of Conference USA and played their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Knights were led by head coach George O'Leary, who was in his ninth season with the team.
The 2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, the fifth edition of the game formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on December 21, 2012 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, as part of the 2012–13 NCAA Bowl season.
The 2013 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Knights were members of the American Athletic Conference, and played their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights were led by head coach George O'Leary, who was in his tenth season with the team.
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.
The 2015 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Knights were members of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference, defending conference co-champions, and played their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights were led by head coach George O'Leary, who was in his 12th and final season with the team. After starting the season 0–6, O'Leary resigned as UCF's interim athletic director, a position he had held since June when Todd Stansbury left for the same position at Oregon State. Following UCF's 59–10 defeat by Houston on homecoming, dropping the Knights to an 0–8 record, O'Leary resigned as head football coach. Quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The 2015 American Athletic Conference football season is the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the second season with the new College Football Playoff in place. Under the playoff system, The American is no longer an Automatic Qualifying conference (AQ), and is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, now the highest-ranked member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.
The 2016 American Athletic Conference football season was the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the third season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, the highest-ranked champion member of the G5 received a bid to one of the six major bowls.
The 2019 American Athletic Conference football season is the 28th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the seventh since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the sixth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2019 Gasparilla Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 23, 2019, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 12th edition of the Gasparilla Bowl, although only the third under that name, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by lawn mower manufacturing company Bad Boy Mowers, the game was officially known as the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl.
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