UCF Knights football 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 Knights are a member of Conference USA but will join the Big East Conference on July 1 , 2013 . Their 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 . 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 . As a Division I - AA program , the Knights made the 1990 and 1993 playoffs , and were picked as the preseason # 1 to start the 1994 season . The Knights were the 2005 , 2007 and 2010 C - USA Eastern Division Champions , the 2007 and 2010 Conference USA Champions , and have appeared in four bowl games , in 2005 , 2007 , 2009 , and 2010 . Overview . The University of Central Florida is one of the twelve members of Conference USA , and the UCF Knights football team competes in the C - USA Eastern Division . The Knights play an eight - game C - USA football schedule . Five of these contests pit the Knights against the other members of the C - USA Eastern Division : East Carolina , Marshall , Memphis , Southern Miss and UAB . The conference schedule is filled out with three games against foes from the C - USA Western Division on a rotating basis . These games operate on a two - year cycle , as a home - and - home series . Key conference rivalries include Marshall , East Carolina and an inter - divisional rivalry with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane . History . Jonas era : 1979 – 1981 . The UCF football program can be traced back to a speech given by the university ' s second president , Dr . Trevor Colbourn , in January 1979 . Colbourn believed that a successful athletics program would bring the university greater renown , and tasked Dr . Jack O ' Leary with the job of creating a new football program at the school . In addition , Colbourn changed the name of the school to the University of Central Florida , to express the university ' s expanded academic scope . Beginning at the Division III level , when the school was still widely known as Florida Technological University , O ' Leary , then the university ' s athletic director , held a meeting of prospective players in March 1979 . This would be the first football tryouts for prospective players , and would serve as the first that many students would hear about the new athletic program . O ' Leary had previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama under Paul " Bear " Bryant . He would spear head the effort to raise more than $ 40 , 000 to start the program , and would complete a deal for the team to play in the Tangerine Bowl . Without a budget to hire a staff , O ' Leary reached out to six UCF graduate students as volunteer assistants . From there , O ' Leary was able to lure Don Jonas , a former NFL quarterback and Orlando dignitary , to become UCF ' s first head football coach on a voluntary basis . One day during a practice , O ' Leary pulled the team aside and unveiled the template for uniforms of " The Fighting Knights " . He would reveal a template that would follow the team into the 21st century : black jerseys , gold pants and gold helmets . Less than one year after Colbourn had envisioned a football program for the university , UCF hosted its first game on September 22 , 1979 against St . Leo University . The Knights would prove victorious with a 21 – 0 shutout , and less than a week later , the Knights would win their first home game by defeating Ft . Benning , 7 – 6 . Jonas led the Knights to a 6 – 2 inaugural season , behind an average attendance of 11 , 240 , including a Division III record crowd of 14 , 138 . Following the season , in March 1980 , Jonas was offered the Knights head coaching as a full - time position . After leading the team to a 4 – 4 – 1 and 4 – 6 record in 1980 and 1981 respectively , Jonas would leave the Knights following the 1981 season . During the 1980 season , the Knights earned the only tie in program history , an 11 – all game against Miles , and Tim Kiggins became the first Knight to sign a professional contract . After his departure , Jonas remained involved in the program , including doing radio broadcasts of UCF football games and a radio sports talk show . Jonas led the Knights to a 14 – 12 – 1 ( . 518 ) record in three seasons . Turbulent times : 1982 – 1984 . Following the departure of Jonas , Sam Weir , who was the head coach at Lake Howell High School , became UCF ' s new head coach and led the Knights in their move up to Division II in 1982 . Another change to the university ' s athletic programs in 1982 was the departure of O ' Leary as athletic director , and the hiring of Bill Peterson , who was the Florida State Seminoles head coach from 1960 – 70 . In their first season playing Division II ball , the Knights went 0 – 10 , and Weir decided not to return for the 1983 season . One bright spot of the season was that Mike Carter became the first Knight to sign with an NFL team , the Denver Broncos . Lou Saban replaced Weir as the Knights head coach in 1983 . Saban had previously coached at Miami , Army , Northwestern , and in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots , to name just a few . In UCF ' s first Black and Gold Spring game held in 1983 , the defense won 14 – 6 . The Knights finished the 1983 season 5 – 6 , including the team ' s first win over a Division I - AA opponent . Starting the 1984 season filled with optimism , the Knights were shaken by a 1 – 6 start . Following the disappointing beginning to the season , Saban stepped away from the program , and was replaced by assistant coach Jerry Anderson . Saban had a 6 – 12 ( . 333 ) record during his tenure as the Knights head coach . Anderson finished out the year with the team in an interim position , with a 1 – 3 ( . 250 ) record . UCF finished the season with a 2 – 9 mark . In the course of the three seasons following Jonas ' departure , the Knights went through three head coaches , and amassed a 7 – 25 record . McDowell era : 1985 – 1997 . Reeling after a disappointing string of seasons , there were discussions within the community about the possibility of dismantling the program , and Peterson announced his retirement as the university ' s athletic director . In addition , due to financial troubles , the team had to postpone plans to move up to Division I - AA . Without a head coach or athletic director , President Colbourn hired Florida State assistant coach Gene McDowell to fill both positions . McDowell took the helm in 1985 , and hired his eventual successor and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mike Kruczek as his offensive coordinator . The Knights would finish with a 4 – 7 mark in McDowell ' s first year , including a 21 – 42 loss to UCF ' s first - ever Division I - A opponent , Louisville . Due to financial hardships , McDowell waived half of his annual salary , and FSU head coach Bobby Bowden donated uniforms and cleats to the program . McDowell would the lead the Knights to their first winning season since 1979 , with a 6 – 5 record in 1986 . Also that year , Ted Wilson became the first UCF player to be selected in the NFL draft , being picked by the Washington Redskins in the 10th round . Following an 8 – 3 regular season record in 1987 , the Knights earned their first trip to the Division II playoffs , where they earned a 1 – 1 record . After starting the 1988 season with five straight wins , UCF would be ranked # 2 in Division II . During a game against the defending D - II national champions Troy at the Citrus Bowl , UCF fans were so loud at one point that the Trojans quarterback Bob Godsey couldn ' t call plays . Godsey complained to the referee about the crowd noise , but instead of helping Troy , the referee called a delay of game penalty on the Trojans . The " noise penalty " is infamous at UCF , and the win over Troy thrust the Knights into the position as the # 1 ranked team in D - II . Between 1986 and 1990 under the leadership of McDowell , the Knights held a 24 – 6 record at the Citrus Bowl . During McDowell ' s tenure , the program moved up to Division I - AA in 1990 . In their first year in the division , the Knights earned a 10 – 4 record , a program best , and a trip to the I - AA playoffs . UCF would make it to the semifinals , and became the first school in history to qualify for the I - AA playoffs in its first season of eligibility . The Knights would finish the 1991 and 1992 with winning seasons as well . In 1992 , Dr . John Hitt , UCF ' s fourth president , announced that the program would make the move to Division I - A in 1996 , and he hired Steve Sloan as the university ' s new athletic director . Earning their eighth winning season in 1993 , the Knights would again make the playoffs . During the season , the team won their first game over a Division I - A team , a 38 – 16 victory at Louisiana Tech . After another impressive season , UCF was selected as the preseason # 1 to start the 1994 season . The 1994 season would prove disappointing however , as the Knights would finish the season ranked # 20 with a 7 – 4 record . During the teams final season in Division I - AA , the Knights were reinvigorated by freshman sensation Daunte Culpepper . The quarterback would lead the Knights to a 6 – 5 record , and their tenth straight winning season in 1995 . On September 1 , 1996 , UCF officially made its foray into Division I - A . At that time , the Knights became the first football program to play in four different NCAA divisions ( III , II , I - AA and I - A ) . In their first two seasons in Division I - A , the Knights posted identical 5 – 6 records behind Culpepper . In 1997 , assistant coach Alan Gooch was named the national assistant coach of the year , due to his work with deaf tailback Dwight Collins . In the wake of a federal fraud scandal revolving around improper cellular phone benefits and use , McDowell resigned as head coach on January 20 , 1998 . Over his 13 – year tenure at UCF , McDowell earned a 87 – 61 ( . 587 ) record . Kruczek era : 1998 – 2003 . After the abrupt departure of McDowell , Mike Kruczek was named UCF ' s new head coach on an interim basis . He would receive the position permanently later in 1998 . Daunte Culpepper led UCF to its best season ever with a 9 - 2 record in 1998 ( with losses only coming to Purdue and Auburn ) . Culpepper finished 6th in the Heisman Trophy voting and set the NCAA record for completion percentage that year ( 73 . 4 % ) . Following the season , Culpepper was drafted with the 11th pick in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings , marking the highest ever draft pick of a UCF player . The Knights proved to be a scary team on the road , with close losses including a 6 – 10 loss at Auburn in 1998 , a 23 – 24 loss at Georgia in 1999 , and a 17 – 21 loss at Georgia Tech in 2000 . Kruczek ' s biggest victory would come in 2000 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa , when the Knights won 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 . Kruczek guided the team as a Division I - A independent until 2001 . 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 , would be short - lived . After signing a three - year contract extension to begin the 2003 season , Kruczek was fired following a 3 – 7 start . Kruczek was replaced on an interim basis by Assistant coach and former player Alan Gooch who finished out the dismal 3 - 9 season with losses to Mid - American Conference rivals Marshall and Miami ( OH ) . The Marshall game marked UCF ' s first nationally televised home football game as it was aired on ESPN2 . Kruczek ended his 6 – year stewardship of UCF with a 36 – 30 ( . 545 ) record . An increasing travel burden , and lack of natural rivals within the midwest - based MAC saw UCF begin to explore the possibility of a different conference affiliation after just a couple years in the conference . In 2003 , UCF was invited as an all - sports member to Conference USA for the 2005 season . O ' Leary era : 2004 – present . Following the disappointing 2003 season , Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George O ' Leary was named UCF ' s new head coach in 2004 . This was a controversial hire on several fronts because O ' Leary had previously been named head coach at Notre Dame , but was relieved of his duties five days into his tenure after inconsistencies were found on his resume . The difficult coaching transition for 2004 , the Knight ' s final year in the Mid - American Conference , saw the team hit rock bottom , going 0 – 11 . 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 , ending the school ' s 17 game losing steak , then the nations longest streak . UCF fans celebrated by storming the field and tearing down the goal posts . Students came back to the campus and celebrated further by jumping into UCF ' s Reflection Pond ( a practice normally reserved for Spirit Splash ) . UCF then went on to win eight out of the remaining nine games on their schedule , finishing 7 – 1 in C - USA games , winning the East Division and hosting the first ever C - USA Championship game , which they lost , 27 – 44 , 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 due to a missed PAT that would have tied the game . In 2005 O ' Leary was chosen by " SportsIllustrated . com " for the coach of the year award and received votes for the larger Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year award . In May 2006 , UCF extended O ' Leary ' s contract for 10 years and increased his pay to $ 1 million plus incentives per year after he engineered the fourth - best turnaround in college football history . 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 " . Fortunes seemed to have changed as the Knights moved into new facilities . 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 32 – 35 . 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 . UCF defeated Tulsa in a near - reversal of the 2005 Conference USA Championship Game 44 - 25 , thereby gaining UCF ' s first ever Conference Championship 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 ; 3 – 10 to Mississippi State . The Knights went on to finish the year with its first 10 win season in the FBS . 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 . He also was the only running back in the 2007 season to rush for more than 100 yards against the Texas Longhorns . He was a fan favorite , especially with student section at Brighthouse Networks Stadium . Smith originally stated that he would return for his senior season at UCF , however , he later changed his mind , announcing on January 6 , 2008 that he would declare for the NFL Draft . He went with the first pick in the third round , to the Detroit Lions . After a lackluster 4 - 8 season in 2008 , UCF bounced back with an 8 - 4 record in 2009 , including winning their last six straight C - USA games . Among those wins was their first victory over a nationally - ranked team , beating then # 12 Houston on November 14 , 37 – 32 at Bright House Networks Stadium . UCF finished the 2009 season 8 – 5 , with a 45 – 24 loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the St . Petersburg Bowl , their third bowl appearance in five years . Death of Ereck Plancher . On March 18 , 2008 , running back Ereck Plancher collapsed shortly after a conditioning drill and was immediately attended to by UCF athletic trainers . He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he died approximately one hour later . 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 . 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 died , 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 sickle - cell trait which could lead to problems , and even death , during high - intensity workouts . After a 14 – day trial in 2011 , a jury found the UCF Athletics Association guilty of negligence in the death of Plancher . The jury awarded each of his parents $ 5 million . Godfrey : 2010 – present . Entering the 2010 season , with the recruitment of Jeffrey Godfrey and return of key seniors , including Bruce Miller , there were high hopes for the Knights . After winning 5 straight games , and posting an 11 - game conference winning streak , the Knights were ranked for the first time in school history following their nationally televised 40 – 33 victory over the Houston Cougars on the road . For the polls released on November 7 , 2010 , UCF was ranked in all three major college polls . The Knights were ranked 25 in the AP Poll , 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25 in the Harris Poll . In their first game as a nationally ranked squad , the Knights fell 21 – 31 to Southern Miss in Orlando . UCF would bounce back and defeat Tulane 61 – 14 and Memphis 37 – 17 . With the wins , the Knights secured the Eastern Division championship and reentered the polls . The Knights would go on to win the 2010 Conference USA championship game , defeating SMU 17 – 7 . Following the win , UCF entered the BCS Standings for the first time in program history , ranking # 25 . The Knights ended the 2010 season with a 10 – 6 victory over Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl , marking the teams first - ever bowl victory . UCF would end the season ranked 20th in the final coaches poll and 21st in the final AP rankings . 2011 proved to be a disappointing season as UCF finished with a losing record , and were not bowl eligible for the first time since 2008 . The season included out - of - conference losses to FIU and BYU , as well as conference losses to then - winless UAB , a 1 – point loss to then - ranked # 23 Southern Miss and the continuation of the Knights woes at quarterback , as Jeff Godfrey and Blake Bortles battled for playing time . Jeff Godfrey planned on transferring following the end of the 2011 season , and both Godfrey ' s father and his " uncle " Luke began publicly attacking Coach O ' Leary . Godfrey decided to rescind his transfer request and stated that he had nothing to do with the claims made against O ' Leary . While O ' Leary said that Godfrey should have come out against the claims made , as he ( Godfrey ) knew they were false , O ' Leary welcomed Jeff back , with a stipulation that he apologize to his team mates . Godfrey will return to the Knights for the 2012 season as a wide - receiver , and may handle some wild knight duties . While he will still be listed on the quarterback depth chart , he is returning knowing that Blake Bortles is becoming the new starter for UCF . Stadium . Until 2007 , the Knights had played all of their home games at the Citrus Bowl in downtown Orlando . While UCF was the primary leasing tenant for the facility , they received minimal revenue from football games , and the stadium ' s 70 , 000 seat capacity was seen as too large for UCF . With an average attendance of 30 , 000 – 40 , 000 people per game , the stadium was left with the appearance of being largely empty . In addition , the stadium was also located more than from UCF ' s main campus . 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 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 was defeated in 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 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 Big East and C - USA as tie - ins ) . Marshall . The Marshall Thundering Herd has been considered UCF ' s main rival due to the number 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 then 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 . Further aggravating the rivalry in 2009 , not only did UCF win its game against the Herd in Orlando with 23 seconds on the clock , but in the summer of 2010 the Knights hired then Marshall head basketball coach Donnie Jones . Since 2002 the two teams have faced off 10 times and UCF currently leads the series 7 – 3 . UCF has not lost to Marshall as C - USA opponents , with the Knights winning the last seven meetings . Tulsa . The Knights and Tulsa Golden Hurricane ' s played each other twice in Conference USA title games and split , in 2005 and 2007 . Tulsa leads the series 3 – 2 , with the Golden Hurricane winning twice in the regular season and once in the conference championship game . East Carolina . Another possible rivalry lies with a division rival , the East Carolina Pirates . In several of the recent years , the match between UCF and ECU has determined the winner of the Eastern Division . In 2007 , UCF ' s only conference loss came at the hands of the Pirates . UCF won the division anyway , and ultimately took the conference title . 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 Bright House Networks Stadium . A loss at ECU also determined them as the Eastern Division champions in 2009 , while a UCF win at home was the difference in 2010 . Championships . Conference championship games . UCF has appeared in the Conference USA Championship Game as the winner of the East three times , two of them playing Tulsa of the Western Division . Bowl games . UCF has played in 4 bowl games in its history and owns a 1 – 3 record in those games . UCF has been bowl eligible for 4 of the past 7 seasons ( 2005 , 2007 , 2009 , 2010 ) . Honored players . UCF retires a student - athlete ' s jersey but does not retire the respective jersey numbers . The Knights coaching staff can choose to reissue a given number , as the retirement of the jersey does not require that the number not be worn again . Schedule . On September 4 , 2010 , UCF announced that it had finalized its non - conference football schedule through 2013 , and had games scheduled through 2017 . Among the games scheduled are home - and - away series with BYU ( 2011 away , 2014 home ) , Akron ( 2012 away , 2013 home ) , South Carolina ( 2013 home , 2015 away ) and UConn ( 2014 away , 2015 home ) . They also have a home game against Missouri ( 2012 ) , and away games against Ohio State ( 2012 ) and Texas ( 2017 ) . Of note is that all of UCF ' s non - conference games in 2012 will be against FBS opponents . The Knights will also participate in a 4 - game series with FIU from 2011 – 2014 , which started with a 2011 away game at FIU Stadium in Miami . The profile of this series was increased when FIU won the Sun Belt Conference championship in 2010 . References . General : In - text :