The UCF Knights is an athletic team representing the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (FBS for football) as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
UCF, its athletic programs, and university alumni and sports fans are sometimes referred to collectively as the "UCF Nation," and represented by the Knightro mascot. The "Knight" was chosen as the university's mascot in 1970 by student elections. The "Knights of Pegasus" - as originally called - is a submission filed by students, staff, and faculty, who want to replace the original UCF mascot, Citronaut, which is a mixture of orange and astronauts. The Knights were also chosen over "Vulture Vincent," which was an unofficial mascot popular among students at the time. In 1994, Knightro made his debut as an official knight athletic mascot.
The Knights field 16 university teams (6 men, 9 women and one co-ed sport) have won many national titles and conferences. The Knights football team won the conference championships in 2007 and 2010, and the Knights women's basketball team won conference titles in 2009 and 2010. The UCF cheerleading team has captured two national titles at the Cheerleading College and Dance Team Nationals, in 2003 and 2007. Athletics on-campus facilities include Spectrum 44,206 Seats, CFE Arena 10,072 seats, 3,000 seats, John Euliano Park, UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, and UCF Softball Complex.
Video UCF Knights
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The university's UCF athletic program was a member of the charter of the Sunshine State Conference in 1975. The school moved to Division I in 1984. In its first years in DI, UCF was a member of the South American Conference, joining the Sun Belt Conference. in 1991. Women's sports in Division I played in the New South Athletic Conference Women until 1990, when South America began organizing women's sports. In 1992, UCF joined the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in all the D-I sports except football, which remained independent. In 1996, the UCF forwarded to I-A (FBS) in football, and initially remained independent in football until becoming the only member of the Mid-America Conference in 2001, the same year TAAC became the Atlantic Atlantic Conference. UCF joined Conference USA (C-USA) in all sports in 2005, and American Athletic Conference (The American) in 2013.
The university's first mascot was Citronaut, designed by Norman Van Meter, FTU's brother-in-law, Charles N. Millican. Citronaut made an official appearance on the university publication, the cover of the 1968-69 student handbook. The sports team was originally known as "Knights of the Pegasus" - the first official mascot of UCF - starting with their first interstate competition in 1970. Moniker was transformed into "Golden Knights" in 1993 as a solution to the sale of bad goods. The team's athletic mascot is Knightro, a black knight with golden armor. Universities have been asked to be identified as UCF when referred to as opposed to Central Florida. Television networks and other media, especially ESPN, are slow to adopt this policy.
In 2007, UCF made major changes to its athletic program. A new "athletic village" at the northern end of the campus known as Knights Plaza was developed. These include new sports facilities such as the new CFE Arena linked to the UCF Venue and the new 45,000 football stadium known as the Spectrum Stadium, the new softball complex, and the province's only indoor Division 1 indoor football training facility. This made UCF the first school to open a new stadium and arena at the same time, for the 2007-08 season. It also includes Jay Bergman Field and UCF Soccer and Track Stadium. The area is built in a downtown style with four student housing towers including about 1000 beds, retail and restaurant areas, and a new pedestrian mall linking the front of the new arena with student unions. To mark the start of a new era, the team's names were returned to the "Knights" of "Golden Knights" on May 4, 2007. In addition, new logos and uniforms were introduced for all UCF athletic programs.
The University of Central Florida sponsors a team of six NCAA sports teams consisting of six men and ten women:
Maps UCF Knights
Athletic facilities
Since 2000, UCF has invested significant capital and effort in the development, expansion and upgrading of major sports programs and their facilities. In 2007, UCF opened the new 45,000-seater Spectrum Stadium, and 10,000 new CFE Arena seats. In 2011, the university renovated the Track and Soccer complex, increasing capacity by more than 2,000 and adding facilities such as clubhouses and toilets. Also starting in 2011, UCF plans to start a massive renovation at Jay Bergman Square, expanding it to a total capacity of 4,180.
Affiliate conference
Varsity sports
Basketball
Men's basket
UCF plays the first college basketball game before the team even has a nickname. In the Second Division era, under Torchy Clark, UCF found great success including the appearance of DII Final Four.
UCF has been a member of Division I since 1985, and has advanced to the NCAA tournament 4 times (94, 96, 04, 05), all under coach Kirk Speraw. UCF competed in the Atlantic Atlantic Conference (previously called the American Trans-American Conference) from 1992 to 2005 when all sports joined C-USA, and played at the CFE Arena. UCF made their debut at the C-USA Championship Tournament in the 2006 season, falling into Houston in the second half and closing the season with the first record of the losing program (14-15) since 2000-01. The knights made a big change in the 2006-07 season, finishing 2nd in a conference play to Memphis with an overall record of 22-9.
The UCF Men's Basketball Team played its first exhibition match in 10,000 CFE Arena seats, with a 86-78 win over Saint Leo Lions, on 3 November 2007. Their first regular season game at the CFE Arena was 63-60 victory over Nevada on 11 November. Their first C-USA match was against Tulsa Golden Hurricane on 11 January 2008. The match was won by the Knights in three overtime. On December 1, 2010, the Angry Knight # 16 Florida Gators 57-54 at the new Amway Center in downtown Orlando gave Knights their first victory over the top 20 opponents as well as their first win over the Gators. After the 10-0 start of the 2010-11 season, the Knights are nationally ranked for the first time in program history. At that time, the UCF is one of nine unbeaten teams, and one of only four schools to be ranked in the BCS standings and an AP basketball poll.
Women Women's basket
UCF first joined AIAW for women's basketball in 1977-78. To close the 1979-80 season, the team won the Florida State Championship II-II, before falling in their first game in a national tournament. They were promoted to the AIAW I Division in the final year of their existence, 1981-82, and successfully reached the quarter-finals of the District I tournament that year, before joining the NCAA in 1982-1983.
The women's basketball team made the NCAA Division I tournaments in 1996 and 1999, and won the regular season titles of TAAC/Atlantic Sun in 1999, 2003 and 2005, before joining C-USA. In 2009, the UCF women's basketball team surprised C-USA by going 11-5 in a conference game after playing 2-11 in non-conference games and 10-20 years earlier, and sweeping the 2009 USA Conference Basketball Tournament USA, dominating Southern Miss in extra-time to win the championship game, 65-54, and earn third Division third tournament appearance.
Baseball
The baseball team is headed by head coach Terry Rooney who will enter his first season as head coach in 2009. Jay Bergman has been head coach since 1976 but was fired on May 1, 2008 after allegations of sexual harassment against male equipment trainers. Bergman has a large number of successes in this position, leading the UCF to the Atlantic Sun Championships in 93, 95, 96, 97, 00, 01, 02, 04 and NCAA Regional Appearances at 89, 93, 95, 96, 97, 00, 01, 02, 04, and brought UCF to national rank # 8 in 2001. In honor of his long-term success with the Knights, on February 3, 2001, UCF opened and dedicated what is now John Euliano Park.
Football
UCF fielded the official university football team for the first time in 1979, under head coach Don Jonas. Since then, the Knights have played in six games, won three conference championships, produced 2 All-American, and two first-round pick drafts. UCF has had some measure of success in football in the short history of the NCAA. This is the alma mater for NFL stars Brandon Marshall, Daunte Culpepper, Asante Samuel, Leger Douzable, and Bruce Miller among others. While UCF football can be traced back to its days as the NCAA Division III team under Jonas, quickly moved to Division II in 1982, and Division I-AA in 1990, finally matching the rest of the sports program. In 1996, the program made its last ascent to Division I-A, now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). UCF football plays as a member of The American, which has been a member since the 2013 season. The Knights played their home game at Spectrum Stadium, the team home field since 2007.
The most prominent football competitors today are the enemies of the East Carolina and Tulsa conferences, and the former Marshall USA Conference. The main contender in UCF state is South Florida. For most rival presence, it was an inter-conference contest when South Florida was in the Big East and UCF in C-USA. Both schools are now members of conferences in America and play on Black Friday every year.
Since starting play in 1979, the Knights have won three conference championships and four conference division titles. UCF won the Eastern Division C-USA in 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012, won the conference championship match in 2007 and 2010. Knights also champion The American in 2013. Prior to the FBS ride, UCF was the leading program in Division I-AA in the early 1990s. In 1990, UCF became the first school in history to qualify for the I-AA playoffs in its first season of eligibility. The Knights once again made the postseason in 1993, and was selected as the No. 1 preseason. 1 to start the 1994 season.
George O'Leary became head coach of UCF football in 2004 and was a great success. The 2005 team won the first division championship school, and earned their first trip to a bowl match, in the first season of Knights in C-USA. In 2007, the Knights won their second division championship, and won their first conference championship. During the 2009 campaign, UCF earned its first win over the ranking opponent and a third bowl appearance under O'Leary's supervision. In 2010 reached the top 25 first rank, the second conference championship, and won their first bowl match. In 2013, the UCF is unbeaten in the conference game to win the American conference championship in its inaugural season, earning an automatic venue for the conference BCS match. The fifteenth fifth rank ranks the sixth-ranked Baylor Bears 52-42 in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl to secure the first program winning the main bowl game, and perform one of the biggest disruptions of the BCS era. UCF completed its 2013 campaign by earning the first top ten ranking of the program, and with third-quarter Blake Bortles being voted third overall by Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft. Scott Frost became head coach in 2016 when O'Leary effectively withdrew from the program in mid-2015.
UCF beat Auburn 34-27 in Peach Bowl 2018 on 1 January 2018, to secure the victory of the second big bowl of the school. Citing an unbeatable season, UCF administrators claimed the National Championship football season, then upheld by Colley Matrix, a recognized NCAA primary voter from the FBS national champions, and the first four venues voted by the AP final poll. The NCAA does not officially choose the national champions in FBS football.
Golf
The men's golf team was formed in 1979, and has been featured in NCAA Regionals 12 times, and has played for the NCAA Championship four times. The last time the squad reached the championship was in 2009. The men's golf team 2010 is the C-USA champion. The women's golf team was founded in 1982, and has made 9 NCAA Regional appearances, and has played for two NCAA Championships in 1996 and 2018.
Bryce Wallor is the head coach for the men's golf team, and Courtney Trimble is the head coach for the women's team. The Knights man's golf team played a home game at Rio Pinar Country Club. The Knights women's golf team played their home game at RedTail Golf Course. Knight's golf team practices at the UCF Golf Training Facility, located near the UCF campus at Twin Rivers Golf Club in Oviedo.
Many former Knight golfers have represented UCF on PGA and LPGA Tours, including Robert Damron and Cliff Kresge.
Female Women's rowing
The rowing team was formed in 1995. The Knights rowing team won 3 American Athletic Conference Rowing championships, and appeared in the NCAA 4 Championships.
Football
UCF has produced a number of soccer stars. Especially, Michelle Akers and Kim Wyant. Akers and Wyant were founders of the United States women's national football team from 1985-2000. Akers helped them win the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 and 1999, and the 1996 Summer Olympics. His career was so different that Pelà © named it between just two female players (along with teammate Mia Hamm) on the FIFA 100 list of the greatest live footballer year 2004.
This women's program made the official first inter-women soccer championship final held in 1981, as well as the first NCAA I Division of the Women's Football Championships in 1982, losing the final every year with a 1-0 identical score to North Carolina.
The men's program has developed midfielder Eric Vasquez, who made his professional football debut alongside Columbus Crew Major League Soccer. Vasquez then plays for Miami FC in First Division United Soccer Leagues and Orlando Sharks from Major Indoor Soccer League before retiring due to injury. In addition, former Goalkeeper Goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh initially signed a development agreement with D.C. United of MLS. After a year with the D.C team. United Reserve, McIntosh signed with Atlanta Silverbacks from USL Division One, where he led the team to the league final. The Silverbacks eventually lost to Seattle Sounders. Both players are part of the amateur amateur team Central Florida Kraze 2004 who won the Premier Development League championship by defeating the Boulder Rapids Resevers, 1-0 at the UCF football stadium.
Former UCF goalkeeper Sean Johnson joined the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer in 2010. He made his pro debut on 1 August and defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy. He is a member of the US U-20 national soccer team who qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2009 in Egypt. In the women's team, Aline Reis, the All-American in his first year in 2008, was elected to the Brazilian women's national football team for the first time in 2009, playing in a friendly against local Brazilian teams in July. Former female goalkeeper Lynzee Lee plays for Buffalo Flash of the W-League. In 2010, the men's and women's soccer teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Softball
The Knights softball program was established in 2002, and the team officially began to compete in the Atlantic Atlantic Conference in the same year under head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie. Since the program began, the Knights have won two conference championship tournaments, and have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times.
Renee Luers-Gillispie, who is in his tenth year with his team, has been the head coach of the program. Through the end of the 2010 season, Gillispie has led the Knights to a record of 341-233-1 during his tenure, and he has a 593-437-3 overall win overall record for seventeen seasons as head coach.
The Ksatria softball team played its home game at UCF Softball Complex.
Tennis
The men's tennis team was formed in 1972. They reached the second successive NCAA Division Championships from 1974-78, including a third-place finish in 1977. They won the A-Sun Championship three times from 2003-2005 under Bobby Cashman. The current male coach is John Roddick, brother and coach for former tennis player Andy Roddick.
The women's tennis team was formed in 1978. They already have 3 NCAA Division 1 Tournament performances.
Track and put
The athletic team and women's knight team have won ten conference championships total, eight in their nine years at the Atlantic Atlantic Conference, and won the 2010 C-USA 2010, 2011 and 2013 C-USA, and indoor C-USA 2011 titles. 2011, the Knights nationally ranked for the first time in program history, while at the same time ranking as the top team in the state, rising as high as No. 8 in the polls.
Head coaches for the track and field programs are Caryl Smith Gilbert, and assistant coach Jeff Chakouian, Paul Brown and LaTonya Loche. Gilbert has trained four All-American during his tenure at UCF, including two All-American Jackie Coward.
The Knights track and field teams are meeting outside their home at UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, which is part of the Knights Plaza.
National Championship
The 1978 women's volleyball team won a UCF national team championship. The team won the AIAW Small College Division championship within days after the change of name from Florida Technological University to UCF.
- Women (1)
- Volleyball: 1978
Sports club
The University of Central Florida through the Recreation and Health Center and student government also includes a number of club sports with varying degrees of competitiveness, although most only compete with other teams from the southeastern part of the country. The sport is funded by a government association of university students. Sports clubs including rugby, wrestling, lacrosse, men's volley, ice hockey, team handball, water polo, frisbee main, fencing, biking, bowling, badminton, table tennis, triathlon, ultimate frisbee, basketball wheelchair, water skiing, , and tennis.
Ice Hockey
UCF ice hockey team was founded in 1997 and competed in the Southern College Hockey Conference in the Third Division Hockey Association American Collegiate. The team plays its home game at RDV Sportsplex in Maitland, Florida. Since becoming head coach in 1999, Sean Weaver has led the Knights to eight consecutive National Championship appearances, and finished third in the 2007-08 and 2010-11 seasons.
Lacrosse
The UCF men's lacrosse team competed in the Lacrosse SouthEastern Conference of the Lacrosse Association of Colleagues at Division I level. The team was founded in 1997 and played in the university's intramural field. Currently trained by James Foote.
Rugby
Established in 1988, UCF Rugby Club plays in the Division I rugby college in the South Independent Conference against local rivals such as Florida State and South Florida. The knight is led by Chief Coach Jason Granich but has recently turned into Raoul Besse. The Knights have enjoyed a lot of success over the past few years thanks to hard work, training, and some of the best conditioning in the league. They are the back-to-back National Champion at D1-AA and have won several Rugby Sevens tournaments. The 2015 season trajectory looks positive with the Knights qualification for the Sevens National Championships, ranked number one in the Southern Division of SIRC, and ranked 7th across the country.
The Knights have one of the better college rugby programs in Florida in recent years. In Fall 2011, UCF reaches the Florida Collegiate Rugby Cup final. The Knights finished the 2011-12 season at number 17 with a 12-5 record, including a season-split series against No. 1. 6 FSU ratings.
In the spring of 2013, the knights won the national championship DI-AA. They beat Tennessee 31-17 in the last 16, beating Clemson 24-20 in the quarterfinals, and beating Dartmouth 45-38 in the semi-finals. UCF won the national championship by beating Lindenwood in the final 27-25, with team captain Gerhard Veit also scoring twice.
UCF is repeated in 2014 as the national champion D1-AA. They beat South Carolina in the quarter-finals (44-28) and San Diego in the semifinals (43-5). UCF beat Arizona in the final behind MVP Scott Watters effort. The final score is an impressive 64-13.
UCF has also been successful in rugby seven. UCF rugby won the first tournament at Estero in the fall of the 2012 Florida Sevens Championship with a 4-0 record, including a 24-5 victory over FSU in the final. The Knights are unbeaten and beat UNF 36-15 in the final to win the 2012 Florida Cup. The Knights resume this in the 2015 tournament. The Knights (who are seeded lows) dominated the top-ranked team, Middle Tennessee with a final score of 31-7. The Knights will continue to win all the games there, including the championship match against Georgia Tech crawling them out 19-12.
Spirit Program
Cheerleading
The UCF cheerleading squad has captured two national titles at the Cheerleading College and Dance Team Nationals, in 2003 and 2007. The UCF cheerleaders have earned place in the top three in the country the last six seasons of the national championship, and have topped the list. -10 completed 17 times in the last 19 years. In 2008, the weekly series WE Original Cheerleader U followed UCF cheers through the entire season. In 2013, the 2003 UCF Cheerleading Team, which won the UCA College National Championship Cheerleading in 2003, was the first team to be inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.
Knighted Knights and KnightMoves
The Knighted Knights were formed after the start of the football program in 1979, and are the largest and most visible student organization in the university. They are known for their high energy performances, unique and contemporary drill designs, and musical selections ranging from jazz, pop, to classical. Members experience the thrill of performing for tens of thousands of fans alongside more than 300 other outstanding players at every home UCF football game and choosing away games, as well as any bowl games.
The university's coordinated dance team, KnightMoves, is considered one of the best college programs in America, and features 12-18 girls each year. The team performed throughout the year at schools and athletic events, such as Spirit Splash, pep rally, and soccer and basketball games. KnightMoves has finished at top-10 in the Cheerleading College and Dance Team Nationals for the past two years.
Cheers
"Black and gold" is a very popular cheer in home games, with one part of the student section shouting "Black!", And another part of the part that answers back with "Gold!" They are the loudest! It can go back and forth for several minutes, with both sides competing to become tougher.
Another popular excitement in the game takes place during the national anthem when the student loudly exclaims "Knight" during the line, "Giving evidence via night that our flag is still there."
The University of Central Florida Fight Song berjudul 'Mengisi On'.
Alumni terkenal
As a competitor in college athletics, UCF has many leading athletes, coaches and student staff members, such as NFL Joe Burnett, Josh Sitton, Matt Prater, Jah Reid, Jamar Newsome, Kevin Smith, Brandon Marshall, Asante Samuel and Mike Sims-Walker , former NBA guard, Jermaine Taylor, NASCAR driver Aric Almirola, and soccer stars Michelle Akers and Sean Johnson. Currently, more than 50 UCF alumni compete in professional basketball, soccer, baseball and golf.
Athletic director
See also
- List of college athletic programs in Florida
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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