37 Facts About UCF Knights

UCF Knights are the athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida.

The UCF Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference.

The UCF Knights were chosen over "Vincent the Vulture, " which was a popular unofficial mascot among students at the time.

UCF Knights varsity athletic program was a charter member of the Sunshine State Conference in 1975.

In 1992, UCF Knights joined the Trans America Athletic Conference in all D-I sports except football, which remained independent.

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In 1996, UCF Knights was advanced to I-A in football, and initially remained independent in football until becoming a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference in 2001, the same year the TAAC became the Atlantic Sun Conference .

UCF Knights joined Conference USA in all sports in 2005, and the American Athletic Conference in 2013.

The university has asked to be identified as UCF Knights when being referenced as opposed to Central Florida.

UCF Knights played its first intercollegiate basketball game before the team even had a nickname.

UCF Knights has been a member of Division I since 1985, and has advanced to the NCAA tournament 4 times, all under coach Kirk Speraw.

UCF Knights competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1992 until 2005 when all sports joined C-USA, and plays in Addition Financial Arena.

At the time, UCF Knights was one of nine unbeaten teams, and one of only four schools to be ranked in the BCS standings and the AP men's basketball poll.

UCF Knights fielded an official varsity football team for the first time in 1979, under head coach Don Jonas.

Since then, the UCF Knights have played in six bowl games, won six conference championships, produced 2 All-Americans, and two first-round draft picks.

UCF Knights has had some measure of success in football in its short NCAA history.

UCF Knights football plays as a member of The American, where it has been a member since the 2013 season.

Since beginning play in 1979, the UCF Knights have won three conference championships and four conference division titles.

In 1990, UCF Knights became the first school in history to qualify for the I-AA playoffs in its first season of eligibility.

The UCF Knights made the postseason in 1993, and were selected as the preseason No 1 to start the 1994 season.

In 2007, the UCF Knights won their second division championship, and earned their first conference championship.

In 2013, UCF Knights went undefeated in conference play to win The American's conference championship in its inaugural season, earning the conference's automatic berth to a BCS game.

UCF Knights finished the 2013 campaign by earning the program's first top-ten ranking, and with quarterback Blake Bortles being selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft.

UCF Knights is the only team which actively claims a national championship that was not awarded by one of these polls since the beginning of the BCS era.

UCF Knights was a member of the United States U-20 men's national soccer team which qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.

Since the program began, the UCF Knights have won two conference tournament champions, and have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times.

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In 2011, the UCF Knights were 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.

Two UCF Knights teams have won national championships, though neither was bestowed by the NCAA.

However, UCF Knights was not selected to play in the College Football Playoff in 2017; all major selectors except for Colley Matrix chose Alabama as the 2017 national champion.

Two UCF Knights athletes have won individual national titles as well, one of which came in an NCAA-sanctioned event.

The UCF Knights are led by Head Coach Jason Granich but has recently been changed to Raoul Besse.

The UCF Knights have enjoyed a lot of success over the last couple of years thanks to hard work, coaching, and some of the best conditioning in the league.

UCF Knights have had one of the better college rugby programs in Florida in recent years.

In Fall 2011, UCF Knights reached the finals of the Collegiate Rugby Florida Cup.

UCF Knights defeated Arizona in the final behind the efforts of MVP Scott Watters.

UCF Knights cheerleading has received a spot in the top three in the country the last six seasons in the national championship, and has earned a top-10 finish 17 times in the last 19 years.

Since 2000, the UCF Knights has invested significant capital and effort in the construction, expansion and improvements of its major sports programs and their facilities.

Currently, more than 50 UCF Knights alumni compete in professional basketball, football, baseball and golf.