List of UCF Knights football seasons
Encyclopedia
UCF Knights
The UCF Knights are the athletics teams of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. All of UCF's varsity sports teams are known as the Knights, with the women's teams sometimes referred to as the "Lady Knights." The Knights, which includes the university's 16 varsity sports teams,...
have played over 350 regular-season games, winning three division championships, a conference championship and playing in three bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
s. The Knights are a member of Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
and the current head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
is George O'Leary
George O'Leary
George Joseph O'Leary is the head football coach of the UCF Knights football team that represents the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida; he previously coached the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team from 1994 to 2001, and served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota...
, who has led the team since 2004. The Knights play their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium is the football stadium for the University of Central Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Knights. Located in Knights Plaza on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, the stadium was the first on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I...
, which is located on the main campus of UCF in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
.
The University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
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. The Knights have appeared in three bowl games, in 2005
2005 Hawaii Bowl
The 2005 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matched the UCF Knights against the . The fourth edition of the Hawaii Bowl was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, and featured the WAC champions versus the Conference USA runner-ups. UCF was one of the nation's best stories of the season...
, 2007
2007 Liberty Bowl
The 2007 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, was played on December 29, 2007 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee....
and 2009
2009 St. Petersburg Bowl
The 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's, formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was the second edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game began at 8:00 PM US EST on Saturday, December 19, 2009, was...
, have won three C-USA Eastern Division titles, in 2005, 2007, and 2010, and were the 2007 Conference USA Champions
Conference USA Football Championship
The Conference USA Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of Conference USA. From 1996–2004, the champion of Conference USA was determined by regular season record...
. UCF was nationally ranked for the first time in school history, following a nationally-televised rout of Houston on November 5, 2010. The rankings came after winning 5 straight games, and posting an 11-game conference winning streak. The Knights were ranked 25 in the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
, 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25 in the Harris Poll. The team would drop out of the polls the following week, but would return later in the season.
Seasons
| Division Champions | Conference Champions | Bowl game berth |
| Season | Conference | Head Coach | Season results | Bowl result | Final ranking | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | AP Poll AP Poll The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation... |
Coaches Poll Coaches Poll The USA Today Coaches' Poll is the current name for a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and Division I college basketball teams.... |
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| UCF Knights football seasons | ||||||||||
| 1979 | Independent | Don Jonas Don Jonas -Sources:* Bob Gill, “The Best Little Quarterback You Never Heard Of” on the Professional Football Researchers Association website.-References:... |
— | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| 1980 | Independent | — | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
| 1981 | Independent | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1982 | Independent | Sam Weir | — | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| 1983 | Independent | Lou Saban Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban was an American football player and coach. Saban played for Indiana University in college and as a pro for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference... |
— | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| 1984 | Independent | Saban/ Jerry Anderson† | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| 1985 | Independent | Gene McDowell Gene McDowell -References:... |
— | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| 1986 | Independent | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | Independent | — | 9 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1988 | Independent | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1989 | Independent | — | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1990 | Independent | — | 10 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | Independent | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | Independent | — | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1993 | Independent | — | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1994 | Independent | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | Independent | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
| 1996 | Independent | — | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997 | Independent | — | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998 | Independent | Mike Kruczek Mike Kruczek -External links:*... |
— | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1999 | Independent | — | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000 2000 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2000 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was Mike Kruczek, who was in his third season with the team.... |
Independent | — | 7 | 4 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 2001 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2001 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was Mike Kruczek, who was in his fourth season with the team.... |
Independent | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002 2002 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2002 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was Mike Kruczek, who was in his fifth season with the team.... |
MAC East Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members... |
2 | 7 | 5 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003 2003 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2003 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. After signing a three-year contract extension to begin the season, head coach Mike Kruczek was fired following a 3–7 start... |
MAC East | Kruczek/ Alan Gooch Alan Gooch Alan Gooch is a former head coach of the University of Central Florida college football program from 2003. He coached the final two games of the 2003 season against Marshall and Miami University. Before that he was the assistant head coach from 1998 to 2003... † |
5 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2004 2004 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2004 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his first season with the team. It was their last year in the Mid-American Conference, in the East Division... |
MAC East | George O'Leary George O'Leary George Joseph O'Leary is the head football coach of the UCF Knights football team that represents the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, Florida; he previously coached the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team from 1994 to 2001, and served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota... |
7 | 0 | 11 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2005 2005 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2005 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his second season with the team... |
Conference USA East Conference USA Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports... |
1 | 8 | 5 | — | Lost Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl 2005 Hawaii Bowl The 2005 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matched the UCF Knights against the . The fourth edition of the Hawaii Bowl was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, and featured the WAC champions versus the Conference USA runner-ups. UCF was one of the nation's best stories of the season... to , 48–49 |
— | — | ||
| 2006 2006 UCF Golden Knights football team The 2006 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his third season with the team... |
Conference USA East | 4 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 2007 UCF Knights football team The 2007 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach is George O'Leary... |
Conference USA East | 1 | 10 | 4 | — | Lost AutoZone Liberty Bowl 2007 Liberty Bowl The 2007 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, part of the 2007-08 NCAA football bowl games season, was played on December 29, 2007 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.... to Mississippi State 2007 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team The 2007 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2007 college football season. The team's head coach was Sylvester Croom, who served his fourth season in the position... , 3–10 |
— | — | ||
| 2008 2008 UCF Knights football team The 2008 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his fifth season with the team. For the second season, the UCF Knights played all of their home games at Bright House Networks... |
Conference USA East | 5 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 2009 UCF Knights football team The 2009 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, in his sixth season with the team. Coaching changes included new offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe... |
Conference USA East | 2 | 8 | 5 | — | Lost St. Petersburg Bowl 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl The 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's, formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was the second edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game began at 8:00 PM US EST on Saturday, December 19, 2009, was... to Rutgers 2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team The 2009 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2009 college football season. Their head coach was Greg Schiano and they played their home games at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights finished the season 9–4, 3–4 in Big East play and... , 24–45 |
— | — | ||
| 2010 2010 UCF Knights football team The 2010 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Their head coach was George O'Leary, who was in his seventh season with the team. For the first time in program history, the Knights were nationally ranked following a... |
Conference USA East | 1 | 11 | 3 | — | Won AutoZone Liberty Bowl 2010 Liberty Bowl (December) The 2010 Liberty Bowl, also known as Autozone Liberty Bowl, was the fifty-second edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The game started at 3:30 PM US EST on December 31, 2010... against Georgia 2010 Georgia Bulldogs football team The 2010 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in 2010. The Bulldogs competed in the East Division of the Southeastern Conference . This was the Georgia Bulldogs' tenth season for head coach Mark Richt... , 10–6 |
21 | 20 | ||
| 2011 2011 UCF Knights football team The 2011 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2011 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... |
Conference USA East | 5 | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
| Totals | 193 | 180 | 1 | (Regular season games only) | ||||||
| 1 | 3 | 0 | (Bowl games only) | |||||||
| 194 | 183 | 1 | (All games) | |||||||
| † Denotes interim coach. Records are through the conclusion of the 2011 NCAA Season. |
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