COMING OF AGE SEP T. 22, 1979 TO S E P T. 1 5, 2 0 07
The time between the two dates is less than three decades. Yet to fans, the settings and circumstances are worlds apart. Less than one month after 148 students turn out for the first-ever football practice in 1979 — with players bringing their own shoes, shirts and shorts along with $14 a day for room and board — UCF defeats host St. Leo College, 21-0. Football at UCF arrives. Fast-forward to 2007 where the ambitious Knights go toe to toe against the defending national champions and No. 6-ranked Texas Longhorns on national TV at the new, $60 million Bright House Networks Stadium. UCF leads 24-23 in the fourth quarter before succumbing, 35-32. Even the opposing coach, Mack Brown, is impressed: “There was a tremendous atmosphere. I told [my players] today I didn’t think they understood what they were about to get into.” F
BHNS OPENING