In an announcement made by the American Athletic Conference on Thursday, the UCF vs. USF game will air nationally on the night of Thanksgiving on ESPN.
The Knights originally had a timeslot on Black Friday against the rival Bulls, but rescheduling led the game to move forward to Thursday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The change of date becomes UCF’s first Thanksgiving Day game in school history and aims to kick off a weekend in college football popularly known as “Rivalry Week.” ESPN did not have a game previously scheduled on Thanksgiving Day.
“ESPN called regarding a possible change from an early Friday game to a Thursday night game on national TV. All parties concerned agreed to the change,” said George O’Leary, UCF football head coach and Interim Director of Athletics. “I think it’s great for this game to be featured on a huge stage like this.”
“We are excited to have the USF at UCF game on Thanksgiving evening to kick off Rivalry Week,” said American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco. “It is fitting that this outstanding rivalry game will be played in prime time on Thanksgiving and available to a national ESPN audience.”
Pregame festivities will be announced as soon as they are finalized, according to UCF Athletics.
“We’ll be encouraging our fans to swap out [… the main courses] of their Thanksgiving Day Tailgate,” Assistant Director for Athletics for Fan Development Jimmy Skiles said. “Hosting our fans on a national holiday will certainly provide a memorable backdrop to our annual rivalry game with USF.”
The Black and Gold won the last two meetings against USF, emerging victorious 23-20 in 2013, while handing a 16-0 shutout to USF at Raymond James Stadium in 2014.
