Streamers, confetti and cheers filled the air at UCF’s Knights Plaza on Wednesday.
Hundreds of fans gathered to show support for the No. 11 UCF football team as the ‘College GameDay’ bus arrived on campus. UCF football players Mac Loudermilk, Jordan Johnson and Titus Davis exited the bus to a warm welcome from students and fans.
This is the first time ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ has made its way to Orlando in program history. Saturday’s game against No. 24 Cincinnati will be broadcasted on ABC at 8 p.m., and fans are pumped up about the prime-time spot and national coverage.
“This is the biggest game in UCF history because we are prime time,” said David Rogers, a UCF alumnus (’93). “The conference championship berth is on the line and GameDay is here. It is a must win.”
Former UCF athletes are also enjoying UCF’s big break into the national spotlight.
“I played for UCF women’s soccer team. It’s nice we can talk about our team with such pride, especially when what everyone talks about around here was FSU, UM, Gators. So proud to be a Knight. Charge on!” said Monica Funk, a former UCF soccer player and alumna (‘00).
For alumni, this kind of national coverage was something they never imagined and definitely didn’t experience during their time at UCF.
“When I was at UCF 14 years ago, you were lucky if one or two games were on TV,” said Carl Andrew, UCF alumnus (’08). “Now you see UCF getting essentially seven hours of TV time being showcased on two wildly popular broadcasts.”
On Saturday, UCF students, fans and alumni will finally get what they have been waiting for: national respect.
Watch a recap of GameDay welcome party below:
IMG_5360 from Knight News on Vimeo.
