After months of hearsay and questionable rumors, it appears that the University of Central Florida will not only be asked to join the Big East Conference—but they are reportedly the conference’s No. 1 expansion target.
According to multiple reports, including the Boston Globe and Orlando Sentinel, the Big East could extend an invitation to UCF as early as this week.
From long shots to prime targets, the Knights have caught a few breaks in order to be in the position they are currently in.
With college football in a state of flux as multiple conferences are realigning, no conference has felt the impact of this as much as the Big East. In the last month, the league lost Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, and were spurned by TCU, who accepted an invintation from the Big 12 just months after accepting a Big East invite.
It leaves the conference scrambling for more football-playing schools as they are left with just six after the departures.
The void left by TCU ultimately propelled the Knights from a distinct possibility to the top of the list.
UCF head coach George O’Leary seemed to be confident about UCF becoming the next member of the Big East.
“I think right now from just the people I’ve spoken to, my friends, I’m not talking from UCF, but my friends I hang [with] outside, is that everything’s in place,” he said in a statement from the Orlando Sentinel website. “It’s a matter of someone putting the gavel down and making a decision really, that’s what it amounts to.”
The news was first reported by the Boston Globe, who said that the Big East had contacted UCF about potentially joining the conference.
As of today, no formal offer was extended to UCF.
Regardless, this would be a milestone move for UCF athletics. The Knights would be part of an automatic qualifying conference, get a major jump in television revenue and likely generate much more fan support playing big name schools such as West Virginia. It would also renew the UCF-USF rivalry and make it much more legitimate as conference foes.
There are still issues that UCF would have to consider before accepting an invite to the Big East. The league still might lose any of its current six football-playing members, which means it could lose its AQ status.
But in the short term, this is a very exciting proposition for UCF and its fans. With the second largest student body in the nation, new facilities and the continuing improving recruitment classes, this could be a significant moment for the future of the program.
In addition to UCF, Marshall, Memphis, Navy, Army, ECU, Air Force, Temple and Villanova have also been mentioned as possible candidates for the Big East expansion.
UCF officials aren’t saying much about the potential move.
“As you know, this latest talk about conference realignment has fans around the country wondering what will happen to their favorite teams. UCF fans should know that the university continues to work for the best possible outcome for the Knights,” Grant J. Heston, UCF’s Assistant Vice President at the News & Information Department, said.
KnightNews.com will keep you updated as news continues to come in.
E-mail us at athletics@knightnews.com with any questions.
