UCF to Join C-USA

[zharkins]

UCF will accept all-sports invite into Conference USA
By Alan Schmadtke
Sentinel Staff Writer

November 4, 2003, 12:41 PM EST

UCF will receive and accept an all-sports invitation to Conference USA today, multiple sources in the Golden Knights' football program confirmed.

C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky told UCF he would not issue an invitation until after the Big East's planned 2 p.m. announcement that it was bringing in five C-USA schools --- South Florida, Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul and Marquette.

Shortly after the Big East's unveiling in New York, UCF President John Hitt will accept C-USA's offer after informing the school's two current leagues, the Mid-American Conference and the Atlantic Sun. UCF's acceptance will come later today. The school will have a news conference Wednesday on campus.

The Knights will join C-USA for the 2005-06 season for an expected entry fee of $2 million. Their exit from the MAC and the A-Sun will cost them another $600,000.

Sources in the Golden Knights Club, the fund-raising arm of the UCF Athletics Association, said Hitt has already lined up donors to cover the entry and exit costs.

UCF had held out hope through the late summer and early fall that the Big East, in the midst of replenishing itself after Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College left for the ACC, would consider it for all-sports membership or at least football-only membership. Football-only was still a consideration, Big East athletic directors confirmed, but the timing wasn't not going to come as quickly as the Knights had hoped.

Also factoring into the mix is Hitt and Orsini's stated goal.

"Our long-term goal is to put all our sports under the same national conference umbrella," Orsini said.

The MAC, which accepted UCF as a football-only member in late 2001, offered a conditional all-sports membership to UCF last month. Hitt and Orsini were appreciative. Ultimately, they decided they could not pass up C-USA's more regional appeal to the Knights' fans.

UCF joins fellow MAC member Marshall in a jump to Conference USA, which now grows to 12 members and likely will split into two six-team divisions. UCF and Marshall will join East Carolina, UAB, Memphis and Southern Miss in the East. The West will be made up of Tulane, Houston, TCU, SMU, Rice and Tulsa.

SMU, Rice and Tulsa are the other new invitees, each coming from the Western Athletic Conference.

[weunice]

OK, that hurt us. If these TCU rumors are true, then I think we are in. They will need a team in the west and I do not see any other school with the ties we have nor the upside. If TCU stays, then we are in a new WAC.

Simple as that.

I would welcome this version of CUSA. I would love to play UCF on occasion. If all of this works out then maybe we can go to permanent opponents like the SEC and set up UCF as ours.

[FriscoDawg]

If all of this works out then maybe we can go to permanent opponents like the SEC and set up UCF as ours.

Permanent opponents are only workable in the SEC because of the long history involved.

Any other 12-team conference should always schedule like the Big 12 and have every team play in every stadium at least once every four years. If Nebraska and Oklahoma can play in the regular season only twice every four years, that's good enough for any other conference.

[Bulldog44]

UCF will accept all-sports invite into Conference USA
By Alan Schmadtke
Sentinel Staff Writer

November 4, 2003, 12:41 PM EST

UCF will receive and accept an all-sports invitation to Conference USA today, multiple sources in the Golden Knights' football program confirmed.

C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky told UCF he would not issue an invitation until after the Big East's planned 2 p.m. announcement that it was bringing in five C-USA schools --- South Florida, Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul and Marquette.

Shortly after the Big East's unveiling in New York, UCF President John Hitt will accept C-USA's offer after informing the school's two current leagues, the Mid-American Conference and the Atlantic Sun. UCF's acceptance will come later today. The school will have a news conference Wednesday on campus.

The Knights will join C-USA for the 2005-06 season for an expected entry fee of $2 million. Their exit from the MAC and the A-Sun will cost them another $600,000.

Sources in the Golden Knights Club, the fund-raising arm of the UCF Athletics Association, said Hitt has already lined up donors to cover the entry and exit costs.

UCF had held out hope through the late summer and early fall that the Big East, in the midst of replenishing itself after Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College left for the ACC, would consider it for all-sports membership or at least football-only membership. Football-only was still a consideration, Big East athletic directors confirmed, but the timing wasn't not going to come as quickly as the Knights had hoped.

Also factoring into the mix is Hitt and Orsini's stated goal.

"Our long-term goal is to put all our sports under the same national conference umbrella," Orsini said.

The MAC, which accepted UCF as a football-only member in late 2001, offered a conditional all-sports membership to UCF last month. Hitt and Orsini were appreciative. Ultimately, they decided they could not pass up C-USA's more regional appeal to the Knights' fans.

UCF joins fellow MAC member Marshall in a jump to Conference USA, which now grows to 12 members and likely will split into two six-team divisions. UCF and Marshall will join East Carolina, UAB, Memphis and Southern Miss in the East. The West will be made up of Tulane, Houston, TCU, SMU, Rice and Tulsa.

SMU, Rice and Tulsa are the other new invitees, each coming from the Western Athletic Conference.

it's amazing how these schools that have no history, tradition, or real accomplishments leapfrog us. UCF is a decent program with a big stadium, a decent MAC team.

I DON'T GET IT! Maybe my love of Louisiana Tech makes me see things through Blue colored glasses.

[TIGGERHATER]

I DON'T GET IT! Maybe my love of Louisiana Tech makes me see things through Blue colored glasses.

Can you spell ORLANDO?

C-USA's priority has been market - not program - since day 1.

[Omaha Bulldog]

[quote="TIGGERHATER"]

C-USA's priority has been market - not program - since day 1.

This is very true. How else does SMU get in the conference - their women's soccer team. I don't think so. CUSA thinks they are gaining the DFW market - which they aren't. The Cowboys, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks own that market. Any college (and it isn't much there) is OU, TAMU, and UT.