Dec. 4, 2005
ORLANDO - The UCF football team has officially accepted an invitation to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl December 24 vs. Nevada from the Western Athletic Conference. UCF will make its first appearance in school history in a bowl game.
Nevada (8-4) clinched a share of the WAC Championship with a 38-35 victory over Fresno State in its season finale. The Golden Knights and Wolf Pack will meet for the first time in series history in Honolulu.
ESPN will televise the 2005 game at 8:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. Hawaii time) from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
UCF head coach George O'Leary, Conference USA's Coach of the Year, has engineered one of the best turnarounds in college football history. UCF finished 0-11 in 2004 before an 8-4 campaign this season, including C-USA's Eastern Division Championship. The Golden Knights are currently tied for third in NCAA history with a 7.5 game turnaround.
"The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is a great opportunity for our players to close out a successful season," stated O'Leary. "After coaching in the Aloha Bowl in 1991, I know how great of an experience this is for our players and coaches. I look forward to the trip to Hawaii and the bowl game."
O'Leary will be coaching in a bowl as a head coach for the fifth time in his career. He led Georgia Tech to five bowl appearances and coached the Yellow Jackets in four bowl games during his tenure in Atlanta. As defensive coordinator for the Yellow Jackets in 1991, O'Leary was part of a Georgia Tech team that defeated Stanford 18-17 in the Aloha Bowl Christmas Day. In all, O'Leary has coached in eight bowl games during his coaching career.
"This bowl is an excellent reward for our student-athletes and the coaching staff on a championship season," stated UCF director of athletics Steve Orsini. "This is a trip of a lifetime for our players and we are excited to represent UCF and Conference USA in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl."
UCF is just the fourth team in NCAA history to play seven away games in a season (11-game schedule) and participate in a bowl game.
The Golden Knights will make their fifth appearance of the season on national television. The game will be UCF's third of the season on ESPN.
Ticket information and travel package information will be available on UCF's official athletics website, www.UCFathletics.com, on Monday.