June 29, 2006
ORLANDO - Sports Illustrated's website, SI.com, has named UCF head coach George O'Leary one of the nation's top-10 college football coaches. O'Leary, who enters his third season as the UCF head coach, was the 2005 Conference USA Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Knights to an 8-5 record and C-USA East Division championship.
Stewart Mandel of SI.com wrote this about O'Leary: "He never really got proper due for his tenure at Georgia Tech, where his .612 winning percentage was the school's highest since Bobby Dodd, but his most remarkable achievement came last year, when he orchestrated the Golden Knights' incredible turnaround from 0-11 to 8-5 and a Conference USA division title."
The 2005 campaign for UCF was tied for the fourth-largest turnaround in NCAA history. The Golden Knights made their first bowl appearance in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.
UCF returns 19 starters from last season's division championship squad and has been picked by five national college football preseason magazines as the favorite to win the East Division of C-USA.
The Golden Knights open the 2006 campaign at home on Saturday, Sept. 2 vs. Villanova. Ticket orders are now being accepted for the 2006 football season. Season ticket holders will be given priority when seats are sold in the new stadium. Fans can place their ticket order by calling 407-UCF-1000.