April 8, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The 2008 UCF Athletics Hall of Fame dinner is slated for Friday evening at the J. Rolfe Davis Recruiting Room at Bright House Networks Stadium. The event is part of UCF's inaugural hall of fame weekend, which also features the football spring game on Saturday at the stadium.
The hall of fame dinner begins at 6 p.m. on Friday. To purchase tickets for the event, contact Misty Knight in the Golden Knights Club at 407-882-1289 or mknight@athletics.ucf.edu.
Nine individuals, including five former student-athletes, will be inducted into the hall of fame on Friday, including Ed O'Brien. O'Brien was a kicker on the UCF football team from 1984-87.
As a senior in 1987, he garnered All-America honors from several media outlets as he totaled a then school-record 87 points for the Knights.
O'Brien is currently a plumbing contractor in Miami. A UCF football season-ticket holder, he recently spoke with the UCF athletics communications staff about his induction in the hall of fame.
Describe your emotions on joining the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.
"It is a huge honor. It is nice that the school recognizes what we did. We really helped this program get back on its feet. I am honored to contribute in part to help the football program. To see where it has gone now is amazing."
During your time as a student-athlete at UCF, what was your top athletics achievement?
"When we beat Bethune-Cookman (in 1985) with a 55-yard field goal to win the game. At that time, the chancellor of the state of Florida was there. They were thinking about expanding our program. Jay Bergman (an associate athletics director at the time) told me after the game, `you do not know what you just did for this program.' I am like 19 years old. I had no clue. I guess it was the first time that we had ever beaten Bethune-Cookman for the Mayor's Cup. It really showed that UCF had progressed. It was our first major step in making the football program into what it is today."