Sept. 23, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - From the impressive win over Nevada to open the season to the thrilling triple-overtime victory against Conference USA foe Tulsa, the Knights' inaugural campaign at the new UCF Arena was filled with memorable moments for UCF head coach Kirk Speraw.
With the 2008-09 campaign less than two months away, Speraw is excited about creating new memories inside the state-of-the-art facility. UCF will begin the year on Nov. 16, hosting North Carolina A&T.
Last year, a school-record 78,253 fans attended 16 home contests for an average of 4,891 per game. UCF posted the fifth-largest average attendance increase in the nation.
"The arena has really helped elevate and raise awareness about our program," Speraw said. "Our fans did a great job coming out last season and supporting our team. The arena is a wonderful venue for fans to watch a game and thanks to their support, we have a great homecourt advantage."
The Knights won 12 home contests in 2007-08 as they averaged 81.1 points per game on campus. UCF posted two of the best offensive outputs in C-USA history at the building: a 109-point showing in a win over UTEP and a 110-point performance in a victory against East Carolina.
Speraw says that it took the Knights some time to get accustomed to playing inside the large venue.
"Our guys were used to shooting inside the old arena, which was dark and small. We spent so much time practicing inside the new arena before the season started. Our guys did a good job of shooting there during the year."
This season, the Knights are again slated to play 16 contests at home, including eight league matchups. Highlights on the schedule include a Dec. 6 game with cross-state foe USF and a Jan. 10 league showdown with 2008 national runner-up Memphis.
Season tickets are currently available at UCFAthletics.com. For information about premium seating, contact the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.