Nov. 26, 2008
OXFORD, Miss. (UCFAthletics.com) - This time a year ago, the Knights were preparing to compete against some of the nation's top programs at the Old Spice Classic. This season, UCF will not be playing at Disney's Wide World of Sports, but one Knight will be in action at the event, which begins on Thanksgiving.
Erik Kohler, who serves as the public address announcer at UCF men's basketball, baseball and football games, will be handling the same duties at the Old Spice Classic. Tennessee and Siena will open the tournament on noon Thursday. Georgetown, Gonzaga, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State and Wichita State are also participating in the event.
Games are scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The schedule will allow Kohler to return to his usual role at Bright House Networks Stadium Saturday when UCF hosts UAB for a Conference USA football contest.
Head coach Kirk Speraw's Knights participated in the Old Spice Classic in 2007. The squad met ranked opponents in Villanova and Kansas State and concluded the tournament with a win over Penn State.
All 12 games at this year's event will be aired live nationally on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
The Knights will meet host Ole Miss tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern. The game will air on the UCF-ISP Sports Network and 740 AM in Orlando. Marc Daniels will have the call, with pregame coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Kohler will not return to action at the UCF Arena until Dec. 6, when the Knights host USF for their next home contest. Season tickets, which start at just $99, are still available. To order your season tickets today, 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.
Notes: The Knights had a long day Tuesday. Team members attended classes in the morning and then departed campus at 12:30 p.m. The group flew to Memphis, Tenn., and then bused an hour and a half to Oxford. The Knights practiced at the Tad Smith Coliseum from 7:30-9:30 p.m... The contest against the Rebels will conclude a stretch of three-straight games for the Knights against teams that won at least 20 games a year ago. The Rebels claimed 24 contests and played in the postseason National Invitation Tournament. New Mexico also won 24 games in 2007-08 and competed in the NIT. UCF recorded a 72-71 win against the host Lobos Saturday. The victory snapped a 33-game home non-conference winning streak for New Mexico. The streak was the fifth-longest in the nation.