Jan. 1, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - When the Knights hosts Holy Cross Tuesday, the contest will mark the start of UCF's partnership with Bright House Sports Network. The network is scheduled to produce and air three UCF games this year, starting with the non-league matchup with the Crusaders.
Bright House Sports Network will also broadcast UCF's Conference USA games against SMU (Jan. 28) and Rice (Feb. 25) from the UCF Arena.
Veteran Florida broadcaster Bernie Guenther will handle the play-by-play duties for the UCF games. On Tuesday, he will be joined on the broadcast by former UCF standout Mike O'Donnell. This season, O'Donnell has served as the color analyst on UCF home radio broadcasts and will have the same role for the Holy Cross game.
One of the best players in school history, O'Donnell concluded his collegiate career last fall. He averaged 11.9 points as a senior and finished his time in Orlando with 195 3-pointers, good for second on the UCF career register. He currently serves as an assistant in the Golden Knights Club office.
Mark Wise, a former assistant coach at Charlotte, Purdue and USF, will work as the analyst on the other two broadcasts.
Bright House Sports Network is also scheduled to produce and air one UCF women's contest. Guenther and O'Donnell partner to call the Knights' league home game with SMU.
Bright House Sports Network is a 24-hour local sports network available in central Florida on Bright House Networks digital cable channel 47.
The Knights, who have won three-straight games, will return to action Saturday, hosting Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. Head coach Kirk Speraw's team is 6-0 at the UCF Arena this season.
A UCF Basketball Outback Steakhouse Four-Pack is currently available for only $50 by calling the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000. The four-pack offers the best seat available at the UCF Arena for the Knights' Jan. 10 contest with national power Memphis. The package also includes tickets to UCF's Conference USA games with SMU (Jan. 28), Houston (Feb. 4) and East Carolina (March 7).
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: After a light workout that consisted of mostly shooting Wednesday, the Knights are slated to have an afternoon practice Thursday... Freshman guard Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) leads C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage, making 49.1 percent of his tries from deep.