Jan. 7, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Black UCF t-shirts. Black UCF polos. Black UCF sweatshirts. Jimmy Skiles does not care what type of clothing it is, he just wants fans to make the Knights' Conference USA opener with Memphis Saturday at the UCF Arena a Blackout.
Skiles, UCF's assistant director of marketing and promotions, is urging all fans to wear black to the arena to support the Knights. The contest, which will begin at 5 p.m., will be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports.
In the past, UCF head coach Kirk Speraw has said that the Knightmare student section is by far the best in C-USA. Skiles wants to make sure that UCF's entire fan support is the best in the 12-team league.
"We want to have by far the most intimidating atmosphere for opponents in Conference USA," he said. "All fans need to come to the arena armored in black. Students need to wear their Knightmare shirts and come out in full force."
Last year, a school-record 7,097 fans attended UCF's C-USA home opener against Tulsa on Jan. 12. Skiles is hoping that the crowd for the Memphis game establishes a new record.
The Knights (10-4), have won five-consecutive contests. The team is 8-0 at home this year and has won 12-straight at the UCF Arena. Last night, UCF topped visiting Holy Cross, 70-57, behind a game-high 29 points from senior guard Jermaine Taylor (Tavares, Fla.).
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 contest with 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 his performance against Holy Cross, Taylor now leads C-USA in scoring at 23.6 points per game... This morning, Speraw was a guest on The Beat of Sports with Marc Daniels and Mike Bianchi on 1190 AM in Orlando. Speraw spoke about Taylor's play and also previewed the contest with Memphis... The Knights are averaging 84.1 points at the UCF Arena this year... Wednesday is the first day of the spring semester at UCF and the Knights are not scheduled to practice.