Aug. 22, 2009
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF LUNCHEON GALLERY
ORLANDO, Fla. -
UCF football's Countdown to Kickoff weekend continues on Sunday with the annual Football Fall FanFest.
On Sunday, come on out to the UCF campus and Bright House Networks Stadium to purchase your new football season tickets and take part in the UCF Football Select-A-Seat event between 1-3 p.m. Meet the ticket sales staff in the lobby of the Roth Tower on the west side of the stadium.
While on campus on Sunday, stop by and catch the last open practice of the preseason for the football from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in the Nicholson Fieldhouse. After the Select-A-Seat event, your best chance this fall to meet, greet and take photos with your entire 2009 Knights football team will occur at their annual UCF Football Fall FanFest in the west concourse at Bright House Networks Stadium between 3-5 p.m. Inbetween the events, UCF will take its 2009 team photo, weather permitting, in the stadium's north stands.
There is no admission charge and parking is free in Lots E6, E7 and E8 around the stadium. The UCF Campus Barnes & Noble Bookstore will be on site to provide additional items to get signed by the student-athletes and coaches. Boston Culinary Group will also staff concessions located near the Gate 17 entrance. The 2009 football schedule poster and schedule cards will also be available for free, courtesy of the UCF Athletics Sports Marketing Office. UCF's cheerleaders, Knight Moves and Knightro will also be on-hand to sign autographs.
On Friday, about 1,200 people attended UCF's inaugural on-campus Countdown to Kickoff Luncheon at UCF Arena. The crowd, which sold out the available table space and had to overflow into the "sideline seats" in the stands, was thrilled by performances by the Marching Knights, cheerleaders and Knight Moves dance team.
The entire UCF football team was in attendance and each table had an opportunity to dine and talk football with two student-athletes and/or coaching staff members. Several UCF football legends were available for autographs in the lobby. Outside of the building, fans got to see the new Pegasus up close, the Lipizzaner stallion which will perform as a part of UCF's pregame show this fall.
In addition to speeches by UCF President Dr. John Hitt and Bright House Networks President Chris Fenger, head coach George O'Leary spoke with great optimism about the 2009 Knights. Coordinators Dave Huxtable and Charlie Taaffe discussed their respective sides of the ball and introduced fans to the team's starting lineup if the season were to have begun on Friday.
On Saturday morning, UCF held a live scrimmage at the team's practice fields. A crowd of a couple hundred fans watched the final full open practice session of the preseason camp. The fans on a comfortable morning were thrilled by UCF's improved offensive prowess but also saw plenty of fine plays on defense and by the special teams as the day was capped by a 57-yard field goal by freshman Jamie Boyle.
UCF's season opener is slated for Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m. against Samford at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights will play seven contests at home in 2009, including games against the Miami Hurricanes, Buffalo Bulls, Memphis Tigers, Marshall Thundering Herd, Houston Cougars and Tulane Green Wave. Season tickets for UCF's 2009 football campaign at Bright House Networks Stadium are currently available by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at 407-UCF-1000 or logging on to UCFAthletics.com.
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.