Aug. 7, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - In recent years, the UCF men's basketball team has played contests all over the Sunshine State. The Knights have played Florida in Jacksonville and Gainesville, participated in a tournament in Lake Buena Vista, met USF in Tampa and faced Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. Despite the many in-state games, UCF has not ventured east to Daytona Beach.
That will change in November when the squad competes at the Glenn Wilkes Classic. Head coach Kirk Speraw's squad will play three contests at the Ocean Center - Auburn (Nov. 20), Niagara (Nov. 21) and Drake (Nov. 22).
The games at the tournament will mark UCF's first trip to Volusia County since a 75-57 victory over Bethune-Cookman at the Ocean Center in 1997.
Expect to see large contingent of UCF fans at the event. UCF season ticket holders will receive complimentary tickets to watch the Knights play in the tournament.
UCF will begin the event on Nov. 18, hosting Howard at the UCF Arena. Akron, Austin Peay, Georgia State, IUPUI and NC State are also participating in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, which is in its third year. Utah claimed the title a year ago. The event is organized by Sport Tours International.
The Knights' last in-season tournament in Florida came in 2007 when UCF faced Villanova, Kansas State and Penn State at the Old Spice Classic in nearby Lake Buena Vista.
Season tickets for the 2009-10 campaign are currently on sale. New season ticket orders are currently being accepted by the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000 or by visiting UCFAthletics.com. The Knights will open the slate on Nov. 13, hosting UMass at the UCF Arena.
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: Speraw and the rest of the UCF coaching staff took great pride Wednesday when former star Jermaine Taylor inked a multi-year contract with the Houston Rockets. An All-America selection in 2008-09 for the Knights, the shooting guard was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the NBA Draft in June. The Rockets will be in Orlando on Dec. 23 to face the Magic.