Dec. 19, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
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Everything that Athletics Director Keith Tribble ever wanted in a bowl game has presented itself perfectly to UCF this week at the St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef `O' Brady's.
From the proximity of the game, the rabid, loyal support of UCF's fanbase to the level of opponent from a BCS-affiliated conference, Tribble said tonight's game against Rutgers (8-4) is a perfect storm of sorts for the Knights (8-4).
``If you line up everything that could go right we could go down the line and check off every box - a great game, a great venue, a great city, our fans get to travel, we sold all of our tickets and now all that is left is us to play the game,'' Tribble said. ``It's just a great opportunity for us to be here.''
As proud as Tribble is of the football team winning eight games and winning the final six Conference USA games to get to this point, Tribble said he was overjoyed at the way UCF fans rallied behind the team once the St. Pete Bowl was awarded. UCF needed four allotments of tickets and expects to have as many as 20,000 of the 28,000 at Tropicana Field tonight.
Tribble promised the St. Pete Bowl that if UCF got a bid to the game Knights fans would come out to the game in droves. He rallied the fansbase, telling it that school's reputations are borne out of games like this. And no one was happier at the ticket numbers sold than Tribble.
``We challenged our fans and they responded. We told them, `If you want to be considered a top program in football who will be considered for bowls in the future we had to show the community and the country that we could sell tickets,''' Tribble said. ``I'm so proud of our fans heeding that call to support this program.''
``We have more than 16,000 tickets sold and probably 20,000 of the 28,000 fans in the dome are going to be UCF fans,'' Tribble continued. ``That makes a big statement to the rest of the country that UCF supports its team and if you invite us to a bowl in the future we will come there in numbers. I'm proud of our fans and I know our players are proud and it's going to be a homefield advantage just like Bright House Networks Stadium.''
Tribble is proud of the fact that UCF is one of just two schools from C-USA who will be facing a BCS-affiliated team this postseason. Getting a chance to prove itself against Rutgers from the Big East could put the Knights in position to make a move should the college football conference landscape shift dramatically in the coming months.
Tribble insisted that UCF is happy in Conference USA, but that the school will investigate any and all opportunities that arise. The Big 10 has made clear its intensions to expand to 12 teams, meaning it could pluck a team from the Big East and create and opening in a BCS-aligned league for the Knights.
Tribble also said that UCF's strong finish to this season is proof positive that the football team is in good hands under coach George O'Leary. The Knights are in a bowl for the third time in five years, and Tribble said there's great pride in watching how this team responded after starting the season 2-2. UCF won its last six conference games, keeping the heat eventual champion East Carolina all the way down to the regular season's final week.
``Early on we were all sitting around wondering what direction is the program going to take after coming off a year that wasn't a good year for us,'' Tribble said. ``But the coaching staff and players decided this year wasn't going to be like last year. This was going to be a year where they competed to for a championship, and we did that right down to the end.
``I think now you see the foundation and the upward movement of the program,'' he continued. ``Not only in the win-loss aspect of it, but also in recruiting. Now, the only thing we have to do is start football again. As soon as this bowl game is over you want it to start back again. I'm very excited about where we are and where we're headed as a program.''
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.