April 12, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Surrounded by hundreds of student-athletes who have helped take UCF to heights it has never before reached, Athletics Director Keith Tribble was presented with a scrapbook on Monday night as thanks for his unwavering support.
But in reality the scrapbook presented at UCF's Student-Athlete Black & Gold Gala was unnecessary; considering the dynamic athletic year that UCF has just had with numerous national rankings, several Conference USA championships and NCAA berths aplenty. Tribble said he won't soon forget this year's rise of UCF's athletics program.
``I was sitting there listening to all of the accomplishments both athletically and academically and it was just amazing to me what these student-athletes have accomplished this year,'' Tribble said following the gala. ``They have bought into the idea that we're going to win in the classroom and on the field of competition. I just feel like what we've started is something that's going to continue for years to come. I'll never forget this because it's a start of something that's going to be here a long time. We've been working hard for a long time to put together a program that we could showcase to this community and to ourselves.''
In some ways, UCF announced itself to the sports world this season with its long list of accomplishments. The football, men's basketball, baseball, outdoor track, indoor track, men's soccer and women's soccer programs all were nationally ranked at some point this season. Fresh off an 11-win season and a victory in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the football team finished the season ranked No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches poll and could start next season in the national rankings again.
This year, UCF is one of just 10 schools in the country to have a Top-25 ranking in football, men's basketball and baseball. The Knights are the only BCS non-automatically qualifying football school in that group that can boast a ranking in all three sports. That list of 10 schools includes: UCF, Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Texas and Texas A&M.
Meanwhile, UCF is the only school in the country to have their football, men's basketball, baseball, women's soccer, men's soccer and women's indoor track and field programs ranked this season.
Football, women's basketball and indoor and outdoor track also highlighted the year with league championships. Tribble has spent plenty of time on podiums in the past year, accepting C-USA trophies on behalf of UCF's championship-worthy teams. And in his eyes, having the Knights enjoy success across the board is something not only enjoyed, but also expected.
Tribble's mantra is that if good people are hired to lead programs and the proper resources are provided there is no reason that the Knights shouldn't win C-USA titles and also compete on a national level. While he is overjoyed that UCF's programs are starting to do just that, Tribble said the school is simply fulfilling its destiny as a powerhouse program.
``One of the things that we strive for is that we have 16 sports and we want to try to win championships in all 16 every time that we can,'' Tribble said. ``The football player, the soccer player and the golfer all work hard each and every day and they deserve to a chance to win championships. So that's what we're pushing for and working toward each and every day.''
The gala also gave a nod to the Knights' success in the classroom as 219 student-athletes at UCF had at least a 3.0 grade-point average in the past school year. According to the latest UCF graduation rates recently published, student-athletes have surpassed the campus average.
For students who first enrolled at UCF for the fall of 2004, the student-athlete graduation rate of 67 percent is a 12-point improvement from the previous academic year. The 67 percent graduation rate is also four points higher than the UCF general student population that was admitted in the fall of 2004.
Helping lead the charge was the football team, which graduated student-athletes at a 70 percent clip. Football was also named the ``Team of the Year'' at Monday's gala.
In Tribble's eyes, the national recognition and conference championship success that UCF has achieved in the past year is significant, but it's just the start of something even grander to come in the following years. Now that UCF has established itself as a player on the national scene and has launched a pattern of success, Tribble sees more and more accomplishments to come.
``It's something that we hoped for, and to have it coming true now and seeing the student-athletes buying into it all, it's amazing to see,'' Tribble said. ``You see a competitiveness being developed that we can compete with anybody in the country.
``Oh yeah, definitely, I think this is just the start for us,'' he continued.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.