May 6, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFathletics.com) - Following Thursday's ribbon-cutting proceedings to display $1.2 million in enhancements, UCF's track & field team finally has a dazzling home facility to match it progress as an up-and-coming program.
Winners of both the Outdoor and Indoor Conference USA Championships and nationally ranked again this week, UCF's track & field squad welcomed Thursday's grand opening of the new facility that puts it in position to host bigger meets and possibly even regional competitions in the future.
``This is a big step in the right director for our program,'' UCF track & field head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said. ``We can have more people come and I can invite more teams now. Before, I couldn't invite as many teams because we didn't have anywhere for people to sit. Now, this is a nice, open environment. When I first came (to UCF) it was unknown and there was nowhere to sit and nowhere to camp. But now we've had the University of Texas, Florida, Tennessee and more and more schools here. And now that we have places to sit, restroom facilities and concession stand areas, it's going to be really nice here.''
The $1.2 million upgrade to the facility will add 1,475 more seats and take the capacity to more than 2,000. There is also a new press box, sound system and permanent restroom facilities. The main entrance of the facility was upgraded as well as additions made to the track to give UCF's highly successful squads an even better place to compete.
The facility also serves as home to UCF's men's and women's soccer teams, both of which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
``This is what it's all about. If you want to have a championship program, you have to have the facilities first and foremost,'' UCF Athletics Director Keith Tribble said. ``We have a fantastic football facility, basketball facility and now this track and soccer facility was just something on a long list needed for us to be successful. I'm excited for our programs because our student-athletes deserve this. We're looking forward to them to win a lot of championships in this new facility.''
Smith Gilbert and her athletes have been able to watch the progress of the expansion on a daily basis as they have practiced for the season at the track. UCF will be trying to repeat as Outdoor C-USA championships next weekend at Rice. The Knights, who are led by All-American hurdler Jackie Coward, have been ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation this season.
Smith Gilbert said the upgraded facility will help her compete with the likes of Florida and other Southeastern Conference schools for the kind of elite recruits who can make UCF a perennial national powerhouse. One of those recruits, Octavious Freeman, who is considered the nation's best prep sprinter, has already signed a National Letter of Intent with UCF and was on hand Thursday for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new facility.
``Our recruiting class is phenomenal. Octavious is going to be a great asset to our program and we have the momentum we need,'' Smith Gilbert said. ``Now, we just want to continue that momentum and keep it rolling. We're getting a lot of athletes coming in from all over who want to run for us.''
Smith Gilbert said everything is in place now for the Knights to someday put together a team full of All-Americans that can compete for a national championship.
``(The stadium upgrades) wasn't the last missing piece, but it's a really big deal for us,'' she said. ``Before it was hard to go up against the University of Florida and athletes go and see their track and come see ours. It made it look like we didn't have much when we really do. Everything is visible with this generation and they are into what it looks like. So this facility now is going to be a big deal and now we can show athletes that UCF has the same things that all of the other Division I schools have.''
==== John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.