Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 1975-76 Team

Before packed arenas and national rankings, before conference tournaments and March storylines, there was a group of players crisscrossing Orlando in carpools, chasing practice time in borrowed gyms — and building something historic.

The 1975-76 season marked UCF men’s basketball’s first year competing in the Sunshine State Conference. By the end of that inaugural league campaign, the Knights didn’t just belong — they owned it.

UCF finished 20-5 overall and a perfect 10-0 in conference play, capturing the Sunshine State Conference title in its first year of existence. (There was no conference tournament until 1978.) It was a statement season, fueled by elite scoring, relentless defense and a chemistry forged far from home.

A Scoring Machine

The numbers still jump off the page five decades later.

UCF averaged 94.8 points per game, the seventh-highest scoring average in Sunshine State Conference history. The Knights topped the 100-point mark regularly and rewrote record books in the process.

On Dec. 6, 1975, UCF delivered the most prolific offensive performance in program history, pouring in 163 points in a 163-90 victory over Clearwater Christian. The 73-point margin still ranks as the second-largest win in program history.

At the center of the offensive onslaught were two of the most dynamic scorers the conference has ever seen.

Shaw averaged 25.4 points per game, the eighth-highest single-season mark in Sunshine State Conference history. Bo Clark followed closely at 24.1 points per game, ranking 10th all-time in league history. Together, they formed a backcourt nightmare.

“It was one of those teams where people say, ‘Pick your poison,’” Shaw said. “Are you going to let me shoot? Are you going to let Bo shoot? Are you going to let Prather shoot or even Calvin shoot? All of us could score.”

And when Jerry Prather got hot, perfection wasn’t out of the question. On Jan. 10, 1976, against Dickinson, Prather delivered one of the most efficient performances in program history, shooting a flawless 10-for-10 from the field — one of just three Knights ever to post a perfect shooting game with at least 10 made field goals.

But for all the offensive fireworks, the Knights’ identity ran deeper.

“Torchy made us play defense, whether we wanted to or not,” Shaw said. “If you didn’t play defense, Torchy was not going to have you on the floor.”

That standard came from head coach Torchy Clark, who was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year after guiding UCF to the league’s inaugural title. Shaw and Clark earned first-team all-conference honors, while Calvin Lingelbach and Prather received honorable mention recognition, further cementing the team’s dominance across the roster.

“The Jets” Take Flight

For Calvin Lingelbach, the season represented more than wins and numbers. It marked the beginning of something organized and meaningful.

“That team was really special,” Lingelbach said. “That was the first year of the Sunshine State Conference. There were five other schools: Eckerd, Rollins, St. Leo and Florida Southern, and they came together at the Division II level to form a conference. It was great because we weren’t just playing games anymore; we were playing with a goal in mind.”

The Knights embraced that goal quickly.

“We had a pretty good year — actually, a great year,” Lingelbach said. “The guys around me — Bennie, Shaw, Bo — we called ourselves ‘The Jets’ because we scored a lot of points. Bo was unbelievable. Just really good guys all around. We went undefeated, which was very cool, and then advanced to the NCAA Tournament. There were a lot of ‘firsts’ that season that we didn’t even think about at the time. We were just a bunch of young guys playing basketball because we loved it.”

Fifty years later, the weight of those accomplishments feels even heavier.

“Somebody mentioned to me that 50 years ago, we went undefeated, and I thought, ‘You know what? You’re absolutely right,’” Lingelbach said. “Now looking back, it’s even cooler than it felt then.”

Built Without a Home

What makes the 1975-76 team’s run even more remarkable is where it happened and where it didn’t.

UCF didn’t have its own gym.

Practices rotated between Oviedo, the Navy base, the armory and wherever the team could find open court space after high school practices ended. University Boulevard was a one-lane road. Technology didn’t exist to track schedules or standings. Everything required extra effort.

“We didn’t even have a gym on campus, so we were traveling all over Central Florida to practice,” Lingelbach said. “It was definitely a challenge, but I think it made us stronger. We spent so much time together because we had to, and that helped us grow closer.”

Shaw echoed the sentiment.

“We would go to class, get out of class, jump in a car and carpool,” he said. “We became very close because we spent so much time together. It was a lot of fun.”

The inconvenience became an advantage. Hours on the road turned into lifelong bonds.

“I played against guys like Bennie Shaw in high school, he was at Boone, and we were rivals,” Lingelbach said. “For two years we battled each other, and then suddenly we’re teammates, hugging each other. Bo Clark was this pesky sophomore at Bishop Moore that we couldn’t stand playing against, and then I end up playing for his dad.”

That father figure was Coach Clark.

“When I think of FTU basketball, he’s at the top of the list,” Lingelbach said. “He was like another dad to me. His priorities were always faith and family before basketball. Whether he meant to or not, he taught us life lessons every day. I always remember those three words: faith, family and friends. Basketball fit in there somewhere, but those came first.”

A First of Many

For Shaw, the 1975-76 season also became the launching point for a milestone no one can erase: becoming the first player in UCF history drafted into the NBA.

“I wasn’t very sure that I was even good enough to play in the NBA,” Shaw said.

One night, Coach Clark walked into the locker room with news: Wayne Embry, general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, was in attendance.

“I said, ‘Wayne Embry? Who’s Wayne Embry?’” Shaw recalled. “He said he’s the general manager for the Milwaukee Bucks.”

Shaw responded with 35 points. Embry returned the next night to see if he could do it again, evaluating whether he could handle the grind of back-to-back games. Another strong performance followed.

“He came in, introduced himself and said, ‘We will be drafting you to the NBA,’” Shaw said. “I couldn’t believe it. I’m a kid from the projects. I wasn’t familiar with a lot of that stuff.”

It was one more first for a team that seemed to specialize in them.

More Than Basketball

Lingelbach’s senior year brought a long-promised on-campus gym, though even that came with challenges. A leak under the floor limited its use, and he battled through a knee injury down the stretch.

Still, none of it dims the memory.

“With all the pine trees, all the sand I got my car stuck in, all the challenges — I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Lingelbach said. “Not for all the money in the world.”

Time has only deepened the meaning.

“The relationships with Bennie and Bo have lasted a lifetime,” he said. “We’ve lost two members of that 1975-76 team, and that makes looking back even more meaningful.”

What once felt like “Hey, we won another game,” now stands as a foundation. From borrowed gyms to conference championships, from Division II beginnings to the national stage UCF occupies today, the 1975-76 Knights helped chart the course.

“It’s just special looking back on it all,” Lingelbach said. “And I’m grateful for the opportunity to share the story.”

In the Sunshine State Conference’s inaugural season, UCF didn’t just join a league.

The Knights built a legacy.

About UCF Athletics
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.