|
The UCF Knights athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. These teams are collectively referred to as the Knights. UCF participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I (FBS for football) as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). UCF, its athletic program, and the university's alumni and sports fans are sometimes jointly referred to as the "UCF Nation," and are represented by the mascot Knightro. The "Knight" was chosen as the university mascot in 1970 by student election. The "Knights of Pegasus" – as it was originally called – was a submission put forth by students, staff, and faculty, who wished to replace UCF's original mascot, the Citronaut, which was a mix between an orange and an astronaut. The Knights were also chosen over "Vincent the Vulture," which was a popular unofficial mascot among students at the time.〔 In 1994, Knightro debuted as the Knights official athletic mascot. The Knights field 16 varsity teams, 6 men, 9 women and one co-ed sport, that have won numerous national and conference titles. The Knights football team won conference championships in 2007 and 2010, and the Knights women's basketball team won conference titles the 2009 and 2010. The UCF cheerleading team has captured two national titles at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals, in 2003 and 2007. Athletics facilities on the campus include the 44,206–seat Bright House Networks Stadium, the 10,072–seat CFE Arena, 3,000–seat Venue, Jay Bergman Field, the UCF Soccer and Track Stadium, and the UCF Softball Complex. ==Traditions and history== The UCF varsity athletic program was a charter member of the Sunshine State Conference in 1975. The school moved up to Division I in 1984. In its first years in D-I, UCF was a member of the American South Conference, merging into the Sun Belt Conference in 1991. Women's sports in Division I played in the New South Women's Athletic Conference until 1990, when the American South began organizing women's sports. In 1992, UCF joined the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in all D-I sports except football, which remained independent.〔Annual standings published in ''Official NCAA Football Records Book'', 1992-1996 editions〕 In 1996, UCF was advanced to I-A (FBS) in football, and initially remained independent in football until becoming a football-only member of the Mid-American Conference in 2001, the same year the TAAC became the Atlantic Sun Conference. UCF joined Conference USA (C-USA) in all sports in 2005, and the American Athletic Conference (The American) in 2013. The university's first unofficial mascot was the Citronaut, which was designed by Norman Van Meter, the brother-in-law of FTU's then-president Charles N. Millican. The Citronaut only made one official appearance on a university publication, the cover of the 1968–69 student handbook. The sports teams were originally known as the "Knights of the Pegasus" – UCF's first official mascot – beginning with their first intercollegiate competitions in 1970. The moniker was switched to "Golden Knights" in 1993 as a solution to poor merchandise sales.〔('Golden' era ends for Knights ) ''Orlando Sentinel''〕 The mascot of the athletic teams is Knightro, a black knight with gold armor. The university has asked to be identified as UCF when being referenced as opposed to Central Florida. Television networks and other media outlets, most notably ESPN, have been slow to adopt this policy. In 2007, UCF made major changes to its athletic program. A new "athletic village" on the north end of campus known as Knights Plaza was developed. It included new sports facilities such as the new CFE Arena connected to the existing Venue at UCF and a new 45,000 seat football stadium known as the Bright House Networks Stadium, a new softball complex, and the only Division I indoor football practice facility in the state. This made UCF the first school to ever open a new stadium and arena at the same time, for the 2007-08 season.〔(Convocation Center Update ) ''CFE Arena''〕 It also includes Jay Bergman Field and UCF Soccer and Track Stadium. The area was built in a downtown style with four towers of student housing including approximately 1000 beds, retail and restaurant areas, and a new pedestrian mall connecting the front of the new arena to the student union. To mark the start of the new era, the teams names were reverted to "Knights" from the "Golden Knights" on May 4, 2007. In addition, new logos and uniforms were unveiled for all of UCF's athletic programs.〔(UCF Athletics Reveals New Logo and Font )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「UCF Knights」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|