May 9, 2006
Texas to open UCF's new stadium
For an update to a previous story here at Fanblogs, Central Florida and Texas have signed a 3-game contract that begins in 2007. The Golden Knights will open their new on-campus stadium with a visit from the Longhorns on September 15, 2007. The new stadium will seat 45,000 fans.
Both return engagements, in 2009 and 2011, will be at Texas. The 2007 game is expected to be picked up by ESPN. The Longhorns have also added games with Arkansas in 2008 and 2009, UTEP in 2008 and 2009 and TCU in 2007. Previous games with Rice ('10, '11, and '13) and UCLA ('10, '11) were previously scheduled.
Comments:
Gatorpilot said:
posted on May 10, 2006 8:52 AM — 72.146.114.176 — link — abuse?
I applaud UCF for being willing to schedule big-name, tough opponents -- who will likely smash them into oblivion for now -- because by playing great teams, a so-so team will inevitably get better. Still, wouldn't it have been more of a feel-good measure for the fans, staff, and players to schedule a more reasonable (read: more likely to actually COMPETE with) opponent to open the new stadium?
On the flip side, if they actually BEAT Texas, it will be the stuff of legend. Still, I give 'em odds of about 1:200 that it'll happen.
Joe said:
posted on May 11, 2006 12:08 PM — 65.35.218.18 — link — abuse?
UCF made an excellent business move in deciding to build an on campus Stadium. It has been more than obvious that the Citrus bowl is a dump not worth the trouble or effort and Orlando despite being pretty well off economically isn't interested in renovating a stadium that probably should be condemned.
Contrast this with the Miami/Dade situation with the Orange Bowl which should have been condemned long ago. Wonder what OSHA would say??? This Miami/Dade municipality in its extreme intelligence??? is about to pour probably close to 100 Million into renovating this "dump" for "private school" Miami?? Fiscal irresponsiblity at its finest!! How on earth could any taxpayer with even half a brain not object to this incredible taxpayer waste??
UM should just move up the road to Joe Robbie or follow the UCF lead and build a stadium closer to the campus. Would make far more sense JMO.FanoftheGame said:
posted on May 12, 2006 5:01 PM — 12.43.234.14 — link — abuse?
I don't think it was a matter of whether UCF willing to schedule the horns. I think every smaller school in the country would jump at the oppurtunity to play a national powerhouse like UT. It's almost always a case of the Powerhouse school not willing to schedule a long road trip to a smaller venue. And kudos to the Longhorns for scheduling the 1 Florida school that they should be able to handle without much of a problem.
Joe said:
posted on May 13, 2006 12:16 AM — 70.127.80.94 — link — abuse?
Gatorpilot says:
posted on May 10, 2006 08:52 AM — link
"I applaud UCF for being willing to schedule big-name, tough opponents"It is interesting for you to state that. So why is UF so unwilling to schedule home and away bigtime opponents Out of conference? Heck, UF has avoided strong instate Rival Miami for years. Why is that? It seems somehow UCF can afford to play all kinds of bigtime opponents home or away. Also, before anyone claims UCF has no chance I seem to remember them beating Alabama a few years ago on their home field. How soon we forget!!
Gatorpilot said:
posted on May 13, 2006 7:37 PM — 72.146.114.176 — link — abuse?
Joe: Yeah... but Alabama was pretty stinky at that time. They're a lot better now.
Hey, I'm a UCF alum, although my allegiance is to the Gators. I was the only guy in the family too dumb to make it into UF. I wish the Golden Knights well, but unless it's green with long rows of razor-sharp teeth, well... I'm just not that interested.
Just drove by the new stadium today to play tennis, in fact. I can't decide if I think it's a bit premature to dump a bunch of money into a stadium based on one winning season. Yes, I know the plans were in place well before that. But they had no steam until O'Leary started winning.
Go Gators!
Gatorpilot said:
posted on May 13, 2006 7:39 PM — 72.146.114.176 — link — abuse?
Oh, and Joe - Foley (UF's athletic director) has been working on a game with Miami in 2008. Last year's opener was with Wyoming, who was no slouch, and our conference schedule is ungodly tough. This year we'll play 8 teams who went to bowls last year. USC and Notre Dame ought to see what that's like.
Heck, I'd love to play Miami again. Miami's beaten us a bunch of times in recent years and I know most Gators are salivating at the chance for some payback.
Joe said:
posted on May 14, 2006 6:37 AM — 70.127.80.94 — link — abuse?
Gator Pilot,
Fair enough. Now if only it looked more like Urban and Foley would salivate more there would be no discussion, and Miami would be back to being played every season. Truthfully since the SEC championship has more to do with determining the post season there really is no reason not to play UM every year. Win or Lose the game will have little effect on UF's SEC title hopes or MNC aspirations. These new Championship games have changed the way one should look at CFB.
Personally, I think UCF is making the "right move" with an on campus stadium. By the same token USF should never build an on campus stadium with Raymond James already built.
Joe said:
posted on May 14, 2006 6:41 AM — 70.127.80.94 — link — abuse?
Gator Pilot,
Fair enough.
Now if only it looked more like Urban and Foley would salivate more there would be no discussion, and Miami would be back to being played every season. Truthfully since the SEC championship has more to do with determining the post season there really is no reason not to play UM every year. Win or Lose the game will have little effect on UF's SEC title hopes or MNC aspirations. These new Championship games have changed the way one should look at CFB.Personally, I think UCF is making the "right move" with an on campus stadium. By the same token USF should never build an on campus stadium with Raymond James already built.
Do you actually think you are not smart enough to succeed at UF? I think you are vastly over rating the difficulty of that school of almost 50,000 students I believe. UF is no Harvard of the South despite all the bragging by UF fans.
Gatorpilot said:
posted on May 14, 2006 8:36 AM — 72.146.114.176 — link — abuse?
Getting into UF is extremely tough. It's closer to 40,000 students. Perfect grades, great SATs and good community involvement aren't enough. I had no chance of getting in, but I wasn't a very motivated student when I was a youngster. Whatever. Here's a little exercise for you. Compare the number of merit scholars at UF to any other school in the southeast. Then come back and let me know what you really think about "The Harvard of the South."
Joe said:
posted on May 14, 2006 10:25 PM — 70.127.80.94 — link — abuse?
As a former educator anyone waving the educational excellence flag for any institution in the state of Florida is barking up the wrong tree.
Secondary school education nationwide and in Florida is a joke. Monkeys could obtain a 4.0 today. Someday someone will have to explain how one obtains a 5.0 or 6.0 GPA when 4.0 is considered perfect... Total BS!Hey its all about pseudo- self- esteem and feeling good about oneself not about actual accomplishment. Frankly, I am extremely unimpressed with educational standards today.You get out of College what you put into it. Doesn't matter if you attend UCF,USF, FSU, UF or any other institution. This bragging over academic excellence is really funny. Hey, if it makes you feel good go for it!! Just don't expect me to join you in such praise for mediocrity.
Gatorpilot said:
posted on May 16, 2006 7:21 AM — 72.146.114.176 — link — abuse?
As a former educator, you're out of touch, Joe. UF certainly does meet the standard of excellence academically and I'm not saying that because I'm biased toward the school. You're forgetting that I attended UCF, and we have family friends whose children attended FSU (Bless and forgive them, Lord), while most of my family went to UF. There is absolutely NO comparison. UF is by far the best school academically (and in athletics, but hey, that's another topic) in the state of Florida and arguably in the southeast. You may not see any point in waving a flag based on your FSU proclivities, and that is understandable, but don't allow the lower standards throughout the state - with which you've apparently become comfortable -- lead you to make false statements about UF.
Joe said:
posted on May 16, 2006 10:49 AM — 65.35.218.18 — link — abuse?
All I can say if you think any College in the state of Florida is some academic stronghold you are indeed clueless. Higher education throughout the country has never been lower in terms of real academic prowess.
For the record I am not a FSU grad. I just believe it is beyond moronic to trump a schools "academic excellence" on a board dedicated to football.
How about answering this question Gator Pilot.Between FSU Miami and UF which has accomplished the least in College football?
And gator pilot goes strangely mute..... LOL
Joe said:
posted on May 17, 2006 8:03 AM — 70.127.80.94 — link — abuse?
Orange and Blue!!
That was good! Sorry, but I don't want to go Gainesville.FSU has accomplished less? Are you sure about that?
Would you like to compare MNC's? How about Bowl wins?
How about Top 5 finishes? How about Consecutive bowl wins... How about wins over Bigtime National powers?Oh that's right the gators are better because they beat FSU last year!! ROFLMAO!!
Paul said:
posted on May 23, 2006 12:57 PM — 168.184.220.4 — link — abuse?
One of these days, whether it's in five, ten, or fifty years, UCF will be a football power. Since 1979 UCF has been growing by leaps and bounds. 2003 and 2004 were the program's only really bad seasons during that time. But I predict that no matter how good they get, they will not ever get any respect from FSU, UF, or UM... even if they beat them. UCF is just too young to be respected in football by old programs. And boards like this will always be around for FSU, UF, and UM fans to hoot and holler on. The other I-A programs in Florida (FIU, FAU, USF) are in the same boat, except for the fact they will never be much better than they are now.
OTownJayKNights said:
posted on June 28, 2006 11:15 PM — 70.115.198.62 — link — abuse?
Hey Chitownbilly goat. I wouldn't brag to much about your big joke east conf. The only thing thats good for is basketball. And yeah you guys might of won last year but this year you won't. As for UCF playing UT that will be a great game. UT this past year had a great team, def glad to see USC go down. I believe this year is going to be a lot harder for Texas, and come time when they play UCF things will be different. And UF sucks, there gonna lose this year to UCF, just watch ESPN prime time for all the good highlights of the Knightro kicked that sorry excuse of a gator mascot ass.
Mitch said:
posted on August 5, 2006 10:44 PM — 72.155.89.253 — link — abuse?
The Gators have had the toughest time of any of the Big Three because they're in the strongest conference in the nation, unlike FSU and Miami which are in weaker conferences. You can debate the past all you want, but it's more exciting to look to the future. And I see UCF's star rising. I don't think they'll beat Texas in any of those games, but they are getting better, and O'Leary will be there for a while. If they have a couple more good seasons like '05, they could get to the point where they can recruit well enough to compete on the field with elite teams in a few years. I'd personally love to see UCF become Florida's "fourth team." I've even read speculation that the Big East might want to expand and UCF would be a good candidate - get them into a BCS conference and they'd jump up a few notches in the eyes of players and fans, and they shouldn't have much trouble beating most of the Big East teams in a few years.
goknights said:
posted on September 6, 2006 8:25 AM — 159.178.48.185 — link — abuse?
There are definitely some funny and very uninformed things in here.
First, UF is definitely closer to 50,000 students at 49,650 according to last fall's numbers.
Second, Joe is right about the Florida education thing. UF may currently be the best university in the state, but that's really not saying a whole lot. And they only have so many National Merit scholars because they bribe them to come here. Most schools don't offer to pay 40k to any merit scholar who wants to attend. Just look at the facebook group "Bribed by National Merit" to see how many students only came here for the money. I could've gotten into UCF in a heartbeat, but wouldn't have dared waste the state's money (bright futures) or my time.
Third, if you actually think UF has accomplished more than FSU or UM in football, you're retarded. But that wouldn't surprise me since UF is often made fun of for having the arrogance of Notre Dame with the history of, say Minnesota.
Fourth, it's not like Alabama is the only big school we've played in recent years. How about Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Wisconsin, South Carolina (who beat the Gators), West Virginia.
Fifth, USF is only ahead of us because of some questionable recruiting practices that they've gotten away with until now. It's been rumored for a few years now that they may get caught and somehow they always get away with it. It'll catch up with them in the end.
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Jarred said:
posted on May 10, 2006 12:33 AM — 12.178.128.24 — link — abuse?The game agianst Arkansas in 2008 will open the newly expanded Royal-Memerial stadium. go hougues!