Central Florida has lots to offer, but no one is buying

Sporting News, The, April 12, 1999 by Mark Blaudschun

Unless your name is Notre Dame and you get courted for partnership annually by conferences from coast-to-coast, life as an independent isn't much fun.

Chief among the headaches is scheduling. And there also is the nightmare and the uncertainty of securing a bowl bid and the accompanying riches. Which brings us to UCF, the University of Central Florida. Or, "Why Doesn't Anyone Want These Guys University?"

Good question. From a football standpoint, what's not to like? The school is in a big market in Orlando, which is one of the ii fastest-growing cities in the country. Central Florida plays its games in the 70,000-seat Florida Citrus Bowl, is in the heart of one of the deepest talent pools in the country and has good facilities. Yet, no conference wants to touch the school. The problem is the Golden Knights got too good, too quickly.

In 1997, Central Florida gave Nebraska all it could handle for a half in Lincoln before succumbing, 38-24. UCF was at it again last year, when it dropped a 10-6 decision at Auburn in a contest the Golden Knights led throughout.

Although the Golden Knights were proud of their effort, they didn't make any friends among Division I-A big boys. Didn't Central Florida, which is still looking for a breakthrough victory, know it was supposed to serve as road kill and that fighting back was prohibited? The Golden Knights' refusal to play along has caused the phone of UCF athletic director Steve Sloan to ring with anxious athletic directors requesting to get out of games. Indeed, life as the nation's best independent not named Notre Dame can be lonely. So, let's play matchmaker.

Central Florida and the Big East would be a perfect fit. If a stadium issue in Hartford, Conn., is resolved, the conference figures to add UConn in a few years, which means the Huskies will go through growing pains at the same time as Central Florida. And the conference already is saddled with perpetually struggling Temple.

Lord knows the much-maligned Big East could use a rising star in a market as rich as Orlando. You would think the league's coaches would love another opportunity to play in Florida--other than Miami--and tap the central Florida region for talent. But ask the Big East people about Central Florida, and you get a big yawn.

"Not going to happen," they say. "No interest."

It seems no one brings up a Central Florida-Big East merger other than some fruitcakes in the media. Make no mistake, if Central Florida were able to join a major conference such as the Big East, the Golden Knights would get competitive quickly. It makes little sense to attempt to build rivalries like Pittsburgh-West Virginia or Temple-Rutgers when there is an opportunity to create the Big East's version of Florida-Florida State in a Central Florida-Miami game.

"They (the Big East) haven't shown any interest in us," Central Florida coach Mike Kruczek says. "I think we could be competitive right away."

A year ago with quarterback Daunte Culpepper leading the way, UCF went 9-2 and didn't get a bowl bid. "That," Kruczek says, "was tough to deal with, especially when you see teams with 6-5 records go to bowl games."

Forced into life as an independent after jumping from Division I-AA to I-A in 1996, UCF has taken the we'll-play-you-anywhere-anytime route, which is how Bobby Bowden built his Florida State powerhouse.

Next September, for example, UCF opens at home against Purdue and then plays consecutive games at Florida, Georgia Tech and Georgia. "How's that for a first month?" says Kruczek, whose team also plays at Auburn in November. "But a lot of teams won't schedule us."

Without Culpepper, without a bowl tie-in that comes with conference affiliation, UCF must deal with a variety of problems as it tries to establish itself on the I-A level. Right now, the Golden Knights' schedule is filled for the next few years, featuring games against Georgia Tech, Alabama and Virginia Tech in 2000 and games vs. Clemson, Syracuse and Virginia Tech in 2001, but after that, openings are available.

"All we can do is get ourselves into a position where we are attractive to other conferences such as the Big East or ACC," Sloan says.

Mark Blaudschun covers college football for the Boston Globe. E-mail him at blaudschun@sportingnews.com.

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