Bring on the Cats Blog, Big 12 Expansion Q&A: The Case for UCF

http://www.bringonthecats.com/2016/5/24/11661280/big-12-expansion-the-case-for-central-florida

Big 12 Expansion Awkwardness: USF Edition

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/17/12516408/big-12-expansion-awkwardness-usf-edition

Big 12 expansion, like much of the realignment situation, is awkward. Awkward for the Big 12 which, though in the driver's seat, probably has to expand or eventually die. And certainly awkward for the universities that prostrate themselves before the Big 12 in efforts to secure an invitation.

USF may have raised the awkwardness to a new level. Its Big 12 promotional submission "case statement" includes an egregious spelling error. Naturally, it comes in a section which touts USF's academics:

"Reasearch." In the second sentence. Immediately following a sentence with "research" spelled correctly. The message: ‘Of course I know how to do it right, but I stopped paying attention while proofreading.' Ouch.

The Bulls seem to have a problem with these things from time to time. Their football media guide notes USF's status as an "ermerging" preeminent research university:

That puts other schools' sometimes criticized pitches into perspective, doesn't it?

To be fair to USF, these Big 12 promotional materials were provided in response to a public records request and it's not immediately clear that the error-plagued version has been actually sent to the Big 12. And these are the kind of errors that just sneak through some times. I'm reminded of when UF put a crocodile on its media guide instead of an alligator back in 2003.

Obviously, the Big 12's expansion choices are not going to hinge on typos. And plenty of expansion candidates have warts. BYU, for example, has been correctly criticized for its institutionalized discrimination against LGBT individuals. That's a real problem.

All the same, I'm sure USF would rather the first reaction to its (frankly quite good) submission focus on something other than spelling errors.

UCF's New Football Uniforms: Too Great to Be Done Talking About Them

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/5/26/11722824/ucfs-new-football-uniforms-too-great-to-be-done-talking-about-them

Knights fans:

We need to talk more about UCF's new uniforms.

Yes, I know we already talked a bit about them when the designs were first released. But I'm not done. They're too great for me to be done. And I really like this modernizing trend they're a part of.

Did you see the design inspiration board for this stuff? It is ridiculously cool in its own right. Go and look at it. Seriously. I'll wait.

It's Game of Thrones-y in all the right ways, with an awesome knight dude who should totally replace train-face Knightro (if only that would happen). And sleek aerospace designs. And what may or may not be a subtle homage to Vinny the Vulture, the highly unofficial mascot during 1970 (hard to tell, but I'm saying that bird is BALD and looks more vulture than raven).

But these uniforms. There's much to love here. This "anthracite/white/black/pewter" palette is tremendous. And it's also got the benefit of minimizing the washed out yellow "gold" we've been saddled with for a while:

The details here are great. The sleeves feature UCF's Pegasus logo, looping UCF's academic symbol into athletics uniform design for what is (I believe) the first time ever. And the helmets have a sword mohawk on them. A SWORD MOHAWK. Nine-year-old me is jumping up and down with glee somewhere.

The inside neckline will read "Rise & Conquer" which is -€” in my view at least -€” a far better slogan than "#ChargeOn." And of course, names return to the back of jerseys for the first time since 2004, when George O'Leary had them pulled.

Great as these changes are, I can't help but wish list. I'm dying to see one-off versions of:

1.      Faux-retro Citronaut era uniform and helmet. Baseball sort of did this back in 2014. But I'd love to see football get an even more thorough Citronaut treatment.

2.      A "modern" Citronaut uniform. Give me alternate reality threads, as though UCF had never changed to the Knights.

Seriously UCF. Seriously Nike. Make it happen.

Former UCF Football Coach George O'Leary To Be Honored With Statue

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/23/12613534/former-ucf-football-coach-george-oleary-statue

Appropriately enough, a guy I once compared to Shelley's "Ozymandias" is getting a statue. A statue of former head coach George O'Leary is expected to be installed in 2017, probably on or near Bright House Networks Stadium. As the Orlando Sentinel reports, the effort to install the statue was organized by a group of private donors and approved by the UCF Athletic Association.

No word yet on whether the statue will feature ecstatic ‘post-ECU in 2014 O'Leary' or ‘wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command O'Leary.'

O'Leary is a complicated figure, but undeniably worthy of a statute from a football perspective (despite the winless seasons that bookended his UCF tenure). The Knights' eighth head coach, O'Leary oversaw virtually every major achievement in program history. He coached UCF to the program's first bowl appearance and later to its first bowl win, a Liberty Bowl victory over Georgia in 2010.

The Knights won four conference titles with O'Leary at the helm: two in Conference USA and two in the American Athletic Conference. The inaugural AAC season in 2013 was the high point of both O'Leary's tenure and UCF's football history to date: the Knights went 11-1 in the regular season, won the AAC outright, and smashed Big 12 Champion Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl to end the season ranked #10.

O'Leary's emphasis on player discipline and academics was praiseworthy. There were few player arrests in his tenure and football players succeeded academically. UCF had a 90 percent graduation success rate in 2014: third among public universities, first in the state of Florida, and first in the AAC. And of course, O'Leary was instrumental in UCF getting the on-campus stadium where his statue will likely rest.

Other aspects of O'Leary's time at UCF were less than salubrious. A player's death in 2008 (arising from sickle cell trait complications) following conditioning drills led to extensive civil litigation. Though O'Leary was not a defendant in the case, he featured prominently in the litigation.

UCF and UNC Agree to Football Home-and-Home Series

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2016/8/10/12428674/ucf-and-unc-agree-to-home-and-home-series-in-football

UCF and UNC announced today that they will play a home-and-home series in football. The Knights will travel to Chapel Hill in 2018 with the Tar Heels making the return trip to Bright House Networks Stadium in 2020.

It's a great addition for the Knights' future schedules. UCF has historically struggled to schedule home games with Power Five programs, a fact often lamented by prior head coach George O'Leary.

UCF's only other currently scheduled out of conference game for 2018 is with Florida Atlantic University, so some gaps remain to be filled in the near term.

UNC will be UCF's second ACC foe in 2020. An away game at Georgia Tech is scheduled for September 19, 2020. UCF also has games against AAC opponents scheduled this year (home versus Maryland) and in 2017 (home versus Georgia Tech, and away at Maryland).

The agreed series now completes UNC's 2018 schedule. Their out of conference opponents in 2018 will be UCF's fellow AAC member ECU, Cal, and the Catamounts of Western Carolina.

The Knights and Tar Heels have never previously met in football.