Can't Wait For Saturday | Crowd numbers show UCF football is no Mickey Mouse operation
May 9—***
Turns out, they love their college football in Orlando, Fla.
The city doesn't have an NFL team, though the Tampa Bay Bucs are 84 miles away.
So, football fans in the area fill UCF's FBC Mortgage Stadium on a regular basis,
The 2024 season, which includes seven home games, is already sold out. The building seats 44,206.
The Knights averaged 44,015 fans in 2023, putting them a respectable 53rd in average attendance.
The move to the Big 12 has been a good one at the box office for Gus Malzahn's team. Does that translate to wins? We'll see. UCF went 6-7 in its first year against the more challenging conference after consecutive nine-win seasons in the American.
In the past decade, head coaches Malzahn, Josh Heupel and Scott Frost produced seasons with 13, 12, 10, nine and nine wins. Heupel and Frost turned their success into higher-paying gigs.
UCF is an undervalued gem. With an enrollment of more than 68,000 students, it is one of the largest public universities in the country. Plus, you know, Disney World.
