Bill introduced in Florida House for UCF national championship license plate
Can you (un)officially recognize a national championship without the availability of a commemorative license plate?
A bill has been introduced in the Florida House of Representatives that would allow residents of the state to get specialty license plates recognizing Central Florida as college football’s national champions.
UCF went 13-0 and, of course, did not actually win the national title despite brilliant marketing efforts branding the school as the national champs of college football. That official distinction goes to Alabama, who beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. UCF finished No. 6 in the final AP poll.
Believe it or not, Auburn is an impetus behind the UCF license plate bill. The Knights beat the Tigers in the Peach Bowl to cap the undefeated season.
The bill would also create a specialty plate for Auburn University, which would be the first out-of-state college to have one in Florida. Auburn grad Rep. Jamie Grant, R-Tampa, pushed for the plate last year but it failed. This year, Grant is hoping that giving UCF a little love will push it over the goal line.
“Nobody wanted Auburn to beat UCF more than me,” Grant said. “However, UCF beat the team who beat the team also claiming to be national champions — Alabama — a team with a long history of making up national championships.”
While Grant has a point about Alabama’s tendency to claim random national championships from years past, Auburn has done so as well. Those in glass houses should not be throwing stones.
Part of the House Bill also ups the minimum order for a specialty plate. Currently, 1,000 orders need to be made for a plate to be created. If the bill passes and becomes a law, that number becomes 3,000. Given that UCF had a parade at Disney World recognizing its “national title,” we’re thinking there would be more than 3,000 orders for the specialty plate.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
