Interesting story that was covered up for years as LSU just released this report today.

"At the height of his fame as Louisiana State University’s head football coach, Les Miles was accused of texting female students, taking them to his condo alone, making them feel uncomfortable and, on at least one occasion, kissing a student and suggesting they go to a hotel after telling her he could help her career, according to an internal investigative report released by LSU on Thursday."

Also in the article:

Miles also was accused by athletic department staff of saying that the female student workers who helped the football team lure top recruits needed to be attractive, blonde and fit, according to the investigative report. Existing student employees who did not meet this criteria should be given fewer hours or terminated, the report details.

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Or Omaha. Zzzzz*

By beating da bulls 2x last night...does that mean 6 more points?

I’m thinking WVU, since I know multiple Alumni. Maybe Ok state, even though I’ve never met an Alum.

Hey all,

Huge week for UCF in NIL. Mercedes-Benz will be unveiling a very popular UCF athlete to be a new ambassador for them this week and we also secured a massive corporation to offer a long term sponsorship to every athlete on the football team. This is going to really change the game for UCF recruiting.
Hope to see everyone tomorrow night and Island Wing!

Nm

Did I see somewhere here in the Dungeon a shirt or flag with a Knight standing over a gator like Ali? Is that available to purchase?

Beat Boston Univ. 6-2. 9 am game on the coast. Login to view embedded media

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UCF had interviews earlier today prior as they prepare for the upcoming AAC Tournament in Fort Worth. UCF is the No. 6 seed and will face No. 11 South Florida on Thursday at 7 p.m. If the Knights win, they'd advance to play No. 3 Memphis late Friday night.

Sorry for the shrill background noise - UCF's practice gym has a super-loud fan that apparently needs maintenance.

UCF practiced today and will head to Texas tomorrow - they have an early 7:30 a.m. flight to DFW.

Johnny Dawkins

"It's a new season," UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "Everybody starts back at 0-0 right now. Everybody has a new life. A lifeline has been thrown. You can make whatever dreams you want to make happen. That's why it's March Madness."

UCF ended their regular season with two road losses at Tulane and Tulsa. They were seemingly in command on Sunday at Tulsa holding an 11-point lead with five minutes left, but the Golden Hurricane stormed back to win on a buzzer beater half-court shot. The fact UCF was 3-12 from the free-throw line in the second half loomed large.

"There's nothing we can do about the game," Dawkins said. "We played a good game. They played a good game. They hit a great shot at the end to win it. That's tough. But we have to move on. Our season ended with that. Now we move on to a brand new season. I'm having our guys looking forward and not backwards."

At the 30-second mark, you can see Isaiah Adams in the background on crutches. He was wearing a big boot. Dawkins said they're waiting to hear back from doctors about "what's going on" and alluded to the fact he won't be available for the tournament.

"We miss him, but we have to move forward," Dawkins said. "We have enough depth and guys that should be ready to step up. He'll be missed, but it's an opportunity for some guys to step up and show what they're capable of doing."

Brandon Mahan was not practicing, but was out of the boot and no longer using crutches.

"He's progressing," Dawkins said. "He's still not where we'd like him to be, but he's getting better. It's a process. We'll see. It's day-to-day with him and we'll see where we are come Thursday."

The key to beating usf is to "defend and rebound." That's what they did not do well during the 75-51 loss in Tampa on Jan. 15. The Bulls had a 53-26 rebounding advantage.

"In the game they won against us down there, they were tremendous on the boards. They were relentless and played really hard like they always do. We have to make sure we do a better job of keeping them off the boards and giving them second and third shot opportunities. They have good players. We have to make sure we understand personnel well and guard accordingly."

UCF played much better in the return game in Orlando, winning 68-49.

It's very likely Darius Johnson earns a place on the AAC Freshman team, which I believe will be announced tomorrow.

"He had a huge impact on our team," Dawkins said. "His addition of being a point guard and that's allowed Darius Perry to plan on and off the ball. He's finding guys in transition, finding guys in the half court with his penetration. I thought he did a great job of driving the ball and making guys on the team better. I'm excited about him. I think he had a really good year. We'll see where he rates against the other freshmen, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone."

UCF also just awarded scholarships to a pair of senior walk-ons, Levy Renaud and Ryan Anders.

"They've been with us for four years," Dawkins said. "Everything they've done in every practice. You can't find two better men, team guys that were great for our culture. I'm glad we were able to reward them in that manner."

Darius Perry

Darius talked about preaching "1-0" when it comes to the AAC Tournament.

He obviously would like to end his college career by going to the NCAA Tournament.

They need to come out with energy and lock down defensively vs. usf. Perry believes UCF is "one of the better defensive teams in the country." If they play to their potential, they'll be fine.

Perry hopes Brandon Mahan can come back soon.

Asked about Darius Johnson, Perry said Tulsa was a great game for DJ - he had nine assists in that one even though he didn't score a lot.

Cheikh Mbacke Diong

Mbacke talked about the AAC Tournament being a "new season" and so they need to go "1-0."

Defense wins games, including finishing plays with a rebound. That's the key vs. usf.

"Everybody wants to finish their college career on a winning note. That's what we're trying to do. It's a tough challenge, but this is March. Anything can happen in March."

Reflecting on the ending of his college career, Mbacke said he learned a lot and will treasure the relationships. "I'm always grateful for the opportunity to play."

What will he remember the most about his year at UCF?

"The brotherhood. Coach Dawkins always talks about the brotherhood. We live by that and do our best. I enjoyed every moment of it. Always blessed to be playing this sport. Not everybody has that opportunity. I'm blessed to be out here with these guys and the fans too."

Will follow about 20-30 minutes following the conclusion of UCF/usf men.

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Drats. It’s on The U. In order to save ~$70/month on cable/internet I went to DirecTVstream. Unfortunately it doesn’t have The U.

Tomorrow is your Natty. All you have to do is win tomorrow…

On this week's Sons of UCF LIVE Show #59, we welcome BJ Taylor as we broke down the Knights matchup with the cows in the American Championship. Plus, we're talking Women's Basketball advancing to another Championship game rematch with usf. First, we set the stage for Football Spring Camp beginning next week and we talk Baseball and Softball, too.

Thanks for clicking here to watch this week's show.

...by the Tampa Bay Bandits USFL team. Looks like he'll be moving to our vacation stadium.

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In this week's Sons of UCF EXTRA, we hear from UCF Baseball Head Coach Greg Lovelady on the mid-week wins, the good he's taking from the Ole Miss series and a look ahead at UNF and Miami.

Thanks for clicking here to watch.

In this week's Sons of UCF EXTRA, we hear from UCF Baseball Head Coach Greg Lovelady on the mid-week wins, the good he's taking from the Ole Miss series and a look ahead at UNF and Miami.

Thanks for clicking here to watch.

Orlando (Fla.) Jones defensive tackle De'antre Robinson, one of the nation's top prospects in the 2024 class, recently made it across town for a visit to UCF.

"It wasn't my first time (visiting UCF)," Robinson said. "I've been here for a football game. (The visit) was very fun. Everything is like family here. Everybody is close together. I really liked it."

His recruiter is defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin, also an Orlando native.

"Coach Martin has taught me a lot of things," Robinson said. "He said if you come here it's gonna be a lot of hard work."

As a sophomore playing in eight games, Robinson had 35 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.

"I think I'm good at coming off the ball pretty fast with good footwork," Robinson said. "Coach Martin said your hands need to be faster than your feet."

Robinson's early offer list is long, including UCF, Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa State, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Purdue and Tennessee.

What stands out about UCF?

"Everything is getting better at UCF," Robinson said. "They're becoming a bigger and better team. (Going to the Big 12) is big. More top players are going to come because they want to play the best competition.

"UCF is very close to home. Your parents can watch your games real easy and won't have to travel far. It's very family oriented. It's like a real family here."

The boom was heard loud and clear across Central Florida this past Christmas Day when Kaven Call, a four-star defensive end from Apopka, became the first player to join UCF's 2023 recruiting class.

UCFSports.com recently caught up with the local star to reflect on his decision.

"I had a great visit to UCF last summer and then I was able to go to two football games," Call said. "They always showed unconditional love. I got to see how they operate at the games, got to talk to the coaches a little bit more and spent some time with them after the games too. I just fell in love with UCF from the jump. It's only a 35-minute drive to the campus. It had everything I wanted from the start.

"I was actually thinking about committing in the days before Christmas, but what put the cherry on top was UCF's bowl win against Florida (on Dec. 23). Once I saw that, it was clear Coach Gus Malzahn has something going on. UCF has real big potential. I knew then I didn't want to waste any time. A lot of things checked the boxes for me. In 2023, when I graduate, they're going to the Big 12. It's going to be a bigger stage. A lot of things felt right."

Ready to lock it in, Call gave word to the coaches the day after the bowl game.

"I called Coach Gus on Christmas Eve," Call said. "Everyone was shocked. I talked to all the coaches that night. We talked about getting ready for the next day, how everybody is going to retweet (the announcement) and how it's gonna blow up social media. And it did blow up. I didn't know it was going to be that big. It was great. I loved it."

Call then realized the importance of what it meant to be an early commitment.

"Coach Gus told me, 'You don't realize how much this is going to help recruiting for us. You're the first 2023 to set it. You don't realize how many local dudes this is going to help bring in.' I agree. We obviously have a lot of top talent here in Central Florida. He said, 'This is going to be big for us in recruiting and you're going to set the wave for these 2023s.'"

Call, who also had Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Penn State and Rutgers among his finalists, says he plans to double as a recruiter when he attends UCF's upcoming Hometown Hero event on Jan. 29. The Knights are aiming to follow with another stellar local class after signing Nikai Martinez, Demari Henderson, Ja'Cari Henderson and Kameron Moore in the 2022 class.

Martinez was Call's teammate at Apopka.

"Nikai was real excited," Call said. "He was always working on me. He was always in my ear about UCF. He was saying, 'We're gonna be different. We're gonna start a new wave like I did for the 22s.' Nikai called me on Christmas right after I made the announcement. He was so hyped and excited, saying let's do this."

The defensive line coach duo of Kenny Martin and Kenny Ingram served as Call's lead recruiters. Martin was the first to initiate contact, while Ingram will be his future position coach.

"I think I'm going to play a position like Big Kat Bryant did this past year, like a stand-up edge rusher," Call said.

The Calls are definitely a UCF family now.

"My parents are real excited," he said. "UCF is right down the street. They can come to every game. My sister already goes to UCF, so that's a big plus. My mom is real excited about that. I can be there for my sister and she can be there for me. It's going to work out perfectly."

Call, who said his Khalil Mack was his favorite NFL player growing up, plans to be an early enrollee too.

"I do plan on graduating early," he said. "I'm going to get in a lot of classes this summer so I'll be able to do that."

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