With the Big 12 entry date (July 1) approaching in a matter of days, I thought I'd start a series of posts about prior conference affiliations. To get things started, let's revisit UCF's first ever conference, the Division II Sunshine State Conference.
Who was around for this era? Any fun stories to share about games with Rollins, etc.? Could you have imagined UCF's rise back when you were watching games at the education gym? Or did things take longer than you anticipated?
Here's a blurb I found from an old UCF page:
Sunshine State Conference (1975-84)
UCF's first conference affiliation was with the Sunshine State Conference, starting in 1975. The Golden Knights were a charter member of the Division II league which included Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University), Eckerd, Florida Southern, Rollins and Saint Leo.
Originally founded as a men's basketball league, the Sunshine State Conference added golf, tennis, baseball, soccer and cross country during the late 1970s. In April of 1982, the league adopted women's competition in basketball, cross country, slow-pitch softball, tennis and volleyball. Following the 1983-84 season, UCF withdrew from the Sunshine State Conference and moved to the NCAA Division I level. The Golden Knights competed as an independent until 1990.
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Required reading is "Dribblings" penned by our very own @Hoops McKnight*.
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And the Wikipedia entry of the Torchy Clark era:
Eugene "Torchy" Clark, served as FTU's, then UCF's, first head basketball coach. In 1969, Clark, who was a Wisconsin high school coach, was responsible for starting the university's basketball program from scratch. The creation of the program had only been approved by the Florida Board of Regents five months prior to his hire. That year, as a club level team, the Knights went 11–3, including a 99–38 victory in their first game over Massey Tech.[6] The first season would serve as an omen for UCF basketball, with Clark bringing the university unprecedented success as a Division II team. Roaming the sidelines for 14 seasons, Clark never had a losing season, and built UCF into a national power, bringing the Knights five Sunshine State Conference regular season championships, one conference tournament championship and six NCAA tournament appearances in eight years.[6] In 1978, Clark led the Knights, which at the time were riding a 24–game winning streak, to the Final Four in Minnesota.[6] During his tenure, the Knights were ranked in the top 10 nationally for seven consecutive years.
Clark earned Sunshine State Coach of the Year honors four times and won the conference's coach of the decade award. While at UCF, Clark coached both of his sons, Bo and Mike. All three men are members of the UCF Athletic Hall of Fame, and Clark is a member of the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame.[11] Bo is the Knight's all-time leading scorer with Mike second on the list, and as a freshman in 1976 Bo was the nation's leading scorer.[12] The father-son duo were featured in a 1979 Sports Illustrated issue.[12]
On February 26, 1983, Clark coached his last game as a Knight, with UCF falling to Florida Southern. During his tenure, Clark's squads went 274–89 (.754), winning 20 or more games in a year on seven occasions. Clark enjoyed a 71–13 (.845) record in the Sunshine State Conference.[6] In the decade after Clark retired, the Knights had only one winning season, the year after he left.[13]
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As a member of the Sunshine State Conference, UCF reached the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982. The reached the Final Four in 1978.
Again, Dribblings has great content on the late 1970s era.
Who was around for this era? Any fun stories to share about games with Rollins, etc.? Could you have imagined UCF's rise back when you were watching games at the education gym? Or did things take longer than you anticipated?
Here's a blurb I found from an old UCF page:
Sunshine State Conference (1975-84)
UCF's first conference affiliation was with the Sunshine State Conference, starting in 1975. The Golden Knights were a charter member of the Division II league which included Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University), Eckerd, Florida Southern, Rollins and Saint Leo.
Originally founded as a men's basketball league, the Sunshine State Conference added golf, tennis, baseball, soccer and cross country during the late 1970s. In April of 1982, the league adopted women's competition in basketball, cross country, slow-pitch softball, tennis and volleyball. Following the 1983-84 season, UCF withdrew from the Sunshine State Conference and moved to the NCAA Division I level. The Golden Knights competed as an independent until 1990.
==
Required reading is "Dribblings" penned by our very own @Hoops McKnight*.
==
And the Wikipedia entry of the Torchy Clark era:
Eugene "Torchy" Clark, served as FTU's, then UCF's, first head basketball coach. In 1969, Clark, who was a Wisconsin high school coach, was responsible for starting the university's basketball program from scratch. The creation of the program had only been approved by the Florida Board of Regents five months prior to his hire. That year, as a club level team, the Knights went 11–3, including a 99–38 victory in their first game over Massey Tech.[6] The first season would serve as an omen for UCF basketball, with Clark bringing the university unprecedented success as a Division II team. Roaming the sidelines for 14 seasons, Clark never had a losing season, and built UCF into a national power, bringing the Knights five Sunshine State Conference regular season championships, one conference tournament championship and six NCAA tournament appearances in eight years.[6] In 1978, Clark led the Knights, which at the time were riding a 24–game winning streak, to the Final Four in Minnesota.[6] During his tenure, the Knights were ranked in the top 10 nationally for seven consecutive years.
Clark earned Sunshine State Coach of the Year honors four times and won the conference's coach of the decade award. While at UCF, Clark coached both of his sons, Bo and Mike. All three men are members of the UCF Athletic Hall of Fame, and Clark is a member of the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame.[11] Bo is the Knight's all-time leading scorer with Mike second on the list, and as a freshman in 1976 Bo was the nation's leading scorer.[12] The father-son duo were featured in a 1979 Sports Illustrated issue.[12]
On February 26, 1983, Clark coached his last game as a Knight, with UCF falling to Florida Southern. During his tenure, Clark's squads went 274–89 (.754), winning 20 or more games in a year on seven occasions. Clark enjoyed a 71–13 (.845) record in the Sunshine State Conference.[6] In the decade after Clark retired, the Knights had only one winning season, the year after he left.[13]
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As a member of the Sunshine State Conference, UCF reached the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982. The reached the Final Four in 1978.
Again, Dribblings has great content on the late 1970s era.
