 "Photo: Katie Dees/Central Florida Future")
The collegiate athletic landscape is changing. UCF may very well find itself in the midst of change with major athletic conferences such as the Big East, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big XII possibly seeking new members.
"Yes, there seems to be so much conference alignment discussion happening coast to coast at present. It is almost an all-day thing following Twitter reports morning through evening," Associate Director of Athletics Joe Hornstein said. "I see where UCF is continually mentioned as a possibility in certain scenarios."
A very likely landing spot for the Knights could be the Big East, with members Syracuse and Pittsburgh jumping to the ACC. It was previously rumored that the Big East would merge with the Big XII if more schools like Rutgers, TCU and UConn leave. However, the remaining Big East members vowed to keep the league together at a Tuesday league meeting, which leaves the option open for expansion.
According to ESPN's national college football reporter Joe Schad, schools like Army, Navy and Air Force are first-tier expansion candidates for the Big East. UCF and East Carolina are second. Still, the Knights aren't paying attention to any rumors.
"It has been UCF Athletics' preference to not speculate on this particular subject," Hornstein said. "To my understanding, we have not received new information to offer comment on at this time."
It is important to note, however, that the Knights have been in this position before. The Big East had considered the Knights when expanding in 2005. Nearly seven years later, UCF seems like a candidate ready for a bigger, automatic-qualifying stage.
The Knights seem to think so, too.
"I would maintain that Keith Tribble has and will continue to work diligently in ensuring that UCF Athletics is in the best possible position to elevate to an automatic-qualifier status," Hornstein said.
UPDATE
Keith Tribble has issued a statement through the @UCF_FootballSID Twitter account regarding conference negotiations, confirming that UCF is, in fact, looking to leave Conference USA.
"We're doing our work and we'll continue to do it in a way that's fitting of our institution. We're people of integrity and we do things the right way. So those who think there aren't conversations taking place would be wrong."
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