George O'Leary
Encyclopedia
George Joseph O'Leary is the head football
coach of the UCF Knights football team that represents the University of Central Florida
located in Orlando, Florida
; he previously coached the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
team from 1994 to 2001, and served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings
from 2002 to 2004. O'Leary is widely known for his success with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
, his brief tenure as head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
, and for coaching the UCF Knights
to the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA history in his second year with the team.
. O'Leary is married to Sharon O'Leary and they have four children; two daughters, Chris and Trish, and two sons, Tim and Marty. Marty was a senior free safety on the 2001 Georgia Tech team that his father coached.
O'Leary earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in physical education from the University of New Hampshire
, where he graduated in 1968.
in New York from 1977-1979. During his time at the time two high schools, between 1975 and 1979, O'Leary amassed a 37-8-1 record, winning more than 82% of the games.
His initial collegiate coaching job was as the defensive lines coach at Syracuse. He served in this capacity from 1980–1984. Between 1985 and 1986, O'Leary took on the added responsibility of being the Orange's assistant head coach. His next assignment was at Georgia Tech, serving as their defensive coordinator
and defensive lines coach from 1987-1991. During this tenure, the team finished 11-0-1 in 1990 and won the national championship, defeating Nebraska
at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Following his initial stint with the Yellow Jackets, O'Leary received his first coaching job in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers
, serving as the their defensive lines coach in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, O'Leary would return to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as their defensive coordinator and defensive lines coach, and eventual head coach.
was fired for the team's 1–7 record just three years after winning the 1990 National Championship. He was later named the head coach prior to the 1995 season. After two off years, O'Leary rebuilt the program into a consistent winner, leading the team to a victory in the 97 Carquest Bowl in Miami, Florida
. O'Leary's 1998 team went 10–2, defeating its archrival the University of Georgia
for the first time in 7 years, as well as the University of Notre Dame
in the Gator Bowl
. For the remainder of his tenure at Georgia Tech, the team went to a bowl game every season.
O'Leary won the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the year in 2000 and the ACC Coach of the Year Award in 1998 and 2000. During his seven-year stint at Georgia Tech, O'Leary guided the Yellow Jackets to a 52–33 (.612) record, including five bowl appearances. From 1995–2001, Georgia Tech recorded five winning seasons in six years, including the 1998 ACC Co-championship and an appearance in the Toyota Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. O'Leary's Georgia Tech teams won at least seven games four times during his tenure, including a 10-win season in 1998 and a nine-win campaign in 2000.
During an NCAA investigation after he had left Georgia Tech and Chan Gailey was the Head Coach it was revealed that the Georgia Tech football program used ineligible players while O'Leary was head coach. These infractions were due to the deficiencies in the school's academic administration who had incorrectly accounted for student-athletes credit hours and were not attributed to O'Leary or his staff. The initial requirement that Georgia Tech vacate the performances of the football team for games in which these ineligible players participated was overturned on appeal. Further, Georgia Tech was placed on probation and lost scholarships because of the violations.
. A few days after he was hired, inaccuracies were discovered in his published biographical sketch. In the biographical sketch, it stated that O'Leary had earned a master's degree from "NYU
-Stony Brook University," a non-existent institution and actually two separate institutions over 50 miles apart. In fact, he had taken only two courses at SUNY - Stony Brook, and never graduated. He also claimed that he had earned three letters in football at the University of New Hampshire
, when the school claimed he had not even played in one game.
O'Leary said in a statement released that day, "Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans."
O'Leary blamed the inaccuracies on "resume padding" that had followed him through his career, admitting: "In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatements were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years."
and defensive line coach by Mike Tice
for the Minnesota Vikings
and served for two seasons. He was credited with improving the 2002 Vikings
defense to 10th in the NFL, after it was ranked 30th in 2001.
O'Leary left the Vikings in 2004 to become the head coach at the University of Central Florida
. In his first season, the Knights posted their worst season in school history with an 0–11 record.
The team rebounded in 2005 after joining Conference USA
. The team finished the season with an 8–3 record (7–1 in C-USA). UCF defeated Rice
to clinch the C-USA East Division and earned the right to host the first-ever C-USA Championship Game, a loss to Tulsa
that was played in front of more than 51,000 people. The team would then go on to play in the Hawaii Bowl
, barely losing to Nevada
after UCF kicker Matt Prater
missed an extra point in overtime. The Knights were just the sixth team in NCAA history to go to a bowl a year after going winless. O'Leary was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in addition to being named National Coach of the Year by CBSSportsLine.com and SportsIllustrated.com. Facing an 11-game schedule with just four home games, O'Leary's UCF squad became just the fourth team in NCAA history to earn a bowl berth while playing seven road games in an 11-game schedule.
During O'Leary's leadership, UCF has made more of an effort to improve the athletic facilities on campus. On September 15, 2007, it opened its 45,000 seat on-campus football facility, Bright House Networks Stadium
with a 3-point loss to the Texas Longhorns on ESPN. O'Leary was instrumental in getting state-of-the-art practice fields and an indoor football practice facility, the only one of its kind in Florida. UCF had opened the 2007 season on the road with a 25–23 victory against ACC team NC State. This was the first victory over a BCS
conference team in the O'Leary era. After a 64–12 loss to cross-state rival USF, UCF successfully finished the season leading the C-USA East Division, and again earned the right to host the C-USA Championship in its first season at Bright House Networks Stadium. In a rematch of the 2005 Conference Championship game, the Knights would again face the University of Tulsa in the title game. This time, however, O'Leary would lead the Knights to their first ever Conference Championship, a feat that would land the Knights a bid to the 2007 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN. This was the second bowl berth in school history (the first coming in 2005 also under O'Leary) and the second one in three years.
O'Leary led the Knights to a eight-loss season in 2008. The losing season, in conjunction with the controversy surrounding the death of Ereck Plancher, led many to question whether O'Leary's tenure at UCF was coming to a close. O'Leary remained and made significant changes to his coaching staff for the 2009 season. George O'Leary once again lead UCF to bowl eligibility during the 2009 season, and on November 14, 2009, Coach O'Leary lead the Knights to their first win in program history against a nationally ranked opponent, defeating #13 Houston 37–32 at Bright House Networks Stadium. For the third time in five years the Knights were bowl eligible and faced the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
in the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl
, losing 45–24.
In 2010, for the first time in school history, the Knights were ranked following a nationally televised 40–33 upset road victory against Houston. After winning 5 straight games, and posting an 11-game conference winning streak, UCF was ranked in all three major college polls released on November 7, 2010. The Knights were ranked 25 in the AP Poll
, 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25 in the Harris Poll. UCF fell just short of garnering a BCS ranking, placing 27th. UCF finished the 2010 regular season with a 10-3 record, after winning the Conference USA Championship
over the SMU Mustangs
, 17–7, and earning the Knights second invitation to the Liberty Bowl
. The Knights ranked 25th in the final BCS standings, marking the first time UCF has ever been ranked in the BCS standings. UCF also ranked 24th in Coaches Poll, 25th in Harris Poll, and were unofficially ranked 26th in the AP Poll. For the third time in his tenure at UCF, George O'Leary won C-USA Coach of the Year honors. He then led the Knights to a 10–6 Liberty Bowl victory over the SEC
's Georgia Bulldogs
and final rankings of 20 and 21 in the Coaches and AP Polls, respectively. The bowl win and 11 total wins were two more firsts for the Knights, capping off the most successful year in team history.
, Coach O'Leary verbally abused Plancher throughout the workout, and continued to push the young man to perform despite what they reported to be obvious physical signs that Plancher was in no shape to continue. According to the four unnamed players, O'Leary cursed at Ereck Plancher in a post-workout huddle. Plancher collapsed shortly after the workout and was immediately attended by UCF athletic trainers. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he died approximately one hour later.
Subsequent to the Orlando Sentinel article, ESPN
's "Outside The Lines
" program on November 2, 2008 interviewed players who were at the training session at which Plancher became ill and after which he died; they stated that the session was longer and far more rigorous than O'Leary and other UCF Athletics officials have admitted to publicly. They also alleged that O'Leary and other coaches had initially warned players against providing assistance to Plancher when he became visibly distressed. UCF medical records indicate that UCF coaches and trainers knew that Plancher had a sickle-cell
trait which could lead to problems, and even death, during high-intensity workouts.
The Knights academic success continued during the Fall 2007 semester, when the Knights had an in-season team GPA of 2.753. This brought the cumulative GPA of the Knights' roster to 2.838. Furthermore, 44 members of the roster posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher. For the fall 2008 semester the Knights combined cumulative grade point average was 2.969, and has been as high as 3.035 following the 2007 summer semester. The overall team cumulative GPA for the fall 2009 semester is 2.99. According to UCF's associate director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes, UCF football players are required to attend 10 hours of study hall a week, with at least two hours completed each and every night.
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach of the UCF Knights football team that represents the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
located in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
; he previously coached the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
team from 1994 to 2001, and served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
from 2002 to 2004. O'Leary is widely known for his success with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
, his brief tenure as head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
, and for coaching the UCF Knights
UCF Knights
The UCF Knights are the athletics teams of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. All of UCF's varsity sports teams are known as the Knights, with the women's teams sometimes referred to as the "Lady Knights." The Knights, which includes the university's 16 varsity sports teams,...
to the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA history in his second year with the team.
Personal
George O'Leary was born on August 17, 1946 in Central Islip, New YorkCentral Islip, New York
Central Islip is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, U.S.. The population was 31,950 at the 2000 census.-History and overview:...
. O'Leary is married to Sharon O'Leary and they have four children; two daughters, Chris and Trish, and two sons, Tim and Marty. Marty was a senior free safety on the 2001 Georgia Tech team that his father coached.
O'Leary earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in physical education from the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
, where he graduated in 1968.
Early years
He began his coaching career at Central Islip High School in New York, serving as their assistant coach from 1968-1974. From 1975-1976 he served as the head coach at Central Islip. He then became head coach at Liverpool High SchoolLiverpool High School
Liverpool High School is a comprehensive New York public high school located on Wetzel Road in the village of Liverpool, northwest of the city of Syracuse in the Liverpool Central School District, serving ninth to twelfth grade students...
in New York from 1977-1979. During his time at the time two high schools, between 1975 and 1979, O'Leary amassed a 37-8-1 record, winning more than 82% of the games.
His initial collegiate coaching job was as the defensive lines coach at Syracuse. He served in this capacity from 1980–1984. Between 1985 and 1986, O'Leary took on the added responsibility of being the Orange's assistant head coach. His next assignment was at Georgia Tech, serving as their defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
and defensive lines coach from 1987-1991. During this tenure, the team finished 11-0-1 in 1990 and won the national championship, defeating Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Following his initial stint with the Yellow Jackets, O'Leary received his first coaching job in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, serving as the their defensive lines coach in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, O'Leary would return to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as their defensive coordinator and defensive lines coach, and eventual head coach.
Georgia Tech
In the 1994 season, O'Leary took over the program as interim head coach with three games remaining in the season, after then head coach Bill LewisBill Lewis (football)
-External links:*...
was fired for the team's 1–7 record just three years after winning the 1990 National Championship. He was later named the head coach prior to the 1995 season. After two off years, O'Leary rebuilt the program into a consistent winner, leading the team to a victory in the 97 Carquest Bowl in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. O'Leary's 1998 team went 10–2, defeating its archrival the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
for the first time in 7 years, as well as the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
. For the remainder of his tenure at Georgia Tech, the team went to a bowl game every season.
O'Leary won the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the year in 2000 and the ACC Coach of the Year Award in 1998 and 2000. During his seven-year stint at Georgia Tech, O'Leary guided the Yellow Jackets to a 52–33 (.612) record, including five bowl appearances. From 1995–2001, Georgia Tech recorded five winning seasons in six years, including the 1998 ACC Co-championship and an appearance in the Toyota Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. O'Leary's Georgia Tech teams won at least seven games four times during his tenure, including a 10-win season in 1998 and a nine-win campaign in 2000.
During an NCAA investigation after he had left Georgia Tech and Chan Gailey was the Head Coach it was revealed that the Georgia Tech football program used ineligible players while O'Leary was head coach. These infractions were due to the deficiencies in the school's academic administration who had incorrectly accounted for student-athletes credit hours and were not attributed to O'Leary or his staff. The initial requirement that Georgia Tech vacate the performances of the football team for games in which these ineligible players participated was overturned on appeal. Further, Georgia Tech was placed on probation and lost scholarships because of the violations.
Notre Dame
In 2001, O'Leary left Georgia Tech to take over as the head coach for the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. A few days after he was hired, inaccuracies were discovered in his published biographical sketch. In the biographical sketch, it stated that O'Leary had earned a master's degree from "NYU
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
-Stony Brook University," a non-existent institution and actually two separate institutions over 50 miles apart. In fact, he had taken only two courses at SUNY - Stony Brook, and never graduated. He also claimed that he had earned three letters in football at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
, when the school claimed he had not even played in one game.
O'Leary said in a statement released that day, "Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni and fans."
O'Leary blamed the inaccuracies on "resume padding" that had followed him through his career, admitting: "In seeking employment I prepared a resume that contained inaccuracies regarding my completion of course work for a master's degree and also my level of participation in football at my alma mater. These misstatements were never stricken from my resume or biographical sketch in later years."
Minnesota Vikings
In 2002, O'Leary was hired as the defensive coordinatorDefensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
and defensive line coach by Mike Tice
Mike Tice
Michael Peter Tice is an American football National Football League coach, best known as the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.-Playing career:...
for the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and served for two seasons. He was credited with improving the 2002 Vikings
2002 Minnesota Vikings season
2002 was the 42nd year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.On January 10, 2002, Mike Tice was named the sixth Head Coach in Vikings history. Tice was the third of the six Vikings head coaches to be promoted from within the team's...
defense to 10th in the NFL, after it was ranked 30th in 2001.
University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...
. In his first season, the Knights posted their worst season in school history with an 0–11 record.
The team rebounded in 2005 after joining Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
. The team finished the season with an 8–3 record (7–1 in C-USA). UCF defeated Rice
Rice Owls football
The Rice Owls football team represents Rice University in NCAA Division I college football. The Owls have competed in Conference USA's Western Division since 2005. Rice Stadium, built in 1950, hosts the Owls' home football games.-Venue:...
to clinch the C-USA East Division and earned the right to host the first-ever C-USA Championship Game, a loss to Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
that was played in front of more than 51,000 people. The team would then go on to play in the Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
The Hawaii Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2002. Typically played on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the game matches teams from either...
, barely losing to Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
after UCF kicker Matt Prater
Matt Prater
Matt Prater is an American football placekicker who plays for the Denver Broncos. He was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at the University of Central Florida, where he majored in psychology.-High school career:Prater attended...
missed an extra point in overtime. The Knights were just the sixth team in NCAA history to go to a bowl a year after going winless. O'Leary was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in addition to being named National Coach of the Year by CBSSportsLine.com and SportsIllustrated.com. Facing an 11-game schedule with just four home games, O'Leary's UCF squad became just the fourth team in NCAA history to earn a bowl berth while playing seven road games in an 11-game schedule.
During O'Leary's leadership, UCF has made more of an effort to improve the athletic facilities on campus. On September 15, 2007, it opened its 45,000 seat on-campus football facility, Bright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium is the football stadium for the University of Central Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Knights. Located in Knights Plaza on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, the stadium was the first on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I...
with a 3-point loss to the Texas Longhorns on ESPN. O'Leary was instrumental in getting state-of-the-art practice fields and an indoor football practice facility, the only one of its kind in Florida. UCF had opened the 2007 season on the road with a 25–23 victory against ACC team NC State. This was the first victory over a BCS
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
conference team in the O'Leary era. After a 64–12 loss to cross-state rival USF, UCF successfully finished the season leading the C-USA East Division, and again earned the right to host the C-USA Championship in its first season at Bright House Networks Stadium. In a rematch of the 2005 Conference Championship game, the Knights would again face the University of Tulsa in the title game. This time, however, O'Leary would lead the Knights to their first ever Conference Championship, a feat that would land the Knights a bid to the 2007 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN. This was the second bowl berth in school history (the first coming in 2005 also under O'Leary) and the second one in three years.
O'Leary led the Knights to a eight-loss season in 2008. The losing season, in conjunction with the controversy surrounding the death of Ereck Plancher, led many to question whether O'Leary's tenure at UCF was coming to a close. O'Leary remained and made significant changes to his coaching staff for the 2009 season. George O'Leary once again lead UCF to bowl eligibility during the 2009 season, and on November 14, 2009, Coach O'Leary lead the Knights to their first win in program history against a nationally ranked opponent, defeating #13 Houston 37–32 at Bright House Networks Stadium. For the third time in five years the Knights were bowl eligible and faced the Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey...
in the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl
2009 St. Petersburg Bowl
The 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's, formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was the second edition of the college football bowl game and was played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game began at 8:00 PM US EST on Saturday, December 19, 2009, was...
, losing 45–24.
In 2010, for the first time in school history, the Knights were ranked following a nationally televised 40–33 upset road victory against Houston. After winning 5 straight games, and posting an 11-game conference winning streak, UCF was ranked in all three major college polls released on November 7, 2010. The Knights were ranked 25 in the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
, 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 25 in the Harris Poll. UCF fell just short of garnering a BCS ranking, placing 27th. UCF finished the 2010 regular season with a 10-3 record, after winning the Conference USA Championship
2010 Conference USA Football Championship Game
The 2010 Conference USA Football Championship Game presented by HotelPlanner.com was played on December 4, 2010 at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, FL. The game was played between the UCF Knights, winner of Conference USA's East Division, and the SMU Mustangs, the winner the West...
over the SMU Mustangs
SMU Mustangs
The SMU Mustangs is the name of the athletic teams representing Southern Methodist University. The Mustangs participate in the NCAA's Division I as a member of Conference USA. In 2005, SMU accepted an invitation to the Western Division of Conference USA, and left the Western Athletic Conference...
, 17–7, and earning the Knights second invitation to the Liberty Bowl
2010 Liberty Bowl (December)
The 2010 Liberty Bowl, also known as Autozone Liberty Bowl, was the fifty-second edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The game started at 3:30 PM US EST on December 31, 2010...
. The Knights ranked 25th in the final BCS standings, marking the first time UCF has ever been ranked in the BCS standings. UCF also ranked 24th in Coaches Poll, 25th in Harris Poll, and were unofficially ranked 26th in the AP Poll. For the third time in his tenure at UCF, George O'Leary won C-USA Coach of the Year honors. He then led the Knights to a 10–6 Liberty Bowl victory over the SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
's Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference...
and final rankings of 20 and 21 in the Coaches and AP Polls, respectively. The bowl win and 11 total wins were two more firsts for the Knights, capping off the most successful year in team history.
Ereck Plancher death
On March 18, 2008, running back Ereck Plancher died after conditioning drills. According to four UCF football players interviewed by the Orlando SentinelOrlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
, Coach O'Leary verbally abused Plancher throughout the workout, and continued to push the young man to perform despite what they reported to be obvious physical signs that Plancher was in no shape to continue. According to the four unnamed players, O'Leary cursed at Ereck Plancher in a post-workout huddle. Plancher collapsed shortly after the workout and was immediately attended by UCF athletic trainers. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he died approximately one hour later.
Subsequent to the Orlando Sentinel article, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's "Outside The Lines
Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines, or also referred to as OTL, is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in American sports on and off the field of play....
" program on November 2, 2008 interviewed players who were at the training session at which Plancher became ill and after which he died; they stated that the session was longer and far more rigorous than O'Leary and other UCF Athletics officials have admitted to publicly. They also alleged that O'Leary and other coaches had initially warned players against providing assistance to Plancher when he became visibly distressed. UCF medical records indicate that UCF coaches and trainers knew that Plancher had a sickle-cell
Sickle-cell disease
Sickle-cell disease , or sickle-cell anaemia or drepanocytosis, is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disorder with overdominance, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various...
trait which could lead to problems, and even death, during high-intensity workouts.
Academic success
George O'Leary has reshaped the UCF football program in regard to improved academic results in the classroom and overall team discipline on and off the football field. Since O'Leary's arrival, UCF has posted its top two fall semester team grade point averages in the classroom. The Knights set a new school Division I-A history record with a 2.78 team GPA in 2004, only to break that mark with a 2.808 team GPA in the fall of 2005. In 2005, UCF placed 39 student-athletes on the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, the most of any football squad in the conference. O'Leary's first recruiting class showed 82 percent of the class receiving academic honor roll accolades. The impressive honor roll number was not limited to the newcomers as 40 percent of the entire team earned a 3.0 GPA or higher during the fall 2004 semester.The Knights academic success continued during the Fall 2007 semester, when the Knights had an in-season team GPA of 2.753. This brought the cumulative GPA of the Knights' roster to 2.838. Furthermore, 44 members of the roster posted a GPA of 3.0 or higher. For the fall 2008 semester the Knights combined cumulative grade point average was 2.969, and has been as high as 3.035 following the 2007 summer semester. The overall team cumulative GPA for the fall 2009 semester is 2.99. According to UCF's associate director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes, UCF football players are required to attend 10 hours of study hall a week, with at least two hours completed each and every night.
Head coaching record
*The Seattle bowl was coached by Mac McWhorterMac McWhorter
Hamilton Pierce "Mac" McWhorter is the former offensive line coach for the Texas Longhorns and was the interim head coach for Georgia Tech's football team in 2001 after George O'Leary resigned and only coached for one game, the 2001 Seattle Bowl against No. 11-ranked Stanford...
.