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UCF flag raised outside City Hall
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and UCF football coach Gus Malzahn raised a UCF flag outside Orlando City Hall on Thursday ahead of the Knights' inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference.
ORLANDO, Fla. - It's officially Big 12 season for the Knights!
The Big 12 Conference unveiled the men's and women's basketball schedules for the 2023-24 season, marking UCF's inaugural schedule after making the leap from the American Athletic Conference.
UCF men's basketball 2023-24 schedule
UCF men's basketball head coach Johnny Dawkins will lead the Knights, who finished the 2022-23 season 19-15 overall, when they host their first home conference game against 2022 National Champion Kansas on January 10. The Jayhawks are among two of the three most recent national champions, including Baylor in 2021, who will make the trip to Orlando this season.
"We’re looking forward to playing a great schedule against the top teams in the nation on a nightly basis," Dawkins said in a press release. "It will only continue to enhance our brand here at UCF and give us the opportunity to position ourselves to do some amazing things in the Big 12. Having an opportunity to play two previous national champions on our home court is something that will be great for the city of Orlando as well as our fan base."
The Knights will also make first-time trips to Kansas, BYU, Texas, Baylor, Iowa State and Texas Tech this season.
The majority of UCF's games will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with a couple on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
"Opponents for this year’s Big 12 Conference schedule were selected based on a combination of geography, historical results and a poll of the coaches to best balance the schedule in terms of travel and competitive balance," the university said in a news release.
Check out the schedule below:
(Note: Big 12 Conference games marked in bold)
- November 6: FIU
- November 10: at Miami
- November 16: Cal. St. Fullerton
- November 19: at South Dakota State (Jacksonville Classic)
- November 20: at Charlotte or George Mason (Jacksonville Classic)
- November 26: Stetson
- December 2: Lipscomb
- December 6: Jacksonville
- December 10: Ole Miss
- December 18: Maine
- December 21: Florida A&M
- December 29: Bethune-Cookman
- January 6: at Kansas State
- January 10: Kansas
- January 13: BYU
- January 17: at Texas
- January 20: at Houston
- January 23: West Virginia
- January 27: at Cincinnati
- January 31: Baylor
- February 3: Oklahoma
- February 10: at Texas Tech
- February 13: at BYU
- February 17: Cincinnati
- February 20: at West Virginia
- February 24: Texas Tech
- February 28: at Oklahoma State
- March 2: Iowa State
- March 6: Houston
- March 9: at TCU
The 2024 Big 12 Conference Championship is scheduled for March 12-16.
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UCF women's basketball 2023-24 schedule
The women's squad will open conference play at Oklahoma on December 30 before hosting the first Big 12 matchup at home on January 3 against Oklahoma State.
This marks head coach Sytia Messer's second season as the Knights' head coach. Last year, the team finished 14-15 overall.
On the schedule, UCF will host a few first-time opponents, including Kansas State and Texas.
Game times and TV channels will be announced at a later date.
- November 6: Bethune-Cookman
- November 13: Anderson
- November 20: Auburn
- November 23: at Jackson State (Discovery Puerto Rico Classic)
- November 24: at St. John's (Discovery Puerto Rico Classic)
- November 25: at Sacred Heart (Discovery Puerto Rico Classic)
- December 3: Campbell
- December 11: New Orleans
- December 18: FAU
- December 19: Morgan State
- December 30: at Oklahoma
- January 3: Oklahoma State
- January 6: Kansas State
- January 10: at Cincinnati
- January 13: West Virginia
- January 20: at Baylor
- January 23: at TCU
- January 27: Houston
- January 30: at West Virginia
- February 3: Iowa State
- February 7: Cincinnati
- February 10: at Texas Tech
- February 13: BYU
- February 17: at Kansas State
- February 21: at Oklahoma State
- February 24: Texas
- February 28: Kansas
- March 2: at Houston
The Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 7-12.