Impasse on I-4: When Will UCF, USF Rekindle Their Sunshine State Rivalry?
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It’s approximately 100 miles between the campuses of the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida.
Unfortunately for fans of the Knights and Bulls, Orlando and Tampa might as well be light years apart in a football sense these days. The Sunshine State rivals shared an American Conference affiliation for a decade, and they’ve played 14 times on the gridiron. (UCF leads the “War on I-4” series, 8-6.) But no future meetings are scheduled.
The series is one of many great college football rivalries upended by conference realignment, as UCF moved to the Big 12 in 2023. Both schools have interest in renewing the rivalry on their terms, but competing interests have talks at an impasse. UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir must navigate a Big 12 requirement to play a Power 4 nonconference game each season, while USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins wants to book opponents for a new on-campus stadium set to open in 2027.
“I’ve had discussions with both Rob Higgins and former AD Michael Kelly about different options for playing each other,” Mohajir said in a statement to Athlon Sports. “The biggest challenge for us is trying to maintain as many home games in our stadium as possible. Our home schedule is extremely important to our fans, campus atmosphere and overall financial model. Big 12 scheduling requirements also require us to play a Power 4 non-conference opponent, so we must schedule within those parameters. Therefore, based on our nine-game conference schedule, we need to play Power 4 home-and-home games.
“That said, I’ve offered a future game at our stadium to Rob and am awaiting a response.”
An offer is on the table, but there’s the rub. UCF understandably wants to retain as many home games as possible for competitive and financial reasons. Conversely, USF understandably doesn’t want to play in Orlando without a return trip from the Knights.
“I think UCF has a clear understanding of where we stand on this and how interested we are in renewing our rivalry,” Higgins told Athlon Sports in a statement. “USF is committed to do anything and everything we possibly can to make it happen on an annual basis. We have no interest in going to UCF for one away game, just as it’s probably safe to assume that we don’t have to go to any extent in offering UCF a game to come to our stadium without a return home game to them.
“Both schools’ fan bases, budgets and brands deserve a consistent annual series. It’s definitely possible, even with current conference scheduling principles in play, but it has to start with a willingness to be creative, to collaborate and to compete. We’re both leaving a tremendous amount of money and media value on the table, which is a shame especially in the current landscape. There is a big opportunity for Thanksgiving weekend to feature a huge national spotlight on all of the Sunshine State’s great college football rivalries. I hope we can all work together to arrive at an agreement to make it happen as soon as possible.”
UCF’s nonconference schedule is booked through 2029. The Knights conceivably could host USF at the Acrisure Bounce House as soon as the 2030 season. Indeed, that seems unlikely without a return trip, something USF has secured from Louisville and Notre Dame in upcoming seasons.
Competing interests have driven a wedge between these sibling schools. But in a world where USC-Rutgers and Stanford-Miami are now conference games, it makes too much sense for a feisty intrastate rivalry such as UCF-USF to be rekindled.
Until then, we’ll revisit the classic Bulls-Knights matchup from 2017, when both teams were ranked and combined for 91 points and a wild finish.
UCF vs USF in 2017 was one of the most underrated games ever! pic.twitter.com/8jz7Ji7ukz
— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) April 17, 2026
Related: Brian Hartline Q&A: USF Bulls Coach Talks Recruiting, Transfer Portal, New Stadium
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Related: Big 12 Football: Post-Spring 2026 Power Rankings
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on May 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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