ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Classes ended early at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Wednesday, because of a football game. WFTV asked if the school is putting athletics ahead of academics.
WFTV was told the decision wasn't about putting athletics above academics, but rather preparing for the national spotlight.
The campus opened to tailgaters at 2:00pm, after the campus' first half-day in four years. Class ended early to accommodate a rare, weeknight football match-up between the Knights and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
"If you're in class, how are you supposed to be supporting your school?" student Frank Carrier questioned.
"I don't think it's a great idea to be honest with you, because I have the one class tonight. I'm not a big football person. I'm here for the education," student Jackie Fulco said.
Wednesday night's game will put UCF in the national spotlight when its football program is televised on ESPN. In all, 41,000 have been distributed for the game, including 25,000 free tickets to students.
Normally there's a cap on those tickets, but in this case UCF is looking to fill the stands for a game that is about 4,000 tickets shy of a sell-out.
"I haven't decided yet, but I do have a ticket," student Whitney Degraff said.
UCF is prepared for a weekend-sized crowd.
"We have our usual game-day operations on staff, UCF police, our law enforcement partners," said Chad Binette, University of Central Florida.
That includes the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the canine unit.
The game will also generate revenue for UCF's Athletics department through a fee ESPN pays to the Conference USA office; the amount was unavailable. But UCF may place a higher premium on national exposure.
In addition to the sheriff's office and UCF police, Orlando police were also among the crowd at the stadium Wednesday afternoon. Kick off is at 8:00pm.