According to a report by the Orlando Sentinel’s Shannon Green, the University of Central Florida is preparing to honor former head football coach George O’Leary with a statue near Bright House Networks Stadium in 2017.
The effort to add a statue is being led and funded by a group of private donors, including Jerry Roth, David Albertson and Dick Nunnis, who helped bring O’Leary to UCF in 2004, according to UCFSports.com’s Brandon Helwig.
The initiative was approved by the UCF Athletic Association (UCFAA).
In 12 seasons with UCF, he coached the Knights to an 81-60 record, reached seven bowl games and won four conference titles (two in Conference USA, two in the American Athletic Conference). O’Leary, 70, was voted the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Coach of the Year in 2013. That year, O’Leary’s Knights ended the season ranked No. 10 by going 11-1 and winning its first and only BCS bowl, defeating Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl.
O’Leary stepped down from his post as head coach and interim athletic director last year, and the school hired Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost as his replacement.
The Knights open the season on Saturday, Sept. 3 against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Bright House Networks Stadium at 7 p.m.
