Discussions about scheduling a game between the University of Central Florida Knights and the University of South Florida Bulls began as soon as USF fielded its first NCAA Division I-AA team in 1997.[1] Supporters suggested such a rivalry could help generate interest and revenue for both burgeoning teams. The prospect became more serious when USF entered Division I-A in 2001 and was very popular among fans, but as it would be a non-conference series, difficulties arose. UCF had overbooked its future schedules and would have to break commitments.[1] Meanwhile, USF officials worried that their young program stood to take in less revenue from a home-and-away series against UCF than it would with an additional home game on the schedule.In 2003, the schools' athletics directors met and agreed to schedule games for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.[1] The rivalry was dubbed by some writers as the "War on I-4", in reference to Interstate 4 which runs through both Orlando and Tampa.[3] USF won both games, which drew crowds over 45,000, and the series was extended for 2007 and 2008.[4] USF won these games as well, including a 64-12 blowout in 2007. Subsequently USF, which had joined the Big East, a BCS conference, declined to schedule further games in the series, indicating it wished to pursue more competitive and high profile BCS opponents.The two schools discussed scheduling more games over the next several years, including a failed proposal by USF to play at the Citrus Bowl in 2011.[7][8][9] In 2011, UCF was admitted to the Big East Conference; the UCF–USF game will resume as a regular conference game beginning with the 2013 season
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