The UCF football team has accepted an invitation to take part in the AutoNation Cure Bowl presented by Florida Hospital.

UCF will face off with Sun Belt co-champion Arkansas State in the Cure Bowl, which is set for Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. inside Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.

“We’re thrilled to be in a bowl game,” UCF head coach Scott Frost said Sunday. “Our guys have done a lot to earn a chance to play in the post-season. I think it’s wonderful that we get to play right here in the great city of Orlando. I think it’s going to give us an opportunity to have a lot of fans. It’s going to make travel and logistics easy for our football team and I can’t wait to give our seniors another chance to play football. I would love to see this team end this season on a good note. We’d love to send our seniors out on a good note. So we’re going to prepare as hard as we can.”

Frost said he is proud to take part in the Cure Bowl, which donates proceeds from the game directly to individual breast cancer researchers through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Cure Bowl proceeds directly benefit breast cancer research at UCF. Dr. Annette Khaled, head of the College of Medicine’s Cancer Research Division, has received $645,000 from the Cure Bowl through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Khaled and her team of graduate students have discovered a way to kill breast cancer cells, and their work is moving forward to preclinical testing and then clinical trials.

“Bowl games are exciting no matter where they are and which game they are,” Frost said. “The Cure Bowl stands for something maybe a little more than most, to be a bowl that helps raise awareness and money for breast cancer. That’s as good a cause as you can find.”

UCF Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White said playing in the Cure Bowl will benefit the football program and Knights fans.

“Taking part in the Cure Bowl will be a great experience for our student-athletes,” White said. “Congratulations to our football team and our coaching staff for earning the reward of participating in a bowl game. I know our fans will be excited about supporting their Knights right here in Orlando at Camping World Stadium.”

Below are reasons to support the Knights and buy your bowl tickets through UCF:

  • Strengthens UCF’s candidacy for major bowl selection now and in the future.
  • Thousands of great seats are available at fair prices.
  • It’s important to show the country how much UCF’s fan base supports the program.
  • Commit during the presale window to guarantee a seat at the game.
  • All of the funds will directly support the UCF athletics department.

    • UCF fans can purchase tickets to the Cure Bowl by calling 407.823.1000. Information on student tickets will be available later this week.

    Parking information will also be available at a later date.