Tickets for the contest against the Eagles are on sale at UCFAthletics.com and all Ticketmaster outlets.
If the Knights defeat Florida Gulf Coast, they will play at USF in Tampa on Sunday evening.
“I am really happy for our seniors,” Cunningham said. “Our whole team has worked so hard, and it is great to have the chance to continue the season. The NCAA selection committee recognized our efforts and we are all very excited.”
The Knights have enjoyed a memorable 2011 campaign, as the team has spent the entire season ranked in the top 25 nationally. UCF enters the NCAA Championship 11-5-3 overall. The Knights were ranked as high as No. 6 in the country during the regular season, as the team started the year 6-0-1. Last week, UCF advanced to the Conference USA Championship semifinals in Tulsa, Okla.
UCF and Florida Gulf Coast will be meeting in Orlando for the second time this year. The teams played on Sept. 24, and the Eagles ended UCF’s unbeaten start to the season by posting a 2-1 victory.
Florida Gulf Coast received the Atlantic Sun’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship by claiming the league tournament title with a 1-0 win over East Tennessee State Sunday. The Eagles (12-5-2) will be making their first NCAA Championship appearance.
In 2010, the Knights rolled to a 3-0 NCAA Championship first-round victory over visiting USF. The Knights headed to Ann Arbor for the second round, where they fell 2-1 to Michigan.
“The fact that we are hosting an NCAA game for the second-straight year speaks volumes about how far our program has come. It is a huge honor for us to host a first-round game. It is great that we can reward our fans with another home game,” Cunningham said.
The at-large berth in the NCAA Championship is just the second for the Knights since the program moved to the Division I level in 1984.