{"id":136646,"date":"2023-08-14T15:11:58","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T19:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//?p=136646"},"modified":"2023-10-19T13:04:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T17:04:39","slug":"the-dynasty-of-ucf-cheer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//the-dynasty-of-ucf-cheer/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646//","title":{"rendered":"The Dynasty 色花堂 Cheer"},"content":{"rendered":"

As UCF approaches its inaugural season as the youngest member of a Power 5 conference, the athletics department is taking a look back to commemorate this special moment in history. The following feature is a part 色花堂/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2019s 12 for XII series /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2014 12 stories that define UCF and the meteoric rise of the Knights in their journey to the Big 12 Conference./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/n


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In the spring of 1980, Linda Gooch /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u201985 became a member of the UCF cheer team. In August 1984 she was officially hired as the program/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2019s head coach (the 2023 football season marks her 40th with the Knights) and a decade later the squad began competing for national titles. Since then they/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2019ve been routine high finishers in national competitions, claiming Universal Cheerleaders Association national titles in 2003, 2007 and 2020 and a UCA game day national title in 2019. In addition, Gooch /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2014 now the longest-tenured employee in UCF Athletics /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2014 has been a key figure in the creation of mascot Knightro and the KnightMoves dance team. Her husband Alan Gooch /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u201984 /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u201989MA played football at UCF and then coached football with the Knights for 22 years. Both are members of the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/n

This is Gooch/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2019s story on how the cheer program over the decades helped UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/u2019s rise to national notoriety./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/136646/n