Tags: National Collegiate Athletic Association Team Season.
The 1997 UCF Golden Knights football season was the thirteenth and final for Gene McDowell as the head coach of the Golden Knights. Assistant coach Alan Gooch was named the national assistant coach of the year in 1997 and on January 20 1998 in the wake of a federal fraud investigation concerning improper cellular phone benefits and use McDowell resigned as head coach.UCF started to gain notoriety in 1997 playing a higher-profile schedule including several SEC teams.
