War on I-4
| Sports | Baseball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Football, Men's Golf, Women's Golf, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, Women's Track & Field, Volleyball |
|---|---|
| Locations | Tampa, Florida, (Bulls) Orlando, Florida, (Knights) |
| Teams | University of South Florida University of Central Florida |
| First meeting | 1971 (baseball) 1972 (men's basketball) 1973 (women's basketball) 1974 (men's soccer, volleyball) 1978 (men's tennis) 1994 (women's tennis) 1998 (women's soccer) 2003 (softball) 2005 (football) 2013 (cross country) 2014 (men's golf, women's golf, track and field) 2016 (official War on I-4 series) |
| Stadiums | South Florida: Raymond James Stadium, Yuengling Center, Corbett Stadium, USF Baseball Stadium, USF Softball Stadium UCF: FBC Mortgage Stadium, Addition Financial Arena, UCF Soccer and Track Stadium John Euliano Park |
| Statistics | |
| All-time series | Baseball: 89–86 South Florida In conference: 26–24 UCF Men's Basketball: 28–19 South Florida In conference: 14–7 UCF Women's Basketball: 32–17 South Florida In conference: 13–9 South Florida Football: 8–6 UCF In conference: 8–2 UCF Men's Soccer: 29–9–6 South Florida In conference: 8–5 South Florida Women's Soccer: 14–7–4 UCF In conference: Tied 5–5–4 Softball: 23–19 UCF In conference: 21–10 UCF Men's Tennis: 37–17 South Florida In conference: 8–7 South Florida Women's Tennis: 20–13 South Florida In conference: 8–5 UCF Volleyball: 50–45 South Florida In conference: 20–0 UCF Conference Championship Meets: 37–9 UCF Women's Cross Country: 8–2 UCF Men's Golf: 6–3 South Florida Women's Golf: 8–1 UCF Women's Indoor Track and Field: 9–0 UCF Women's Outdoor Track and Field: 9–0 UCF Total: 326–288–10 South Florida Total in conference: 160–91–4 UCF |
| Postseason results | Total: 18–15–2 South Florida Conference Tournaments: Tied 11–11–2 Conference Championship Games: Tied 4–4–1 (included in tournament record) NCAA tournaments: 6–4 South Florida Other postseason meetings: 1–0 South Florida |
| Trophy series | 7–0 UCF In conference: 7–0 UCF |
The War on I-4 is a college rivalry between the University of Central Florida Knights and University of South Florida Bulls. The rivalry is best known for its college football matchup which originated in a series of football games played from 2005 to 2008 and now takes place on Thanksgiving weekend, the de facto "rivalry weekend" for FBS football. From 2013 to 2023, when both schools were part of the American Athletic Conference, the schools began competing annually in all sports both schools sponsored (with the 1993–94 season being the only other season the schools competed in every sport both schools sponsored). In 2016, the schools officially adopted the "War on I-4" as an official competition series. Each year, the team with the most wins across all sports receives a gold trophy styled after an Interstate 4 (I-4) road sign with the logos of each school. The winner of the annual football game also receives a similar trophy.
As of March 4, 2026, South Florida holds the all-time series lead for seven of the ten sports in which the schools meet head-to-head: baseball (89–86), men's basketball (28–19), women's basketball (32–17), men's soccer (29–9–6), men's tennis (37–17), women's tennis (20–13) and volleyball (50–45); but UCF disputes the all time records in baseball, women's basketball, men's soccer, and volleyball, claiming the Bulls' records in these sports are 86–85, 29–14, 28–9–6, and 48–44, respectively. The only sports where UCF leads the all time head-to-head series are women's soccer (14–7–4), softball (23–19), football (8–6), and conference championship meets (37–9, though South Florida leads 6–3 in Men's Golf). UCF leads the all time trophy series 7–0 (potentially 10–0 if the trophy continued to be awarded after they left the AAC for the Big 12).
The Knights also led overall while both schools were in the American Athletic Conference with a 160–91–4 record in conference games against the Bulls across all sports, whereas the all-time total across all sports is 326–288–10 in favor of the Bulls. The two teams were tied 11–11–2 all time in conference tournament matches and the teams are tied 4–4–1 in conference championship games (though South Florida has actually won five conference championships head-to-head against the Knights; the tie denotes that their 2017 women's soccer title was won on penalty kicks). The Bulls are 6–4 against UCF in NCAA tournament games and 1–0 in other postseason meetings, making the overall postseason total 18–15–2 in favor of the Bulls.
As the schools are now in separate conferences, they meet less often in sporting events than they did from 2013 to 2023.