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 August 28, 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 (), 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, , and 48–44, respectively. The only sports where UCF leads the all time head-to-head series are women's soccer (), 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 record in conference games against the Bulls across all sports, whereas the all-time total across all sports is in favor of the Bulls. The two teams were tied all time in conference tournament matches and the teams are tied 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 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.
Names Starting when the schools first met on the gridiron in 2005, some writers dubbed the rivalry the "War on I-4". When the series resumed in 2013, administrators from both schools named it the "I-4 Corridor Clash". Both names refer to Interstate 4, an interstate highway that runs through both Orlando and Tampa. In 2016, when the schools announced the official competition, they formally adopted the "War on I-4" name.
The name "War on I-4" had previously been used for an arena football rivalry between the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators from 1992 to 2016. The Storm and Predators were located in the same metropolitan areas as South Florida and UCF respectively and were two of the most successful franchises in the league, with the Storm winning five Arena Bowls and the Predators winning two. The name became available when the Predators folded following the 2016 season.
Series history
Beginning Founded in 1956 and 1963, respectively, the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida are located away from each other in Tampa and Orlando, which combined make up the fourth-largest media market in the United States. The short distance between the schools, combined with their athletic programs concurrent establishment and rise to NCAA Division I helped create a natural rivalry between the two, which only became stronger when both became members of the American Athletic Conference in 2013. The first meeting between the then-Florida Technological University Knights of the Pegasus (UCF) and the University of South Florida Golden Brahmans that both schools agree happened (South Florida claims the schools played two baseball games in 1971 that UCF does not recognize) was a 1972 men's basketball game in Tampa. The Golden Brahmans won this game, 115–96. Since that game, South Florida and UCF have begun series against each other in eight or nine other sports, depending on which schools' records are used.
Official War on I-4 rivalry On September 21, 2016, the morning of the first meeting of the season between the Bulls and Knights with a volleyball game set to take place in Orlando that evening, both athletic departments announced the official recognition of the "War on I-4" rivalry series. The schools compete each school year in 14 sports for bragging rights, with each sports team's record counting equally toward a final tally for each program.
Trophy
The winner of each the football competition and the overall competition each year takes possession of a large trophy shaped like the iconic I-4 road sign, which will be displayed on their campus for the following year. Each trophy is similar but has a few key differences. The all-sports trophy has the War on I-4 logo on it and features the score of each season's overall competition. It is also significantly larger than the football trophy. The football trophy is dual-sided, with one side of the trophy reading "Tampa" and featuring South Florida's logo while the other reads "Orlando" and features UCF's logo. The football trophy also has a large base, which is detachable. Including the base, the football trophy measures tall and weighs . The score of each game is featured on the base.
Unlike the Vince Lombardi Trophy or Larry O'Brien Trophy, which are permanently awarded to the victor every year, both the football and overall War on I-4 trophies are traveling trophies which are kept by the winner until the other team wins it, similar to the Stanley Cup.
Future With UCF leaving the American Athletic Conference for the Big 12 Conference at the start of the 2023–24 school year, the rivalry series has not been able to continue in the prior format, especially considering the schools are guaranteed to no longer meet in golf, cross country, or track and field. It is likely that football in particular will be on hiatus until at least 2031, because that is the next year when both teams have multiple openings in their non-conference schedules.
It is unknown if the trophy is still being awarded, albeit with fewer sports than before, with the winner being based on those meetings, or if the trophy series is put on hold, as South Florida has yet to win the point series since the trophy was introduced, hence no changing of hands has been required with the trophy. Neither school has acknowledged the trophy since 2023.
For 2023–24, South Florida and UCF only met in a 3-game series in baseball, and a single Men's Tennis and Women's Soccer game, plus a postseason meeting in men's basketball via the 2024 National Invitation Tournament.
For 2024–25 and 2025–26, South Florida and UCF only played single games of Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, and Women's Tennis, along with two games for Men's Tennis, and a 3-game series in baseball.
For 2026–27, so far, South Florida and UCF only played single games of Men's Soccer and Women's Soccer.
Point system Since September 21, 2016, when the rivalry series was officially established, South Florida and UCF have scored their competitions in the 14 sports represented at both universities (South Florida is the only one of the two schools to sponsor men's cross country, women's sailing, and men's track & field while UCF is the only one of the two schools to sponsor women's rowing). Each sport is worth 6 total points, meaning the point system typically grants:
1 point to the winner of each regular season baseball game (6 games per year) 3 points to the winner of each regular season men's basketball game (2 games per year) 3 points to the winner of each regular season women's basketball game (2 games per year) 6 points to the higher finisher at the American Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championship 6 points to the winner of the annual football game 6 points to the higher finisher at the American Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship 6 points to the higher finisher at the American Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championship 6 points to the winner the each regular season men's soccer match (3 points awarded to each side in the event of a draw) 6 points to the winner of the annual regular season women's soccer match (3 points awarded to each side in the event of a draw) 2 points to the winner of each regular season softball game (3 games per year) 6 points to the winner of the annual regular season men's tennis match. 6 points to the winner of the annual regular season women's tennis match. 3 points to the higher finisher at the American Athletic Conference Women's Indoor Track & Field Championship 3 points to the higher finisher at the American Athletic Conference Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship 3 points to the winner of each regular season volleyball match (2 matches per year) In the event of a tie in the overall competition, the athletic program that scores higher in the annual NCAA Graduation Success Rate will be awarded 1 extra point and crowned as the champion for that season. In the unlikely event that this is also tied, the series ends as a tie for that season and the previous winner retains the trophy.
In some years the scoring is slightly different. For example, South Florida and UCF only met once in women's basketball for the 2016–2017 season, so that game was worth all 6 points. Likewise, in 2020 and 2021 the sides played two men's soccer matches instead of one, which were worth 3 points each and awarded 1.5 points to each in the event of a draw. In all, there are 84 available points with 43 points required to clinch the title. As mentioned above, only regular season matches are counted toward War on I-4 point totals for the 10 sports in which the teams compete head-to-head, meaning if the Bulls and Knights meet in an exhibition game, conference championship, NCAA tournament, or a football bowl game, that game would not count for War on I-4 competition purposes.
Trophy series results UCF clinched the first academic year's overall title with an AAC women's golf championship on April 18, 2017. The 2016–17 competition ended on May 20 with a 3–2 Knights victory in a baseball game, making the final point total 51 points to 33 points for UCF.
On April 17, 2018, the Knights clinched the overall title for the second consecutive year, again in the AAC women's golf championship. UCF finished second in the event, while South Florida finished ninth. The series concluded on May 13 with UCF placing higher than South Florida in the 2018 American Athletic Conference outdoor track and field competition and led to a final series score of 49–35 for UCF.
UCF clinched the overall title for the third straight year on April 7, 2019, with a 5–0 victory in baseball, the earliest clinch in the competition's history. The series concluded on May 12 with UCF placing higher than South Florida in the American Athletic Conference women's outdoor track and field competition, making the final score 70–14 in favor of the Knights, the largest margin of victory in the competition's history.
The 2019–20 edition ended in March due to spring sports being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. UCF led the series 36–9 at the time of the cancellation and was awarded the victory for the season, even though the schedule was not complete and UCF did not meet the point thresholds for winning in a normal season. This marked UCF's fourth-consecutive win in the War on I-4.