By 2003 , serious discussions resumed as both schools had joined conferences – South Florida joined Conference USA ( C-USA ) in 2001 , while UCF joined the Mid-American Conference ( MAC ) in 2002 . That year , the schools ' athletics directors met and agreed to schedule games for the 2005 and 2006 seasons . Subsequently , South Florida joined the Big East , an Automatic Qualifying conference , in 2005 , while UCF joined C-USA the same year . The Bulls won both games , which both drew crowds over 45,000 . The series was extended for 2007 and 2008 as part of an agreement with C-USA that the Bulls play a member of the conference annually for five years . South Florida won these games as well , including a 64 – 12 blowout in 2007 . South Florida declined to schedule further games in the series , indicating it wished to pursue more competitive and high-profile opponents and teams from outside Florida
Big East
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
South Florida–UCF rivalry