ORLANDO, Fla. − Last night (Nov. 13) was a special night for UCF and the Clark family. At halftime of the UCF-UMass men's basketball game at UCF Arena, they honored late Head Coach Torchy Clark and his son who starred for UCF and is a head coach himself at Flagler College, Bo Clark. Two banners now hang from the rafters at UCF arena signifying their many achievements to UCF basketball. Bo's No. 23 has been retired.

Torchy started the men's basketball program in 1969 and coached there for 14 years. He won 274 games at UCF and led them to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1978. He was also instrumental in getting UCF into the Sunshine State Conference. Torchy passed away in April at the age of 80.

Bo was a three-time All-American at UCF and scored 2,886 points. In the 1978-79 season he le all of Division II with a 31.6 points per game average. Bo is in his 24th season at Flagler as its head coach and he has amassed a 411-247 record.



"This is a great honor," Bo said in a UCF release. "It is even more special because my dad will be honored at the same time.

I really feel that my number represents all of the players who played during the first 15 years of the program. It represents the Jerry Prather's, the Calvin Lingelbach's and the Bennie Shaw's. Every jersey number could go up there. It is not just about Bo Clark, it is more about the players who played during the Torchy Clark era. Anyone who saw me play knows that I needed my teammates. This recognition is for them as well."

(special thanks to Doug Richards, Associate Director of Athletic Communications for contributing to this release)