UCF competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Big 12 Conference.

[4] The Knights play their home games in the Addition Financial Arena located on the university's main campus.

In the Division II era, under Torchy Clark, UCF found great success including a DII Final Four appearance.

In that time, four coaches have led the Knights to the postseason: Torchy Clark, Kirk Speraw, Donnie Jones, and Johnny Dawkins.

Clark is the only coach to successfully lead the Knights past the first round of the NCAA tournament, reaching the 1978 Final Four following a 24–game winning streak.

[10] Eugene "Torchy" Clark, served as FTU's, then UCF's, first head basketball coach.

In 1969, Clark, who was a Wisconsin high school coach, was responsible for starting the university's basketball program from scratch.

That year, as a club level team, the Knights went 11–3, including a 99–38 victory in their first game over Massey Tech.

[6] The first season would serve as an omen for UCF basketball, with Clark bringing the university unprecedented success as a Division II team.

Hired to be Clark's replacement, Chuck Machock, an assistant coach at Ohio State, took the helm for the 1983–84 season.

[15] When Speraw took the helm in 1993, UCF had only one winning season since Torchy Clark left a decade earlier.

The Knights made a huge turnaround in the 2006–07 season, finishing 2nd in conference play to Memphis with an overall record of 22–9.

[15] The Knights would play their first game in the new UCF Arena on November 3, 2007, an 86–78 win over the Saint Leo Lions.

In thrilling fashion, the Knights defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in triple overtime 97–91 in front of an announced crowd of 7,097, in their first home C-USA game in the arena on January 11, 2008.

[16] In what would be his final season with the team, on February 2, 2010, the Knights defeated the East Carolina Pirates 67–56, earning Speraw his 275th win at UCF, passing Torchy Clark as the winningest coach in program history.

[17] Following a disappointing 2009–10 season in which the Knights went 15–17, the university decided not to retain Kirk Speraw bringing an end to his 17-year tenure.

[17] On March 30, 2010, UCF announced Donnie Jones as the university's new Men's Basketball Head Coach.

Following a 10–0 start to the 2010–11 season, the Knights were nationally ranked for the first time in program history at the Division I level.

[19] At the time, UCF was one of nine unbeaten teams, and one of only four schools to be ranked in the BCS standings and the AP basketball poll.

Jones led the Knights to the biggest win in program history, when on November 25, 2011 they defeated the defending national champions and then-ranked #4 Connecticut Huskies 68–63 in the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

Following an investigation into recruiting violations in the men's basketball program in 2011, on July 31, 2012, the NCAA announced sanctions – in addition to penalties UCF self-imposed.

The Knights played their final season in the venue in 2007, going 15–1 at home only losing to the Elite Eight bound Memphis Tigers.

The Knights opened up their new arena against the reigning Western Athletic Conference champion Nevada Wolf Pack on November 11, 2007 in front of a crowd of 4,668.

During the 2010–2011 season, a group of students attempted to start a new tradition; if a UCF player makes all of his free throws, the chant is followed by "ballin'.