UCF is bringing in one of competitive eating’s biggest names for its next home game, and the menu is not exactly subtle. Joey Chestnut will face five two-person teams in a key lime pie eating contest before the Knights host Arizona State on November 14.
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The announcement arrived five days after UCF’s last home appearance ended with a 41-9 humbling to Baylor. That result was a rough advertisement for the football team.
The athletic department’s answer, at least for the pregame schedule, is to put a world-famous eater on a stage and let him get to work on dessert. Chestnut will have 10 opponents across the five teams.
The competition is part of UCF’s November 13-14 promotional weekend, which also includes a men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader and a chance for fans to meet the eating champion.
UCF announced the appearance on November 4, describing Chestnut as a 55-world record holder with 18 hot dog-eating contest titles. The university has arranged five two-person teams to take him on, with places available for fans to purchase.
The remaining teams will include UCF students, influencers, local media personalities, and notable figures connected to the university. The competition will take place on the Corona Concert Series Stage at IOA Plaza, between the Knight Walk and March to Victory events.
UCF has not announced the exact time because the football kickoff time is still to be confirmed by the Big 12 and its television partners. Still, what is confirmed is that a prize will go to the winner.
The ticket listing attached to the announcement puts a competitor spot at $1,153. With 10 places available across the five teams, that would come to $11,530 if every spot were sold at that price.
That is a rather expensive way to find out whether you can keep up with Joey Chestnut over a pie. There is, of course, a difference between paying to watch a contest and paying to become part of one. UCF is selling the latter experience.
The opponent is also not some local pie-eating enthusiast who has been training in the privacy of a Florida kitchen. Chestnut has spent years making a career out of turning large quantities of food into a spectator sport.
The contest’s announcement came just days after UCF’s home loss to Baylor on October 30. The Knights were beaten 41-9 at the Acrisure Bounce House, scoring only three times and never getting close to keeping pace with the Bears.
UCF was now 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12. A week earlier, the Knights had beaten BYU 39-31 in double overtime, giving fans plenty to celebrate. Baylor’s visit ended that good feeling in a hurry.
Now, after a 32-point home defeat, a little extra entertainment around the next game certainly will not hurt. Never mind, it will help ease tensions around UCF woes by giving an incentive to many fans who probably wouldn’t have attended the game after the Baylor disappointment.
Is UCF showing its desperation with the pie-eating contest to pull in fans? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just what the UCF game day experience is?
The Knights also have another game to get through first. They travel to Kansas on November 7 before returning to Orlando to face Arizona State a week later. The Sun Devils are the next home opponent, and UCF will want the football itself to give fans a reason to stay interested.
Interestingly, Joey Chestnut is not UCF’s first food-related attraction
UCF had tried a similar promotion in September for its home game against TCU. Fans paid $64 for a ticket in sections 225 or 226 and could get as many hot dogs as they wanted until halftime.
The two-hot-dog limit on each concession visit became the talking point. Fans were paying for unlimited food, but getting it meant standing in line again and again. The September promotion quickly caught the attention of college football fans well beyond UCF, giving the sport another concession-stand story worth a laugh.
This time, though, UCF is also using the weekend to bring attention to its UCF Salutes initiative. Through a partnership with VetTix, the university says all contributions made toward tickets for the November 14 game will go toward providing seats for veterans and service members.
The program’s announcement says those ticket packages start at $50. So there is more happening than a pie-eating contest. But it is the Joey Chestnut appearance that will probably get the strangest looks and the most attention.
For UCF, the hope is that the Arizona State game offers a better afternoon than the Baylor one. The Knights still have football to play, and a pregame attraction cannot fix a defense that gives up 41 points.