Jay Bergman spent 26 seasons as head coach of the UCF baseball team from 1983-2007. A consistent winner throughout his decorated coaching career, he turned UCF into one of the 30 winningest programs in the NCAA in the 2000s. He qualified for 12 NCAA Regional berths (nine at UCF, three at Florida), won six Atlantic Sun titles (the most of any coach or conference team), was named the 1995 Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and was a two-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year (2001, 2002).

Bergman finished with a 1,210-707-3 record over his brilliant 32-year career in Division I, including an impressive 994-594-3 mark in 26 seasons at UCF.

Bergman took the Knights to their first C-USA Championship in 2007, where they recorded a 1-0 upset victory over Houston. In all, UCF went 27-32 and saw home attendance increase 58 percent from 2006. Kiko Vazquez was named an All-C-USA First-Team honoree, Auer was selected to the All-C-USA Second Team and Chris Duffy earned a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman Team. Meanwhile, Vazquez and Horwath were voted onto the C-USA All-Academic Team.

A monumental task for Bergman came in 2006 when he led UCF into what has become a power conference in collegiate baseball: Conference USA. The Knights recorded a 23-33 mark as they consistently used five or more freshmen per game. Veteran starter Tin Bascom was named First Team All-C-USA en route to being drafted in the sixth round, while Mitch Houck and Dave DiNatale were selected to the All-C-USA Freshman Team.

For the 15th time under Bergman, UCF captured a 40-win season in 2005, which marked the fifth occurance in six years it reached the 40-win plateau. The Knights ended the season 42-18 and left the Atlantic Sun with the most tournament championships in league history with six. Seven of Bergman's players were drafted following the 2005 campaign, the most of any baseball program in the state of Florida. The seven UCF players drafted were the second-highest amount in school history as Bergman's 1998 squad had a school-record 10 players taken in the draft. Five players collected all-league honors in 2005, including A-Sun first team selections Bascom and Dee Brown.

The 2004 season continued to prove why Bergman is one of the top mentors in the nation. The veteran head coach guided UCF to a 47-18 record, the fourth-highest win total in school history, along with a spot in the regional championship game at Florida State. The Knights won the A-Sun regular season championship with a 24-6 conference record.

The 2004 club featured one of the top pitching duos in the nation in Matt Fox and Kyle Bono. The two earned All-America honors, marking the second time in four years UCF had two pitchers garner All-America honors. Fox finished the season 14-2 and was a first round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. Bono was selected in the eighth round as four Knights were drafted and signed professional contracts.

During the 2003 season, several of Bergman's players received honors on and off the field. Senior Ryan Bear became the second first team Academic All-American in three seasons at UCF. The outfielder was also named to the A-Sun first team to finish an outstanding career for the Knights. Bear was one of four players from the 2003 team to be drafted or sign with an MLB team, continuing UCF's long tradition under Bergman of sending players to the professional ranks. Bergman's 2003 squad also landed three players on the A-Sun All-Freshman Team.

The 2002 campaign was another masterful coaching job by one of the nation's top leaders. After losing perhaps the greatest one-two pitching combination in NCAA history in Justin Pope and Jason Arnold, Bergman led the Knights to their second-straight A-Sun Championship and the team's eighth NCAA appearance. UCF finished the season 41-22 as UCF had six players earn all-conference honors including the A-Sun Freshman of the Year, Dee Brown.

Bergman won his 1,000th NCAA game May 3 at Florida Atlantic to become just the 25th coach in NCAA history to reach the 1,000-win plateau.

The 2001 season was the best in a legacy of great campaigns. The Knights shattered the record books individually and as a team. The 2001 team set records for UCF in Division I wins with 51, and won 22 conference games for the second season in a row. The 51 wins ranked third in the nation tied with Stanford and only behind Tulane and national champion Miami. The winning percentage ranked sixth in the nation.

The biggest testament to Bergman was a wire-to-wire ranking. The 2001 UCF squad never dropped out of the top 25 in any of the three national collegiate baseball polls. Its No. 7 ranking entering the postseason tied for the highest in conference history, and is the highest in UCF history. The pitching staff set a team record for strikeouts and was nationally ranked in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings. Unfortunately, the Knights came up short finishing second to South Carolina in the Columbia Regional after being only one of three visiting teams to earn a No. 1 seed in an out-of-town regional.

In 1995, Bergman was named Division I Atlantic Region Coach of the Year after guiding the Knights to a 49-13 (.790) record and becoming the 50th coach to win over 700 games. During the 1995 campaign, UCF set school and state records with a 29-game win streak, one more than the 28-game streak he set during the 1985 season in which UCF went 52-34-1. It was also during 1995 that UCF claimed the No. 10 ranking in the nation.

When the A-Sun opened its doors to UCF in 1993, Bergman's squad scrapped its way to an even 31-31 record, but made a grand entrance by winning the A-Sun Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

The 1989 season marked the first time UCF had participated in the Division I NCAA Tournament, as it qualified with a 42-22 record. The Knights marched into Gainesville, Bergman's old stomping grounds, and knocked the host Gators into the elimination bracket before Miami sent them packing in the next game, while UCF later lost to Villanova in the regional semifinals.

Bergman began his coaching career with a seven-year stint at Seminole Community College in nearby Sanford, where his teams posted an overall record of 180-79 (.695). Beginning in 1968, Bergman's teams qualified for six consecutive state tournaments and he was a three-time Division II coach of the year. He departed SCC after the 1973 season for a three-year assistant coaching stint at Florida before taking the head coaching reigns in 1976.

The University of Florida can thank Jay Bergman for its baseball program's success, as he brought the Gators into the national spotlight with their first ever NCAA Regional appearance during his tenure at UF. Bergman left Florida with the highest winning percentage in school history (216-113, .657). In his first 13 years of coaching, 57 of his former players went on to the professional ranks (21 SCC, 36 Florida).

Over Bergman's 39-year head coaching career, many of his players earned national, regional and conference honors for academic and athletic excellence. More than 100 of Bergman's former players signed professional contracts and 10 of those players, including five first-round selections, played in the major leagues.

Fourteen UCF players had been recognized as All-Americans in one form or another. In 2004, Matt Fox, Kyle Bono, Taylor Meier and Clay Timpner all collected All-America honors.

Bergman's players were recognized off the field as well. In 2007, 16 Knights earned a spot on C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, which included Nick Choto receiving the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal for having a GPA of 3.75 or higher. That came after a 2006 campaign in which 14 student-athletes received honor-roll accolades. In 2002, 13 players were named to the A-Sun All-Academic Team. In 2001, Chad Ehrnsberger became the first athlete in UCF sports history to earn first-team Academic All-American status. Ehrnsberger and Bill Oakley were also regionally recognized. In 1998, Matt Lubozynski was a second team Academic All-American.

Bergman received his master's of science degree in sociology from Appalachian State in 1966 and his undergraduate degree in history/government from Rollins College in 1963. He is a member of the Rollins College, UCF, Winter Park High School and Richmond County (Va.) Baseball Coaches Halls of Fame.

Bergman also served for four seasons as a member of the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee which was responsible for administering policies and rules for baseball and its post-season tournaments. From 1995-97, Bergman was a member of the NCAA Regional Baseball Committee.

The coach served as UCF's associate athletics director under AD Gene McDowell. When Steve Sloan arrived in 1993 to take over as the athletics director, Bergman focused specifically on baseball and relinquished the administrative role.

Within a short time after Bergman's arrival at UCF, he revived the Dugout Club as a successful fund-raising organization for the team. Before his first season at UCF, he and his players built an eight-foot wooden fence at the former UCF Baseball Complex and solicited local businesses for advertising support. Two years later, the team had lights installed. In 1996, new bleachers, dugouts, concession stands and a press box were added. The complex served as the Knights home field until 1998.

In 2001 Bergman received the greatest gift of all for all his hard work and dedication, a brand new state-of-the-art facility which bears his name. In 2001, UCF dominated its opponents at the new ballpark going 30-7, including a 19-1 start, with a .331 batting average and a 2.95 ERA inside the friendly confines of Jay Bergman Field.

In his early days as head coach of the Knights, Bergman was all about marketing and brought some of baseball's all-time greats to UCF. In November 1984, Bergman coordinated the first Old-Timers Baseball Weekend in Orlando with a game including Major League legends Lou Brock, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell and Early Wynn at Tinker Field for the benefit of the children's trauma center at the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Bergman has a wife Sherry, and four children, Jay, Jr., Catherine, Michael and Tiffany. Jay, Jr. played for the Knights from 1983-84 during his father's first two seasons at UCF.