After his UConn Huskies beat the UCF Knights 37-29 last Nov., head football coach Bob Diaco expressed interest in a rivalry game between the two teams; he even named it, proposed terms for the losing team and offered to buy the trophy.

Diaco has since taken steps to make good on all his propositions, but apparently without coordination with the UCF athletic department. The UConn football team shared a photo on Twitter last week showing a "Civil Conflict" trophy with a countdown to the Huskies' Oct. 10 game against the Knights.

According to UCFSports.com, the school said in a brief statement recently they "did not have any involvement in the creation of a trophy or an annual rivalry game with UConn," noting the school is "excited" to host the Huskies in Oct.

UCF head football coach George O'Leary told the website it was his understanding rivalries are typically confined to within state lines. Not known for its football prowess - and coming off a 2-10 season besides - UConn may be looking to drum up support before the season gets under way.

"Rivalries are one of the ways that engage teams, the student body, and fans to the conferences they are a part of," Diaco told the Hartford Courant. "The Civil Conflict will be no different. The challenge was born out of an ultimate respect for Coach [George] O'Leary and the football product UCF has built."

UConn's win against UCF last season was their only one in AAC play and it was the only loss the latter suffered. UCF shared the regular season AAC title with two other teams, ending a two-year streak, and the loss to UConn may have also contributed to the team being left off the New Year's Six slate of bowl games.

"Why do I have to call their athletic department to say that we've got them targeted as our rival, period. What control over that would they have?" Diaco said Monday on a teleconference, according to the New Haven Register. "What do I care what they think? If they don't want to be a part of the trophy, I don't care about that either."