UCF Reportedly Slapped with Postseason Bans in Football, Basketball

The University of Central Florida has been handed one-year postseason bans in both football and basketball, according to CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman via Twitter:

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Central Florida will be hit with a one-year bowl ban in football and a one-year postseason ban in men's basketball, source told CBSSports.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) July 31, 2012"

ESPN's Andy Katz reported Tuesday morning that the bans were handed down from the NCAA because of recruiting violations in both programs.

UPDATE: Tuesday, July 31 at 4:50 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford

According to New York Times reporter Pete Thamel, the University of Central Florida will appeal the one-year postseason ban handed to their football and basketball programs on Tuesday:

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UCF announces it will appeal the one-year postseason football ban.

— Pete Thamel(@PeteThamelNYT) July 31, 2012"

This isn't necessarily a surprise. They cannot afford to let their school's two best athletic programs fall by the wayside without a fight. On the surface the ban is only a year, but it could cripple a small program like this. 

Stay tuned to see which direction this appeal goes in the coming days.

--------------------------------End of Update--------------------------------------

This report certainly comes as a surprise and ultimately deals both the UCF football and basketball programs a major black eye. A one-year ban in either sport is tough to swallow, considering that both programs have shown promise as of late. 

According to Katz via Twitter, neither program can compete for the conference championship at season's end:

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Yes. RT @caingle: Because of postseason ban, @espnandykatz tweeted #UCF could not compete in C-USA Championship. Same applies for football?

— Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz) July 31, 2012"

On the surface, UCF football looks inept already; after all, the Knights finished 5-7 in football last season, winning just three of eight games in Conference USA play and missing out on a bowl for the first time since 2008. But in reality, UCF was a program on the upswing. 

The Knights won 11 games in 2010 and defeated Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. UCF finished that season ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll. Now they will have to convince recruits that Central Florida is still the place to be even though there won't any titles to chase for at least a year. 

Meanwhile, the basketball program at UCF is coming off a season in which they won 22 games and went 10-6 in the conference. The Knights even earned an NIT bid last season. A postseason ban will certainly turn off any recruits who were on the fence about coming to UCF in the future. 

Postseason bans are crippling for college athletic programs, but in the case of UCF, the two most popular sports have been dealt significant blows that will halt their recent progress on the field and on the court. 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.