Leaders at Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman ready for rivalry
Both teams in Florida Classic have a shot to win at least a share of a conference championship
For the administrators at Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, the Florida Classic week is a family reunion.
The football game between the rival schools is only part of the week — the “icing on the cake,” said Bethune-Cookman athletic director Lynn Thompson. The week also includes a Battle of the Bands, meetings between alumni groups, tailgates and the Florida Classic Consortium Kickoff Luncheon.
The luncheon — hosted Friday at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress — brought together the football teams, presidents, coaches and alumni from both schools and, like any good family reunion, featured good-natured barbs from both sides.
It was all in preparation for Saturday’s Florida Classic.
“We’re fighting to get a share of [the conference championship],” Thompson said. “FAMU’s fighting to win it outright. We’re going to see what’s going to happen. Regardless of what happens, at the end of the game, half my family’s coming back with me to the hotel to celebrate while the other half is going to commiserate.”
The Rattlers (6-4, 5-1 MEAC) and the Wildcats (6-5, 4-2 MEAC) face each other at 2 p.m. at Camping World Stadium in a game with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship implications for both teams. If the Rattlers win, they’ll claim at least a share of the
MEAC crown and a berth in the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.
If Bethune-Cookman wins and North Carolina A&T loses to North Carolina Central, the Wildcats will claim a share of the MEAC title.
“We’ve never had an opportunity to play for anything like this before,” said FAMU athletic director John Eason. “If we win, there’s a rainbow out there for us. That’s the key, that’s the deciding factor. We have not had this before. Our fans understand that. Ticket sales are going up as a result of it. I think it’s a win for all of us if we’re able to pull this off and get it done and wind up being champions.”
A Florida Citrus Sports official confirmed ticket sales are ahead of where they were before last year’s Classic. Last season, the game drew an announced crowd of 47,819.
Thompson said it’s good the game is back to being a championship-deciding matchup. After years of mediocrity and sub-par results, FAMU’s football program has been turned around by new coach Willie Simmons. The Rattlers already have won six games, the team’s highest win total since 2011.
During the luncheon, university presidents Larry Robinson and Hubert Grimes touted the success of their respective students and Grimes, of B-CU, presented a nervous Robinson, of rival FAMU, a gift. Grimes put the jokes aside and gave Robinson a framed copy of the Last Will and Testament of BCU founder Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.
Simmons and BethuneCookman coach Terry Sims fielded questions from ESPN commentator and FAMU graduate Tiffany Greene about the importance of the game.
Both danced around the trash-talking aspect of the game, though Sims walked off the stage to applause from the BethuneCookman side of the room after saying, “A wise man once said nothing at all.”
Simmons preceded that by answering a question from Greene about Bethune-Cookman’s seven-game Classic winning streak.
“I was brought here for this reason,” Simmons said with a smile.
Bethune-Cookman has dominated the rivalry in recent years, but FAMU holds a 50-22-1 advantage over the Wildcats all-time. The Wildcats hold an 11-10 lead Classic lead over FAMU since the game moved to Orlando in 1997.
“It’s about family,” Thompson said. “It’s about an experience for our students and student athletes. It’s about a weekend of events establishing networking opportunities and relationships.
“Look around this room right now and you see networking, corporate relationships. You’ve got student athletes who are sitting with corporate sponsors discussing not only the game, but opportunities beyond the playing field. So you tell me, is that more than just a football game?”