History
| School | BCU | FAMU |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Bethune-Cookman University | State University System of Florida |
| Location | Daytona Beach, FL | Tallahassee, FL |
| Conference | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Students | 3,594 | 13,200 |
| School Colors | ||
| Nickname | Wildcats | Rattlers |
| Mascot(s) | Dr. Wyle D. Cat | Venom |
| Football Stadium | Municipal Stadium | Bragg Memorial Stadium |
The series between the two schools began in 1925, with Florida A&M winning 25-0. B-CC’s first win came a year later, 12-0 in 1926. At one stretch, the Rattlers won 19 straight games including a 68-6 victory in 1959, a 97-0 win in 1960 and a 76-0 win in 1961. Overall, the Rattlers lead the 60-game series, 46-15-1.
Florida A&M won the first Florida Classic game in 1978, 27-17, overcoming a 17-0 halftime deficit. The team went on to win the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA championship. Bethune-Cookman made the series competitive starting in 1973, winning 11 of their 14 series victories during that span, including a 58-52 overtime win in 2004, which was the first-ever three-peat for the ‘Cats in the overall series, which dates back to the 1920s. Florida A&M holds an 18-10 edge in the meetings since the instate rivalry moved from a home-and-home scenario to an annual neutral site game in Tampa Stadium in 1978.
The two schools went through a two-year hiatus in 1983 and 1984, when they could not agree on a playing site, but public pressure from alumni, fans and state officials brought them back to the negotiating table and they resumed the series in 1985. Bethune-Cookman won the rivalry renewal game, 31-27 in 1985.
The 1997-2007 games saw the Florida Classic revived to the point that it overshadowed the drawing power of the Bayou Classic in New Orleans, between Grambling and Southern University in terms of attendance. In 1998, 66,245 packed the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium for the game which determined the 1998 MEAC Championship and postseason invitations. In 1999, the game drew 70,125 fans to Orlando, the sixth-largest football event ever held in the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. The 2000 MEAC title game, which drew 70,719, for a 31-28 thriller won by the Rattlers. The 2003 game stands as the largest crowd ever in the series - 73,358.
In 2005, the game made its debut on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, as a part of a commitment to broadcasting HBCU games.
Read more about this topic: Florida Classic
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