The Rattlers received a Level Two penalty under the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) system, which measures scholarship athletes’ academic eligibility and retention, after their four-year average score fell below the required 930 benchmark. The penalty includes restrictions on practice time and, most significantly, a ban from competing in the conference championship or any bowl game this coming season.
The numbers reveal a program that has been trending in the wrong direction academically for years. FAMU’s multi-year APR score was 911 for 2023–24 — 19 points below the standard. For 2022-23 the Rattlers APR score was 906 -- 24 points below standard. It marks the fifth consecutive year the program has fallen short, with its scores dipping as low as 898 in 2021–22. The last time the Rattlers met the NCAA’s academic threshold was in the 2018–19 academic year, when they posted a 931.
Director of Athletics John F. Davis, who stepped into the role earlier this year, did not shy away from the result.
“We owe it to our student-athletes and the Rattler community to be transparent about where we are and where we are going,” Davis said. “The four-year rolling average that produced this outcome includes a period of significant transition, that context does not excuse the result. We are here to fix it.”
The university had applied for a conditional waiver in 2025 to avoid penalties, but it did not meet the requirements to maintain that protection, triggering the sanctions this year.
First-year head football coach Quinn Gray Sr., who was hired to restore competitiveness and culture to the program, after the team went 5-7 last season, struck a determined tone despite the setback.
“Academics and football are not competing priorities in our program — they are the same priority,” Gray said. “We’ve put systems in place for execution and accountability every day. This ban doesn’t stop us from impacting lives or building toward our ultimate goal of earning degrees.”
The postseason ban presents both a practical and symbolic challenge for the FAMU football program. But the larger task — rebuilding an academic infrastructure that supports athletes through graduation — is now the departments most important priority.
For the Rattlers, the path back to contention doesn’t just run through the field; it runs through the classroom.