The FAMU Department of Athletics has released its 2011 football schedule. The line up features four home games and a September contest against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. There will also be two Classics.Last season the Rattlers finished with a record of 8-3 and 7-1 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play, by winning their last six of seven games and handing, Bethune-Cookman their only regular season lost in the Annual Florida Classic.
FAMU will open its 2011 campaign Sept. 3 with a non-conference home contest against Fort Valley (Ga.) State in Bragg Memorial Stadium.
After the season opener, the Rattlers will hit the road for three weeks, travelling to Armstrong Stadium for their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener Sept. 10 against Hampton University at Hampton, Virginia.
The Rattlers will then travel to Tampa, Fla., to take on the University of South Florida at Raymond James Stadium on Sept. 17. The team will conclude its three-game road swing on Sept. 24 in the annual Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic at the Georgia Dome.
FAMU returns home, resuming MEAC play against Delaware State on Oct. 1 and Howard University on Oct. 8, before making their first-ever trip to Savannah, Ga., on Oct. 15, to take on MEAC provisional member Savannah State at Ted A. Wright Stadium.
The following week, the Rattlers will trek to Orangeburg, S.C. for a critical MEAC matchup against South Carolina State on Oct. 22 at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. The Rattlers then have an open date (Oct. 29) before returning home for a conference match up against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 5.
In November, FAMU will have two road trips, taking on MEAC provisional member North Carolina Central for the first time in 38 years on Nov. 12 at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, N.C., before closing out the year in the 32nd Florida Classic against arch rival Bethune-Cookman University on Nov. 19 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Start times for all games will be announced at a later date.
With conference expansion in effect, the new league scheduling format has the Rattlers not facing longtime foes Norfolk (Va.) State or Morgan (Md.) State this season.