“After careful consideration, we have decided to add more
home football games for the upcoming season to minimize travel costs and
enhance the opportunity for our student athletes to excel academically,” Interim President Larry Robinson
said. “We believe the home game that we are playing in lieu of the Atlanta
Classic will net comparable revenue to our most recent game in Atlanta. It has
been an honor to play in the Atlanta Classic over the years and we look forward
to an opportunity to compete in this great series again in the future. These
additional home games also give us an opportunity to reinvest in the
Tallahassee community and our FAMU fan base.”
The Samford game is one of five home games on FAMU’s 2013
schedule. The other home opponents will Tennessee State, Howard, NC A&T,
and Delaware State.
The Sunday matchup on Labor Day weekend allows the game to
have center stage of college football and a national viewing audience on ESPN.
This will be the Rattlers' second appearance at the MEAC-SWAC Challenge, and it
is the first since it moved to Orlando. FAMU and B-CU held a pact not to play
in the event when it moved to Orlando, but B-CU broke from that and played in
the event the past two seasons. The Rattlers played in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge
in 2007 against Southern University in Birmingham, Ala. The 30,000 fans it drew
are nearly 10,000 more than it drew before or has drawn since. Last season, the
Delta Devils struggled to a 5-6 record (5-4 SWAC) and look to rebuild in 2013.