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College football

Let the USF-FAMU rivalry begin

Officials are working hard for Rattlers fans to forget memories of the last time they visited Tampa to cheer on their team.

By DAVID KARP
Published August 3, 2005

TAMPA - Florida A&M University will play the University of South Florida next month in a game with little meaning for big-time college football.

But it could mean a lot for the host city of Tampa.

Everyone from Mayor Pam Iorio to USF president Judy Genshaft is working to make sure FAMU supporters enjoy their visit to Tampa - at least until their team takes the field.

"We want them to feel that Tampa is a hospitable place," Iorio said Tuesday.

More than anything, Tampa officials want FAMU fans to forget why the historically black school hasn't visited since 1996.

The Rattlers used to come to Tampa every year to play in the Florida Classic, a rivalry game against historically black Bethune-Cookman College. But in 1997, the game moved to Orlando after fans complained that Tampa hotels and a shopping mall treated them like second-class citizens.

FAMU alumni staged a boycott of several hotels that imposed reservation and payment requirements they considered unfair.

In 1994, the Tampa Bay Center shopping mall closed early on game day, preventing the largely black crowd from entering. The mall has since been bulldozed.

Iorio hopes the bad memories have gone with it.

"Frankly, I think the way the Florida Classic left this community was a low point," she said. "And I know there are many from both schools who left with a bad feeling about this town."

To erase that memory, the city, the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and USF will host three days of events leading up to the game on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The celebration will start the evening of Sept. 8 at the A La Carte Event Pavilion, where FAMU's interim president will host a gala to raise money for academic scholarships. Sponsors include Outback Steakhouse, Lee Roy Selmon's Restaurant, and the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

On Sept. 9, USF will host a community luncheon at the Tampa Convention Center and a pep rally outside.

On game day, Iorio will sponsor a "Game Day Spectacular" at Al Lopez Park with live music, local high school marching bands and food.

"We want to make sure that all of our visitors from out of town have a good time, and there is a lot of pregame build-up," Iorio said. "We want a party atmosphere."

Ticket sales have been brisk. About 20,000 seats are gone more than a month before the game, USF associate athletic director Thomas Veit said.

For the first time in USF's history, the school has started selling tickets in the upper decks at Raymond James Stadium, Veit said.

Much of the draw will come from local FAMU fans, who have missed seeing their team play. The Classic used to bring in about $11.8-million in business to the area, according to a USF study. USF is paying FAMU $250,000 to play the game as part of a one-year contract.

The new USF-FAMU rivalry kicked off Tuesday when Genshaft and interim FAMU president Castell Bryant appeared at a luncheon hosted by the Tampa Bay Roundtable at the 34th Street Church of God in College Hill.

"It's important to show that Tampa is a welcoming, fabulous community," Genshaft told the audience, where people in FAMU's orange-and-green outnumbered those in USF's green-and-gold. "I know the spirit and the receptivity we will have will make a big difference."

Bryant reminded the audience that the game was a USF home opener, not the Florida Classic.

"It doesn't have to be a Classic to be a great game," she said. "We don't have to have a Classic to beat up on them."

That would require a sizable upset.

FAMU's football program is reeling from scandal. The school volunteered Monday to cut 28 football scholarships after it uncovered more than 200 violations of NCAA rules. Bryant already has fired legendary football coach Billy Joe for his role in the violations.

Bryant said she does not know whether FAMU's famed marching band will be in Tampa for the game. The school, which had to cut four sports because of financial shortfalls, will have trouble affording it, she said.

Transporting the band costs $40,000.

"That is not chicken feed," Bryant told FAMU alumni. "You can't see the band in your hometown if you can't send money to the hill."

WHEN: Sept. 10, 7 p.m.

TICKETS: Contact Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster.com or 1-800-462-8557, or visit the USF athletics ticket office at Entry 3 of the USF Sun Dome from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday.

MORE: www.famu-usf.com

[Last modified August 3, 2005, 00:35:13]