FAMU could leave the MEAC for SWAC

FAMU could leave the MEAC for SWAC

By Robert Alfonso Jr.

Florida A&M University could be on the move.

No, the Division I Historically Black College University program is not closing its doors or leaving the sunshine state.

The Rattlers are planning to leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

According to HBCU Gameday, FAMU is one Board of Trustees’ vote from leaving. The BOT will hold a special committee on athletics hearing on Wednesday, June 3. 

If the vote is approved, the Rattlers could enter the SWAC in the summer of 2021 and would complete in the MEAC for one more season.

This move needs to happen, regardless of the vote. Some people may not really understand the reason but it comes down to one reason: travel.

FAMU, located in Tallahassee, is one of two schools from the Sunshine State in the MEAC. The other school is Daytona’s Bethune-Cookman.

The Rattlers joined the conference in 1979 and then again 1986 after leaving the conference for two seasons from 1984 t0 1986.

Moving back to the SWAC would help cut down on travel costs for FAMU. The school’s future conference cuts across seven Southern states from Alabama to Texas. This would help the Rattlers cut travel to about 200 miles to any of the other campuses.

Currently, as members of the MEAC, FAMU averages 671 miles of travel to play its conference opponents one-way. The furthest trip to Delaware State 966 miles one-way or 14 hours via highway.

This is a strain on an athletic budget. FAMU has a total athletic budget of $10,706,218 to fund 16 teams. It is the seventh-largest budget in the MEAC’s 10-team league. Moving to the SWAC would propel them to the fifth-largest budget in the conference.

Leaving the MEAC could help improve the FAMU brand in recruiting.

The Rattlers make no bones about it when it recruits: its focus is the South. Yes, they have had players from all over the world fill the rosters or enrollment but most come from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Moving to the SWAC would help enhance FAMU’s Southern reach since the media exposure “far exceeds the value that the MEAC provides” stated in the school’s presentation to make the move.

It would also create natural rivalries against other schools.

There is a natural rivalry between FAMU and Bethune-Cookman. Both campus are separated by 258 miles one-way. The football programs play each other in The Florida Classic annually in Orlando, Florida.

This rivalry generates a lot of money for Central Florida, while also enhancing the brand of both programs because of its fan base.

Now, if the move is voted on, FAMU could not only keep its sports rivalry with its Florida brethren, but it would create some new ones since travel to the SWAC campus would not be difficult for fans.

North Carolina A&T will leave for the Big South July 2021. This is also when the Rattlers would like to leave for the SWAC. It would leave the MEAC with nine members overall and only seven in football.

Bethune-Cookman would also be the only Florida school remaining in the MEAC. The Wildcats may want to consider making a move in the future.