Florida Classic
| Florida Classic | |
|---|---|
| Florida Blue Florida Classic | |
| Stadium | Camping World Stadium |
| Location | Orlando, Florida |
| Operated | 1978–present |
| Conference tie-ins | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
| Sponsors | |
The Florida Blue Florida Classic is the annual college football game between the Wildcats of Bethune–Cookman University and the Rattlers of Florida A&M University.
The game is televised nationally by ESPNU as a part of a multi-year contract with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). For the last two games the game has been televised by ESPN Classic. The classic has approximately a $31 million impact on Orlando's economy and is annually the largest MEAC conference football game
The game is held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Previous games were at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach and Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee until the two schools agreed on a permanent site in Tampa in 1978.
The Florida Classic has now drawn in excess of 1.8 million fans since 1978. Since 1997, a total of 1,115,783 fans have watched the Florida Classic in the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium, an average of 61,988 per year. By comparison, the total attendance for the 18 years prior to Orlando was 765,529, an average of only 45,031. Between Orlando and Tampa, the Classic has drawn 1,801,587 fans. The record for attendance at the game is 73,358, set in Orlando in 2003.
Florida A&M won the first Florida Classic game in 1978, 27-17, overcoming a 17-0 halftime deficit. The team went on to win the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA championship. Bethune–Cookman made the series competitive starting in 1973, winning 11 of their 14 series victories during that span, including a 58-52 overtime win in 2004, which was the first-ever three-peat for the ‘Cats in the overall series, which dates back to the 1920s. Florida A&M holds an 18-10 edge in the meetings since the instate rivalry moved from a home-and-home scenario to an annual neutral site game in Tampa Stadium in 1978.
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