by Rodney Clayton
Three reasons why, sadly, FAMU is never going I-A:
(1) FAMU will always face its share of challenges. All state institutions feel the need for more academic resources. There will always be accreditation visits. Government funding will continue to decrease. (2) This type of flip-flop is unprecedented. Which recruits will trust us? Which schools will be willing to risk a late-stage scheduling hole? Why would the NCAA even grant us another chance?(3) Three years from now, there will be seven well-established I-A programs in the State of Florida, including four BCS schools with the addition of USF to the Big East. That’s a crowded field for the eighth to break into.
The payouts FAMU football is likely to lose with the cancellation of I-A games is around $1.2 million, an amount that could have increased the athletic department’s $6.5 million budget by nearly 20%.
So tell me, why I should believe we will revisit the I-A idea three or more years from now? Fool me one, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
President Gainous said he did not want to “mortgage the future of the university” with respect to academic needs. Considering athletics mostly funds and operates its own budget, I hardly see how that could occur.