FAMU travels to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina, but will be severely handicapped due to eligibility issues.
Tweet from Rattler Nation — a blog that closely follows Florida A&M Athletics — SWAC school has announced a deal with ACC hosts due to numerous ineligible players and others refusing to travel for the game. It ignited speculation that it might actually pull out of the game. HBCU Gameday has reached out to both FAMU and UNC to find out if there is any truth to the cancellation.
Officials at both Florida A&M and North Carolina assured us that the game was on-going. Shortly thereafter, head coach Willie Simmons informed Allison Posey about ABC 27 at Tallahassee. There were 20 student-athletes who were ineligible because of their academic or transfer eligibility. That total included a heavy blow to FAMU’s offensive line.
Simmons told The Athletic’s Pete Tammel, “After receiving the final certification for the entire team late last night, we were made aware that seven offensive linemen were deemed ineligible.” There are only seven healthy and eligible offensive linemen left, considering the person has sustained injuries.
Simmons said there was talk among the players not to play before Cold Head won because FAMU president Dr. Larry Robinson intervened.
“The players feel uneasy about playing in such conditions and are frustrated with many of the internal processes of the accreditation process, so they have decided not to play. After a few more discussions with the players, the players finally decided to play the game, and I support whatever these young men decide 100%.
FAMU eventually boarded a bus, drove to the airport, and drove to Chapel Hill.UNC has paid FAMU a $450,000 guarantee for the game, which was officially agreed in 2020. The game is scheduled to start on Saturday night at 8pm.
