TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Dr. J.R.E. Lee III, Interim Director
of Athletics at Florida A&M has released the 2003 football schedule
with a lineup that will feature four home games, four Classic
contests and a September 13 date with the University of Florida
Gators in Gainesville.
FAMU's home slate will be a full card of Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference games with Morgan State (Sept. 6), Delaware State (Sept. 27),
Howard University (Oct. 11) and Norfolk State (Oct. 25), for homecoming.
The Classic lineup includes a season-opening affair with Allabama
State (Aug. 30) at Ford Field in Detroit; the annual Atlanta Football Classic
with Tennessee State (Sept. 20); the Circle City Classic against Jackson
State in Indianapolis (Oct. 4) and the Florida Classic in Orlando against
Bethune-Cookman (Nov. 22).
In announcing the schedule, Dr. Lee revealed that the process
was a difficult one. "What was most challenging was trying to
take advantage of the 12th game for the financial benefits to
the department, while arranging the schedule to the advantage
of our team and our fans."
Getting teams to move games in order to complete the schedule, along
with other shuffling of dates was necessary to making the final result come
to pass, according to Dr. Lee.
"Some of the adjustments in the schedule, plus the inclusion of new
opponents needed to be made when I took office, so it was a major undertaking
to get schools to work with us this late in the game. In some cases, teams
had to move important games in order to accomodate us," Lee said.
However, Lee was determined to release the 2003 slate as soon as it
was finalized.
"By releasing the schedule in January, we hope to allow our fans to
make plans to follow the team much earlier and at the same time begin our
marketing and promotional efforts much earlier as well."
Lee also indicated that he planned to announce future schedules up to
five years in advance by the late spring or early summer of this year.
2003 FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
August 30
Alabama State*
Detroit, MI
September 6
MORGAN STATE+
HOME
September 13
@University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
September 20
Tennessee State**
Atlanta, GA
September 27
DELAWARE STATE+
HOME
October 4
Jackson State#
Indianapolis, IN
October 11
HOWARD+
HOME
October 18
@North Carolina A&T+
Greensboro, NC
October 25
NORFOLK STATE+
HOMECOMING
November 1
@Hampton+
Hampton, VA
November 15
@South Carolina State+
Orangeburg, SC
November 22
@Bethune-Cookman##+
Orlando, FL
[@]-Away Games; [+]-Conference Games; [*]-Detroit Classic, Ford Field,
[**]-Atlanta Football Classic, Georgia Dome[#]-Circle City Classic, RCA Dome
[##]-Florida Classic, Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
