Florida A&M to seek NCAA Div. I status
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
FAMU, like the MEAC, is currently Div. I-A in all sports except football where competition is held on the Div. I-AA level. If the school is successful in making the jump, it would be the first historically black college or university to do so.
FAMU Athletic Director Dr. J. R. E. Lee, III, said Tuesday that the school plans to submit a formal letter of interest to the NCAA in the next few weeks.
"It's
for exploratory purposes," Lee said of the letter which is due to the NCAA
before June 15. "Depending on how the NCAA responds, we will sit at the table
and try to make some decisions." He expects the NCAA's reply some time in
August.
Lee, a 1959 FAMU grad and former athletics administrator whose family has deep ties to the Tallahassee, Fl., school, took over as interim athletic director in November and has made the Div. I inquiry a priority.
"There has been talk (about making the move) but never any serious efforts," said Lee, 65, whose grandfather, Dr. J.R.E. Lee, was president of FAMU from 1924-44. His father, Dr. J.R.E. Lee, Jr., served as a vice president of the school and is credited with founding the historic Orange Blossom Classic in 1933.
Lee formerly served as athletic director at Tennessee State in 1984-85 and prior to that spent 16 years as an assistant athletic director for marketing and development at the University of Wisconsin.
He has owned radio and television stations in the southeast United States and is a past president of the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters (NABOB).
Many believe Lee's business experience and acumen, his corporate ties and his familiarity with FAMU has fueled his desire to make the jump.
"This kind of move is necessary in today's economic climate," said Lee. "Whatever might be the other reasons, we're looking at it as what's best for Florida A&M and its men and women student athletes."
While acknowledging that it may take a two- or three-year process to get it done, Lee is not fazed.
"If we decide to go, we're going to jump on it."
Among the moves the school would have to make is scheduling five Div. I home games and increasing football scholarships from the 63 required in I-AA to the 85 in I-A. The NCAA would allow a two-year rolling period for the school to reach 90% of the 85 scholarships.
Lee said the school could meet the scheduling requirement in the 2004 season and by 2005 would be ready to apply to another conference for membership.
As for its long-standing relationship to black college sports, Florida A&M, which started playing football in 1907 and under former head coach Alonzo "Jake" Gaither and current coach Billy Joe has developed one of the most storied programs in the nation, hopes to keep some of that alive.
"Even as a Div. I program, we'll have the opportunity to play three traditional opponents," said Lee. "These are very good paydays for us." But he said the move would certainly involve abandoning MEAC membership.
How the MEAC would look upon FAMU's move is not known. The league could bar it from championships this year as well as during the process. FAMU could also be ineligible for the I-AA playoffs as it prepares for full Div. I status.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.