For the first three years of the rebooted Orange Blossom Classic ( OBC ), at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL, the Florida A&M (FAMU) Rattlers faced the Jackson State Tigers. From 2021-2023 the Rattlers and Tigers faced off to generous HBCU football crowds. Two marquee marching bands in FAMU’s Marching 100 and Jackson State’s Sonic Boom of the South also performed at the OBC.
FAMU bowed out of the HBCU Classic in 2024, citing a need for a fourth home game in Tallahassee. It was a surprising proposition for the Rattler faithful. It also put a spin on the Orange Blossom Classic that it had not experienced before…absence of FAMU.
In rainy weather, including a nearly two-hour lightning delay, the North Carolina Central Eagles defeated the Alabama State Hornets 31-24 in a wildly entertaining shootout. In the end, attendance was lower than in previous years .
The matter of the rapidly changing athletic directors at FAMU is partly to blame. Former FAMU Vice President and Director of Athletic Kortne Gosha negotiated for the Rattlers to face the University of Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 7 in Hard Rock Stadium, their home playing field. That contract is worth $700,000 to FAMU.