FROM FROM FROM MEAC MEAC MEAC TO TO TO SW S
BOLD NEW CONFERENCE MOVE WILL TRANSFORM RATTLER ATHLETICS BY [ Brian J. HOWARD ]
Things will look a bit different for Florida A&M University (FAMU) athletics starting in July. That’s because for the first time in more than 40 years, Florida A&M will find itself playing and competing in another athletic conference. The Rattlers have long been a staple of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The MEAC, located in Norfolk, Va., was founded in 1969 and confirmed in 1970, kicking off its first season of competition in football in 1971. It wasn’t until 1979 Florida A&M entered the conference. From 19791984 and 1986 to present, FAMU was a member of the conference. Those years in between, Florida A&M was competing as an NCAA Division I Independent. In June, Kortne Gosha, vice president and director of FAMU Athletics, submitted a proposal to the Florida Board of Governors that outlined what a change from the MEAC to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) could look like. The Board moved quickly on June 4 and approved the decision to make the transition from the MEAC to the SWAC. “My first priority as athletic director was the student-athlete experience,” Gosha said. “[Among] the challenges that we faced as an institution was having a very large footprint of travel. We also looked into the financial details. Like most historically black colleges and universities, we’ve got to find ways to be efficient with our resources. We just did the math and, geographically, the SWAC made the most sense.”
The decision to move wasn’t reached on a whim, but rather was eight months in the making, according to SWAC Commissioner Charles McClelland. “I had a preliminary conversation with AD Gosha on where the SWAC was and where our mindset was as far as future was concerned,” said
FAMU WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
McClelland. “He didn’t necessarily tip his hand to say that FAMU was interested in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, but it was more so trying to align where we were ultimately, where FAMU was and where they wanted to go.” McClelland said conversations with Gosha about the potential move to the SWAC died down until late May before building speed again. During that period, Gosha and his athletics administration team were doing research on the potential move to the SWAC or another conference. All eyes zeroed in on the possible move when decision day rolled around. Like countless alumni, fans
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and media members from far and wide, McClelland and his SWAC team watched the board meeting to see if the proposal would pass. “I wasn’t 100 percent convinced that Florida A&M was going to join the Southwestern Athletic Conference until I heard the final vote,” said McClelland. “Clearly, we
No longer will FAMU have to travel north, but, instead, the Rattlers will showcase their teams in the southern part of the nation. Not long after adding FAMU, Bethune-Cookman came calling,
The Rattlers captured 12 outdoor championships and five indoor titles
thought it would be a perfect fit for the conference and for Florida A&M. We knew it would reduce travel for Florida A&M and knew that the rivalries we have on our end would be a natural fit on top of all the other rivalries in our conference.” The move signified a 40-plus year change from the days that FAMU made trips to Washington, D.C. (Howard), Baltimore (Morgan State) and Dover (Delaware State). A change would mean that, with those three schools, FAMU teams would have to travel by air instead of bus which had often meant leaving days in advance for contests — missing classes and schoolwork. SWAC life will change the Rattler Athletics landscape drastically.
FAMU FOOTBALL 1999
which allowed the SWAC to expand from a 10-member conference to 12 members within a matter of a month. “It was important (to add Bethune-Cookman) but it wasn’t necessarily part of the plan,” McClelland said. “Bethune was not on our radar. Florida A&M wasn’t necessarily on our radar.” With the announcement that Florida A&M was making the move to the SWAC, McClelland was hap-
