Florida A&M communicated its concerns with North Carolina of a depleted roster throughout the day on Friday, which led to a wild three hours and speculation on social media that Saturday’s 8 p.m. opener at Kenan Stadium would not be played.
“I don’t want anybody to think they weren’t keeping us in the loop, they were making decisions in real time,” UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham told The News & Observer. “They got everything handled, but it would have been nicer if no one would have gotten it on Twitter.”
FAMU football coach Willie Simmons told Alison Posey of ABC27 in Tallahassee, Fla., that 20 players were ineligible whether by academics or related to their transfer status. It was apparently still an issue less than 32 hours before kickoff because Simmons expected an appeal to the NCAA to go through that did not. That’s why the Rattlers were faced with having to replace so many players so close to game time.
Cunningham said clearing eligibility at the beginning of each semester can be a tedious process because of freshmen transcripts, summer school for continuing students and trekking progress toward a degree.
“Confirming eligibility for the first game happens right until the last minute,” Cunningham said. “We didn’t have everybody confirmed from an eligibility standpoint until this (Friday) morning. It’s not unusual.”
Cunningham said discussions with FAMU never went in-depth into who was eligible and who was not. But Simmons told ESPN that they were down to only seven offensive linemen who could travel because of eligibility and injuries and the team had decided not to play.
“After a few more discussions with university leadership, including the president of the university, the players ultimately decided to play the game,” Simmons told ESPN.com. “I support these young men 100 percent in whatever they decide and I’m extremely proud of them for advocating for themselves.”
The Rattlers charter Allegiant Air flight 4501 departed Tallahassee, Fla., at 5:09 p.m. — six hours later than it was originally scheduled to leave — and landed at Raleigh-Durham airport at 6:19 p.m., according to Flightaware.com.
A big factor in the Rattlers ultimately making the trip probably had to do with the penalty for not playing the game. According to the football competition agreement signed on Sept. 30, 2020, by FAMU president Larry Robinson and then-athletic director Kortne Gosha, the school would lose $450,000 in liquidated damages if notice of cancellation occurred 12 months before the scheduled date of the game.
The Rattlers, per the contract, stand to make a guarantee of $450,000 for playing the game. The athletic department’s total revenue from the 2020-21 fiscal year was $8.5 million, so a $900,000 swing from earning its guarantee to instead owing it would not be insignificant.
The unlikelihood of FAMU taking such a big financial hit didn’t stop rumors from picking up steam on social media that the Rattlers wouldn’t show up in Chapel Hill. Cunningham and UNC football officials were well aware of the speculation that followed before those fears were later put to rest.
Rumors began to spread of eligibility issues and a player boycott around noon when a Twitter account called Rattler Nation Blog - Amplified (@RattlernationAM) posted that the game may not be played.
Saturday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 22, but UNC coach Mack Brown wanted the game moved up to Week 0 in college football to draw more attention to it. Carolina planned events around the season opener to celebrate Historically Black Colleges and Universities and highlight the contributions of Black students at UNC.
