For the first time since 1991, Florida State and Florida A&M will meet in a regular-season basketball contest; however, the game will not be played in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles and Rattlers are set to face each other in Tampa for a game that will tip off the regular season as part of a doubleheader that will also see Florida play Miami, first reported by the Associated Press.
While it will be the first regular-season meeting between the two since the infamous brawl in 1991, FSU and FAMU met in a preseason exhibition last October, one in which Rattlers head coach and Seminole legend Charlie Ward was honored by having his jersey retired.
Both Ward and Seminoles head coach Luke Loucks said after the exhibition that the pair wanted both programs to play annually.
The game in Tampa will be the next step in that process. However, the location means Tallahassee will have to wait at least one more season to see a regular-season showdown between the Seminoles and Rattlers.
In Loucks first season, FSU went 18-15, with an ACC tournament quarterfinal loss to Duke in the final game of the season. In Ward’s first season, FAMU went 15-16 and made the SWAC tournament semifinals, falling to Southern.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU, FAMU men’s basketball set for regular season face off in Tampa
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
