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MIAMI , Fla ( Dec.
4, 2003 ) – Florida International
University President Modesto A. Maidique announced today that
the 2-year-old football program will begin its transition from
NCAA Division I-AA to I-A in the Sun Belt Conference.
“Accepting the invitation to go I-A is the right thing to do
for the team, for the fans and the university as a whole,” said
President Maidique. “I'm already looking forward to the 2004
season.”
Coach Don Strock, who has been the chief architect of Golden
Panther football since the program's approval in 2000, says the
team is ready for this new challenge.
“There are so many positive ramifications to this move,” said
Strock. “Every other sport at FIU is a member of the Sun Belt,
and it's a natural for us to join the Conference as a I-A team.”
Maidique said that the decision was reached after months of
consultations with the faculty and student leadership, community
leaders and members of the FIU Board of Directors and Board of
Trustees. The announcement was made at the Miccosukee Resort
and Convention Center in West Miami-Dade, where the team is holding
its annual banquet tonight.
Present for the announcement were Coach Don Strock, Athletic
Director Rick Mello as well as Keith Tribble, Executive Director
of the Orange Bowl Committee and a member of the FIU Board of
Directors, Larry Kahn, Athletics Committee Chair, FIU Board of
Directors, and FIU Trustee Al Dotson. Sun Belt Commissioner Wright
Waters came to officially welcome FIU football into the Conference
and present a commemorative pigskin.
"This is an exciting time at FIU. It is a credit to President
Maidique, Rick Mello and Don Strock that FIU is in the position
to make this move to the I-A level,” said Waters. “Ever since
FIU joined the Sun Belt Conference in 1998, we knew we had a
very dynamic and forward-thinking university joining our league
with a strong commitment to the academic quality of its student
athletes.”
Athletic Director Rick Mello said this is
the correct time to make this move: “This season we played the fourth toughest schedule
in I-AA football. This team is ready, the time is right,” said
AD Mello. “Given the recent conference realignments and changes
in NCAA guidelines, it is in our best interest to make the move
now.”
In order for FIU football to be a full-fledged I-A program by
2006, a 2-year transition phase will begin in the fall of 2004.
Under NCAA guidelines, Division I-A programs must comply with
the following requirements: offer 200 full athletic scholarships
(with 85 going to football), field 16 intercollegiate sports,
average 15,000 attendance for its home games and play five home
games against I-A opponents.
“We will work hard to put people in the stands, establish an
attractive schedule and make every home game an event,” said
Mello, who also noted that the increased caliber of the competition
will be a fan draw in itself.
Coach Strock added that move to I-A will not only
bring more visibility to the program but will help with recruitment.
There
are eight football members currently playing in the Sun Belt:
Arkansas State , Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe , Louisiana
-Lafayette, North Texas , New Mexico State , Utah State and
Idaho . Troy State will be joining the Sun Belt next year, but
New Mexico State and Utah State will be joining the Western Athletic
Conference in 2005. |