Despite its conference canceling fall sports for the remainder of 2020, Florida A&M may be positioning itself to attempt to play some semblance of a football season.
A report Wednesday indicated that FAMU requested an NCAA waiver to play this fall.
“We have put out feelers to the seven schools in the state system who play football,” FAMU head coach Willie Simmons told WCTV in Florida. “Just to see what their interest would be if we ended up being able to play football this fall being that our conference has suspended the fall season. Our athletic director is vetting all possible opportunities at this point.”
Simmons later told ABC 27 Sports Director Allison Posey that a possible fall schedule was in the “embryonic stage.”
The development comes weeks after the MEAC announced the league would cancel all fall sports. Following the decision, North Carolina A&T reportedly explored possibly scheduling games with the Big South.
FAMU athletic director Kortne Gosha said the school had conversations about football schedule after the MEAC decided to call off the fall season.
“When MEAC elected not to compete this fall, we started conversations internally,” Gosha said. We haven’t reached out to any schools to play this fall. Several schools have contacted us.
“We’ve been in communication both MEAC and NCAA about what options could be. Want to see what’s possible. We’ve asked interpretations from NCAA because times are unprecedented — not just on football — all sports.”
FAMU, in its last season in the MEAC, will head to the SWAC in 2021.
