(09-29-2010 02:34 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote: (09-29-2010 02:30 PM)Fanof49ASU Wrote: Why don't they make a push for Grambling? They would really help out Loser Tech.
Has there ever been a HBCU in the FBS?
HBCU History With I-A Football
@ Tennessee State was actually the first HBCU to make a go of it as a I-A team in the early 1980s after many HBCUs had moved up to Division One, then opted to compete at the I-AA level.
The Tigers, who made their bones as an independent for many years, most notably during the reign of Hall of Fame coach “Big John” Merritt, becoming the scourge of Black College football with tons of future NFL talent, eventually moved to I-AA before joining the Ohio Valley Conference.
@ Alabama State was the next HBCU to seriously consider a leap to major college status, hiring former Temple head coach Ron Dickerson to head up their program in the 1990s. But financial concerns and waning support from the Hornets’ fan base ended that attempt.
@ North Carolina A&T, with Bill Hayes at the helm in the late 1990s, undertook an extensive study of prospects for moving on up, but despite a rock-solid action plan, the Aggies never moved forward.
@ Florida A&M, which explored possibilities in the 1980s when Bragg Stadium was expanded following their I-AA title win (1978) and their upset of Miami (1979), at the time saw Division I-AA as a stepping stone to major college status. But leadership changes put that idea on hold until the 1990s when consultants were called in, only to have the plans shelved for a second time.
In 2003, FAMU applied for Division I-A status in June of that year and played the next two seasons (2003, 2004) as a I-A independent, taking on a full-fledged I-A schedule in 2004. But financial concerns and lack of a conference affiliation forced university officials to pull the plug.