Florida State men's basketball will open up against FAMU in Tampa as part of a season-opening doubleheader
It’s been a long, long, long time coming, but the Florida State men’s basketball team will once again be playing Florida A&M in a regular-season game.
First reported by the Associated Press and confirmed to Warchant.com by a Florida State source, the Rattlers and the Seminoles will be opening the 2026-2027 basketball season against each other as part of a doubleheader with Florida and Miami in Tampa.
Florida State and FAMU last played each other back on Dec. 7, 1991. That game was famously halted when a brawl broke out between the two teams. The Seminoles had four first-round picks on that roster, including future Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward. And for well more than three decades, the two programs never scheduled another game because of the ugly incident.
Ward is now the head coach of the FAMU basketball team, which likely helped pave the way for the reuniting of the two Tallahassee programs on the hardwood.
The Seminoles and Rattlers played an exhibition this past season at the Tucker Center.
Now they’re playing for real.
In a game that counts. With two former Florida State point guards — Ward and current FSU head coach Luke Loucks — leading the two respective programs.
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Ironically, they are also the last two point guards who led the Seminoles to conference tournament championships.
Ward’s clutch three-pointer in the final moments of the 1991 Metro Conference Championship game helped lead the Seminoles to a 76-69 win over Louisville. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists that day.
More than 20 years later, Loucks dished out an ACC Championship game record 13 assists in helping lead the Seminoles to the 2012 conference title.
Now, the two former FSU guards, along with the programs from Miami and Florida, will be in Tampa to open up the season as part of an unprecedented doubleheader featuring the four state programs.
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