It has been several years since FIU last played the University of Miami on the football field, but a recent agreement between the universities will bring back the intrastate matchup.
According to the agreement, the first game between the two schools will be in 2018 at Sun Life Stadium. The second matchup will be in 2019. The location has not yet been determined but may be a home game for FIU.
In addition, the home team would pay the visiting team $500,000.
An official announcement will be made at UM at 11:30 a.m., Friday morning.
Billy Corben, a UM alum and director of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary, “The U”, said the meeting between the schools will benefit them both, regardless of what the final score would be.
“Look at the home game attendance of both teams. Not a bad idea to combine their local fan bases,” he said. “Any rivalry is fun for football and good for business. They’re just trying to drum up interest.”
The two schools have not played a football game against each other since 2007, but is most memorable for its 2006 brawl that broke out at the Orange Bowl after a PAT by the Hurricanes in the third quarter.
Once the sparring was over and players returned to the sidelines, 13 players were ejected and the fight made national headlines. The teams faced each other a year later but all ties had been cut ever since.
Both schools previously discussed the possible renewal to include more than just football.
“Pete [Garcia] and I have spoken about the possibility of playing in all sports, not only football,” said UM Athletic Director Blake James. “I think it is good for both institutions, the community, and – more importantly – student-athlete welfare as the travel schedules of both institutions are challenging. I am confident that we will finalize a date for football in the near future and will see competitions among all of our teams in the coming years.”
Video footage from the infamous game showed a Hurricanes player swinging his helmet at an FIU player and an injured FIU player swing his crutches toward UM players. Just a few cases that took place in the incident.
Following the embarrassing brawl for the programs, 31 total players were suspended as result. 18 from FIU, 13 from UM.
“Maybe a good brawl will bring some passion back to these programs,” said Corben. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
The next year’s game went off without any incidents but also saw the end of the series.
The schools last played each other in baseball and volleyball in 2010.
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