FAMU Won't Come To TSU Homecoming Unless TSU Pays Their Way

According to theTallahassee Democrat:

The first appearance that FAMU's Marching 100 will make this season is already costing the school's athletic department and it won't participate at Tennessee State's homecoming unless the band's trip is paid in part by TSU.

FAMU president Elmira Mangum vehemently told the 220 Quarterback Club, a FAMU support organization, on Monday that she wants a share of the revenues from the TSU game for the band to show up. Mangum spoke to the club at the University Club House on FAMU's campus.

She said she's unsuccessfully tried for about three weeks to negotiate her demand, estimating that TSU will make about $80,000 from the game.

"I need a whole lot of things before I let the band go to Tennessee State," Mangum said. "So, that's my position on it."

The band will perform in South Florida when FAMU plays the University of Miami on Sept. 6. That comes with a cost of about $13,000 for the seats that band members will occupy at Sun Life Stadium, said athletics director Kellen Winslow, who was not too pleased with the way the contract was negotiated to include the band.

Winslow didn't negotiate that contract. FAMU will make just over $700,000 for playing the Hurricanes, Winslow said.

In addition to Miami, the band will travel to North Carolina to face A&T on Oct. 25 and Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 22 in the Florida Classic in Orlando. It wasn't immediately known if A&T will pay for the band, but the Classic is jointly promoted by FAMU and B-CU.

Football was front and center when Mangum made her initial remarks. She said the program deserves better facilities, but if that is to happen football can't be expected to pay the way for every other sport.

"I don't know a whole lot about sports, but I do know that sometimes the weight can be too heavy," she said. "In this case, financially it's too heavy for one sport to be carrying."

Mangum and Winslow have made digging out of a $7 million athletic department budget deficit their mission. Meeting with the 220 Quarterback Club gave them another platform make their appeal for financial support.

Just three weeks ago, they held a town meeting to get feedback on how to raise money to help with the possible reinstatement of men's tennis and golf. Both sports were suspended in a cost-cutting move.

Responding to a question about getting the budget in line, Mangum stuck to the basics.

"In a nutshell, we borrowed money from ourselves that we have used as leverage for some other debts," she said. "We need to pay it back so that the other debts can be paid with the money that belongs to that place. It's a balancing act."

The club responded by presenting a check of $5,500 to athletics, with specific earmarks. The check included the cost of three flat-screen televisions to be installed in the football locker room.

The weekly meeting, which was moved to Monday from its usual Wednesday to accommodate Mangum's schedule, had the feeling of a town hall meeting. This audience, however, was far less emotional than the recent gathering at Lee Hall.

One of the other cuts in athletics is the cost of travel for the football team this season. The Rattlers will bus to the season-opener Saturday against Jackson State in Mississippi, as well as the game in Miami and the TSU game in Nashville. Driving to this weekend's game will save about $40,000, Winslow said.

"If we had the money we would do it," he said. "But we just don't have the funds right now."

On an academics-related matter, Mangum was asked if she considered former president Frederick Humphries' willingness to help with recruiting at FAMU. She said she's given it some thought, but had reservations.

"I thought about it, then I went back to my same answer; these are new students," she said. "This is their type of world; we need high-impact recruiting. I'm not sure Dr. Humphries is able to do that kind of high-impact recruiting that you do when you're talking to students who get their information off Twitter, YouTube and the Internet."