Hurricanes & Seminoles Agree To Monday Night Matchups
Sept. 11, 2003
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles will face off on national television to start the 2004 and 2005 college football seasons, it was announced today. ABC Sports, home of the Bowl Championship Series and the National Championship game, will televise the prime time Labor Day match-up. The announcement was made today by Loren Matthews, Senior Vice President of Programming, ABC Sports, UM Athletic Director Paul Dee, FSU Athletic Director Dave Hart and John Swofford, Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The game will not only serve as the opening game of Miami’s 2004 football season, but will be the Hurricanes’ first football game as a member of the ACC since joining the league this past summer.
“This great rivalry will conclude an exciting holiday weekend marking the beginning of another outstanding season of college football on ABC Sports,” said Matthews. “It is also a terrific prelude to ABC’s NFL Monday Night Football. We appreciate the cooperation of the schools and the Atlantic Coast Conference.”
“We are extremely excited to bring one of college footballs greatest rivalries to Monday night football,” said Dee. “Monday night football has become an American institution and the University of Miami is elated and proud to be a part of it.”
“We are pleased that ABC has decided to televise the Miami-Florida State football game in its prestigious Labor Day Monday night primetime slot for the next two years,” said Swofford. “The Florida State-Miami rivalry has developed into one of the best in all of college football, and this game should be an exciting beginning to what will be a historic year for the Atlantic Coast Conference.”
ABC Sports will televise Florida State at Miami nationally on Labor Day Monday, September 6, 2004, and Miami at Florida State on Monday, September 5, 2005. Both games are slated to kick off at 8 p.m., ET. This year’s ABC College football schedule features Florida State at Miami on October 11. The start time of this year’s matchup has not been determined.
The Hurricanes and Seminoles have ranked among college football’s dominant programs over the last 20 years. The Hurricanes have earned five national championships (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2001) since 1983. Miami, 2-0 on the season, moved up to No. 2 in the rankings this week erasing a 23-point deficit to defeat Florida 38-33 last Saturday night in the Orange Bowl. FSU has enjoyed unprecedented success over the same span. Over the past 11 years, FSU has claimed 10 ACC Championships and earned national titles in 1993 and 1999.
Miami leads the series with Florida State 26-20. The Hurricanes have won the last three meetings, while the Seminoles won five in a row from 1995-1999. The game has been decided by three points or less eight times in the history of the series, including two of the last three games.
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