1899 West Florida Seminary football team at College Hall. College Hall was located at the present site of the Westcott Building on the campus of Florida State University

Florida State University was established in 1851 as the West Florida Seminary, an all-male institution. Football at FSU started as early, or earlier than 1899 at the West Florida Seminary. In 1901, the school was renamed the Florida State College. In 1902, 1903 and 1905 the football team was declared state champions and competed against Georgia Tech and other schools including the Florida Agricultural College in Lake City, one predecessor of the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL.

1902 Florida State College football team

With the passage of the Buckman Act by the Florida Legislature in 1905, the coeducational Florida State College became the female-only Florida Female College, later renamed the Florida State College for Women. All male students, including the fraternity system and the football team, were transferred to the newly created University of Florida. Ironically, the championship team from the Florida State College became at least part of the start of the football program at UF. Even the FSC uniform symbol (the "F") was apparently adopted by the UF program and is worn by that team today.

The end of World War II brought enormous pressure on the university system in Florida. The Florida Legislature responded by renaming the Florida State College for Women the Florida State University and again allowing men to attend the university for the first time since 1905. Football was again played by the university starting in 1947. The 42 year hiatus from football between 1905 to 1947 did not diminish the passion the school has for the sport.

1902:

Florida State College 5 South Georgia Military 0

Florida State College 6 Florida Agricultural College 0

Florida State College 0 Florida Agricultural College 6

1903:

Florida State College 22 South Georgia Military 0

Florida State College 5 South Georgia Military 0

Florida State College 0 East Florida Seminary 16

Florida State College 0 Georgia Tech 17

Florida State College 12 Florida Agricultural College 0

Florida State College 5 Stetson 5

1904:

Florida State College 0 Georgia Tech 33

Florida State College 23 Florida Agricultural College 0

Florida State College 0 Savannah Athletic Club 6

Florida State College 0 Jacksonville Consolidated 6

Florida State College 19 Stetson 6

Florida State has played in 35 bowl games in its history and owns a 20-13-2 record in those games. Florida State's two most common opponents in bowl play have been Oklahoma and Nebraska. The Seminoles are 1-3 against Oklahoma in bowl games and 4-0 against Nebraska. Florida State's most common bowl destination has been the Orange Bowl (8 trips). Its second most common bowl destination has been the Sugar Bowl (6 trips).

Florida State's traditional rivals have been the University of Florida Gators and the University of Miami Hurricanes.

Since 2002, the Florida Cup has been awarded to the team that finishes the best head-to-head record in years where Florida State, Florida, and Miami all play each other. Three Florida Cups have been awarded, and Miami has won all three.

Florida State and Florida have played each other 51 times. The Gators hold a 30-19-2 all-time lead against the Seminoles. Florida easily beat Florida State in their most recent meeting at Gainesville, 45-12, on November 24, 2007. Florida State has now lost to the Gators four straight seasons.

With head coach Bobby Bowden, the Florida State Seminoles have a winning record 17-16-1.

The Miami-Florida State rivalry dates to 1951, when the Hurricanes defeated the Seminoles 35-13 in their inaugural meeting. The schools have played uninterrupted since 1966, with Miami holding the all-time advantage, 30-21.

During the 1980s and 90s, the series emerged as perhaps the premier rivalry in college football. Between 1983 and 2002, the Hurricanes and Seminoles combined to win 7 national championships (5 for Miami, 2 for Florida State) and play in a whopping 14 national championship games (83, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 98, 99, 00, 01, and 02). The rivalry has been popular not only because of its profound national championship implications and the competitiveness of the games but also because of the immense NFL-caliber talent typically present on the field when the two teams meet. The famous 1987 matchup featured over 50 future NFL players on both rosters combined.

The games have been characterized by remarkable team speed, big plays, hard hitting, and missed field goals (see: Wide Right). In 2004, the intensity of the rivalry was dialed up another notch when Miami joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and the teams became intra-conference rivals.

The rivalry is a television ratings bonanza, accounting for the two highest rated college football telecasts in ESPN history. The 2006 game between Miami and FSU was the most-viewed college football game, regular season or bowl, in the history of ESPN, averaging 6,330,000 million households in viewership (6.9 rating). It was also the second-highest rated game in ESPN history, behind only the 1994 game between Miami and FSU, which notched a 7.7 rating.^[1]

• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award

Bobby Bowden - 1994

• Broyles Award

Mickey Andrews - 1996

• #2 - Deion Sanders, DB, 1985-88
• #17 - Charlie Ward, QB, 1989-93
• #25 - Fred Biletnikoff, WR, 1962-64
• #34 - Ron Sellers, FL, 1966-68
• #50 - Ron Simmons, NG, 1977-80

Chosen by Athlon Sports in 2001[1]

• Alex Barron - Offensive Tackle, St. Louis Rams
• Anquan Boldin - Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals
• Lorenzo Booker - Running Back, Miami Dolphins
• Michael Boulware - Safety, Houston Texans
• Derrick Brooks - Linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Milford Brown - Offensive Guard, Arizona Cardinals
• Brodrick Bunkley - Defensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles
• Jerome Carter - Defensive Back, St. Louis Rams
• Marcello Church - Linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Laverneus Coles - Wide Receiver, New York Jets
• Zack Crockett - Fullback, Oakland Raiders
• Antonio Cromartie - Defensive Back, San Diego Chargers
• Buster Davis - Linebacker, Arizona Cardinals
• Chauncey Davis - Defensive End, Atlanta Falcons
• Chris Davis - Wide Receiver, Tennessee Titans
• Darnell Dockett - Defensive Tackle, Arizona Cardinals
• Warrick Dunn - Running Back, Atlanta Falcons
• Todd Fordham - Offensive Tackle, Carolina Panthers
• Derrick Gibson - Defensive Back, Oakland Raiders
• Montrae Holland - Guard, New Orleans Saints
• Chris Hope - Defensive Back, Tennessee Titans
• Dexter Jackson - Defensive Back, Cincinnati Bengals
• Sebastian Janikowski - Placekicker, Oakland Raiders
• Michael Jennings - Wide Receiver, New York Giants
• Brad Johnson - Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
• Travis Johnson - Defensive Tackle, Houston Texans
• Greg Jones - Running Back, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Walter Jones - Offensive Tackle, Seattle Seahawks
• Bryant McFadden - Cornerback, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Adrian McPherson - Quarterback, New Orleans Saints
• Travis Minor - Running Back, Miami Dolphins
• Eric Moore - Defensive End, New Orleans Saints
• Claudius Osei - Safety, New York Giants
• Scott Player - Punter, Arizona Cardinals
• Tommy Polley - Linebacker, New Orleans Saints
• Eric Powell - Defensive End, Buffalo Bills
• Willie Reid - Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Samari Rolle - Defensive Back, Baltimore Ravens
• Gerard Ross - Cornerback, Seattle Seahawks
• Orpheus Roye - Defensive End, Cleveland Browns
• Corey Simon - Defensive Tackle, Indianapolis Colts
• Ernie Sims - Linebacker, Detroit Lions
• Greg Spires - Defensive End, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Tra Thomas - Offensive Tackle, Philadelphia Eagles
• Craphonso Thorpe - Wide Receiver, Houston Texans
• Lawrence Timmons - Linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Javon Walker - Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos
• B.J. Ward - Safety, Baltimore Ravens
• Leon Washington - Running Back, New York Jets
• Pat Watkins - Safety, Dallas Cowboys
• Ray Willis - Offensive Tackle, Seattle Seahawks
• Kamerion Wimbley - Linebacker, Cleveland Browns
• P.K. Sam - Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins
• Ret Tompkins - Tight End, Columbia High Tigers

• Fred Biletnikoff - Pro Football Hall of Fame Wide Receiver
• Lee Corso - Retired college football head coach, ESPN College Gameday analyst
• Burt Reynolds - Actor
• Ron Simmons - A football legend in his own right when he played at Florida State, Simmons would later go on to fame as a professional wrestler under his own name and under the name Faarooq after a short stint with the Cleveland Browns
• T. K. Wetherell - President, Florida State University

2. Football Archives - History and Record Book. seminoles.com

• 2006 Florida State Seminoles football team

	Florida State University
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	Academics	National High Magnetic Field Laboratory • Panama City Campus • Innovation Park • Ringling Museum • Phi Beta Kappa • Notable Alumni
	Athletics	Florida State Seminoles • Doak Campbell Stadium • Donald L. Tucker Center • Dick Howser Stadium • Marching Chiefs • Notable Athletic Alumni • FSU-UF Rivalry • Florida Cup • Jefferson-Eppes Trophy
	Facilities	Tallahassee • The Florida Channel • WFSU-FM • WFSU-TV • WVFS • 4FSU

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