Miami-FSU to open 2004 ACC season -- on a monday night

MIAMI (AP) — The first matchup in the expanded Atlantic Coast Conference will be old hat for the state of Florida.

The Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles will kick off the new and expanded 11-team ACC on a Monday night, when the schools meet in the Orange Bowl on Labor Day next season, the conference said Thursday.

The two schools and the ACC signed a two-year deal with ABC Sports to begin the next two seasons with the rivalry. After next year’s Sept. 6 matchup, the Hurricanes will make a return trip to Tallahassee on Sept. 5, 2005.

The first FSU-Miami game was in 1951, and the teams have met yearly since 1969.

‘‘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,’’ said John Swofford, ACC commissioner.

Miami and Virginia Tech left the Big East in July to join the nine-member ACC. Florida State has been an ACC member since 1991.

Both Monday night games are slated for an 8 p.m. kickoff.

‘‘I cannot think of a more appropriate manner to usher in an expanded Atlantic Coast Conference than to open the football season against the Miami Hurricanes on Labor Day in front of a full national television audience,’’ FSU athletics director Dave Hart said.

The schools normally meet in October. They have met four times to begin each other’s season with the two schools splitting four shutouts. Miami won the most recent season opener between the schools in 1988, 31-0.

Miami leads the 46-year-old series with Florida State 26-20. The game has been decided by three points or less eight times in the history of the series. The Hurricanes have won the last three meetings.

The ACC has still not decided whether the conference will split into two divisions, keep the 11-team format or add a 12th team. The debate could be resolved when the league holds one of its major business meetings next month in Charlottesville, Va.

 

well all the gotta do is figure a way to schedule fsu and miami to play together 11 more times a year and they got a halfway decent tv package.

 

and what a way to usher in the NFL too........ monday nite football , "college-style".

 

damn, that's pretty big.

 

Great move by all parties involved. That will make Labor Day weekend mean something at the Davidson home.