Florida A&M Rattlers

Florida A&M Rattlers football is a cornerstone of HBCU football history, the program that won the first-ever NCAA Division I-AA national championship in 1978. Playing in the SWAC, FAMU carries a trophy case that includes 17 Black college national titles and legendary coach Jake Gaither's dynastic run in the 1950s and 60s. The Rattlers' rivalry with Bethune-Cookman for the Florida Classic is one of the sport's marquee HBCU matchups.

FAMU fielded football beginning in 1907 and dominated the SIAC for decades, winning 29 conference titles between 1926 and 1978. Jake Gaither's teams won six Black college national championships in the 1950s alone (1950, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961), part of a program total of 17 such titles. FAMU capped a historic transition to Division I-AA by winning the first-ever NCAA I-AA national championship in 1978, defeating UMass. The Rattlers later spent years in the MEAC before rejoining the SWAC's East Division in 2021.