How The 'Black College Super Bowl' Came To Miami Gardens

Miami FL

09 September, 2021

7:40 AM

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By Bianca Marcof, the Miami Times Sep 7, 2021 For most, Sunday's Orange Blossom Classic (OBC) was more than a season-opening game. It marked the first time in 43 years that the renowned event returned to South Florida, bringing the Florida A&M University Rattlers and Jackson State University Tigers to the Hard Rock Stadium field. For Kendra Bulluck-Major, bringing back the OBC wasn't easy – but she stopped at nothing to get it done, along with the help of local officials and universities. Now the executive director of the Orange Blossom Classic Association, Bulluck-Major was first introduced to the game by her father. He did not attend FAMU but was a fan of the university's marching band – the Marching 100. "He would always tell me about the Orange Blossom Classic parade and that's what piqued my interest to say, well, let me learn more about this and let's see what we can do to revive it," she said. Bulluck-Major spearheaded the effort by reaching out to Oliver Gilbert III, vice chair of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, and explaining what a great idea it would be to bring the game back, considering the history and significance of what it meant to the community. "A lot of people had the idea, but Kendra Bulluck-Major approached me years ago with the idea of bringing the Orange Blossom back," said Gilbert. "She had a good plan, so we sat down and started talking about it." As a FAMU alumnus, Gilbert made it his mission to bring the OBC to Miami Gardens. "The reason why I dived in and started to make it happen is because I remembered what the Orange Blossom was when I was a kid," he said. "I know what it meant to my generation when we were growing up, and I knew what it could be for future generations." Continuing to meet with officials, including then Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez, Bulluck-Major was ready to set her plan in motion when everyone came on board. Back in 2019, Giménez passed a $9 billion county budget for fiscal year 2019-20, which provided funding for the return of the OBC and the Battle of the Bands event. The revival of the OBC was announced by the City of Miami Gardens back in 2020, with FAMU set to play against Albany State University, but the relaunch was postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. "[The OBC] plays a significant role in the history of not only Black Miami, but HBCUs throughout the country," said Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris. "All we're doing here in the city right now is welcome them with open arms." Working solo on a massive project like bringing the game back and producing weekend events surrounding it turned out to be extremely difficult. Bulluck-Major began to assemble a team of staff on board. "I knew I needed help. I started off with one assistant," she said. "From there it was getting even more overwhelming, so I started contracting individuals. Just learning the process and learning the different moving parts, not just the football game, but the luncheon and all of these events around the game." Headlined by restaurant chain Denny's and powered by The P3 Group, several sponsors for the game and its weekend events included Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami Gardens, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bacardi, Lowe's, Pepsi and Toyota. Neki Mohan, Nat Moore, Angela Suggs and Myles Pistorius (L-R), panelists at Friday's "Careers in Sports and Entertainment" symposium. (Bianca Marcof for The Miami Times) Florida A&M University students and alumni pose for a group photo at the "Careers in Sports and Entertainment" symposium at the Hard Rock Stadium. (Bianca Marcof for The Miami Times) A Jackson State University student asks panelists a question at last Friday's symposium about careers in sports and entertainment. (Bianca Marcof for The Miami Times) "We have been very fortunate to have a lot of corporate partners this year," said Bulluck-Major. "There's been a lot that's happened in our country over the last few months, and this is the way to show the diversity and the spirit of Black excellence, just seeing individuals who are supportive of their institutions." Despite all the activities surrounding the game, which included a concert and a parade, students did not go unnoticed. On Friday, a job recruitment fair hosted by CareerSource and a "Careers in Sports and Entertainment" symposium took place at the stadium, allowing for students and alumni to apply to jobs and listen to panelists in careers they might be interested in. Panelists included Miami Dolphins great Nat Moore, Angela Suggs of the Florida Sports Foundation, music executive Cortez Bryant, film producer Will Packer and others. "To have [the game] back and hopefully to see it grow and be what it once was or even better is a motivating factor for me to get involved," Moore said. "I always look at this as a great opportunity to share good experiences. I am who I am today because other people came to share with me when I was young." From 1933 to 1978, the OBC was the must-see game of the postseason. Founded by J.R.E. Lee Jr., the son of FAMU's president, the inaugural game was played in front of 2,000 fans at a "Black-only" ballpark in Jacksonville. FAMU beat Howard 9-0. The postseason college football game was commonly referred to as the "Black National Championship" and matchups between FAMU and other HBCUs continued on for 45 years consecutively in Jacksonville, Tampa, Tallahassee and Miami – which regularly drew crowds of more than 40,000 to the Orange Bowl. Legendary Hall of Fame coach Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither led the FAMU Rattlers to 11 victories in the classic from 1947 to 1969. After a more than 40-year hiatus, the game is looking to stay. "My commitment is to make sure that we keep this game here within our city so that we continue to expose it to our kids," said Miami Gardens Vice Mayor Reggie Leon. "And from the national level, help those HBCU football players get the same opportunities as students that go to PWIs (predominantly white institutions) when it comes to contracts with the NFL and things like that with exposure." Moving forward, Harris said the city is working on getting a long-term agreement to make sure the OBC has a home at the Hard Rock Stadium. "We're looking forward to making sure that it's always here because it's a tradition and it's something that our younger generation can be proud of," he said. "We have two wonderful universities that have expressed the desire to allow this to move forward. As long as we have the support of our local officials, the support of the universities, I anticipate this being around for years to come," Bulluck-Major said. "On Oct. 1, we're right back into planning for next year, so it is an ongoing process." The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.