The Capital City will unite when its two university men’s college basketball teams square off in an exhibition game this weekend.
Florida A&M and Florida State will face each other at Tallahassee’s Donald L. Tucker Civic Center this Sunday, Oct. 26.
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Tipoff is at 4 p.m.
The FAMU Rattlers feature first-year head coach Charlie Ward, a former FSU Seminoles football Heisman and national championship-winning quarterback and point guard for the basketball team while in college from 1989 to 1994.
Florida A&M Rattlers head coach Charlie Ward speaks during a pregame press conference at The Coyle E. Moore Athletic Center for the Florida A&M Rattlers at Florida State Seminoles NCAA men’s college basketball exhibition game, Tallahassee, Florida, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
FAMU and FSU last played each other in December 1991, when a bench-clearing brawl between the teams led to 18 player ejections and a forfeited result at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, now the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
“When I got the opportunity to be at FAMU, [I made] sure that we got this game on the schedule,” Ward told the media during a joint FAMU-FSU press conference at the Moore Athletic Center to promote the game on Oct. 22.
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“I think it’s just a great opportunity from both universities and the city to be able to come together because of what happened 34 years ago.”
“Thirty-four years ago, we were scarred from this game. But just grateful that we’re able to put it back together,” the FAMU coach later added.
FSU also boasts a new head coach in Luke Loucks, who was hired this March to replace the retired Leonard Hamilton.
Florida State University’s new men’s basketball coach Luke Loucks stands with FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford before a press conference Monday, March 10, 2025.
Loucks has a Seminole legacy in his own right, performing as a guard when FSU won the program’s first and only Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship in 2012, under Hamilton.
FAMU finished 13-16 last year under former head coach Patrick Crarey II, who left after one season to oversee Grambling State’s men’s basketball. FSU went 17-15 in Hamilton’s 23rd and final season at the helm.
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“Tallahassee is a football town, and most likely will always be,” Loucks said. “I just think this town, when they have good basketball, erupts. This town respects winning. That’s what hopefully in our chairs, we’re able to bring to this town with regards to basketball.”
FSU to retire FAMU basketball coach, Seminoles great Charlie Ward’s jersey
Sunday will also serve as Ward’s FSU basketball jersey retirement ceremony.
His No. 12 Seminoles jersey will be raised in the Tucker Center’s rafters pregame.
Ward is FSU basketball’s all-time steals leader, with 238. He went on to be drafted in the first round, 26th overall, in the 1994 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and played 11 seasons in the league, primarily in the Big Apple.
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Ward has the distinction of being the first FSU athlete to have both his football and basketball jerseys retired, signifying his legendary status as a two-sport star.
Ward played football for coach Bobby Bowden and basketball for coach Pat Kennedy.
“That’s a byproduct of the work, teammates, and coaching that I was able to receive,” Ward said. “God gave me this opportunity to be able to have a platform. It’ll be a little emotional when it’s all said and done because of all the great memories.”
Loucks, 35, grew up watching Ward on the field and the hardwood.
In lieu of a sports coat, the FSU coach wore a graphic tee with a collage of photos of Ward playing football and basketball for the Seminoles at Wednesday’s press conference.
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Loucks said Ward is “one of the best human beings I know.”
“For us to celebrate, celebrate the city of Tallahassee, and ultimately hang Charlie’s jersey in the rafters ― where it’s belonged for a long time is something I’m really excited and fortunate to be a part of,” Loucks said.
FAMU and FSU basketball teams hope to build on first exhibition games
Heisman Trophy winner and Florida A&M head coach Charlie Ward speaks at a press conference to announce the new HBCU Hoops Invitational coming to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The Rattlers are one of eight HBCU men’s and women’s basketball programs competing in the inaugural event Dec. 4-7 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. (Bennett Stoops, photographer)
The Rattlers had their first exhibition game on Tuesday, Oct. 21, versus the Edward Waters Tigers at the Al Lawson Multipurpose Center.
FAMU handily defeated its fellow Florida-based HBCU, 100-54. Eight Rattlers scored in double figures.
“We’re going to show up and compete. And live with the results,” Ward said of the upcoming exhibition versus FSU.
FSU men’s basketball head coach Luke Loucks runs practice with his Seminoles team
Last Thursday, Oct. 16, the Seminoles were in Tuscaloosa, facing the Alabama Crimson Tide, who finished ranked sixth in the nation the previous season.
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Alabama beat FSU narrowly, 109-105. Seminoles guard Robert McCray V led the team with 26 points, scoring 24 of those in the second half.
“I know a lot of people were pleased that we competed against a top 15 team the way we did. I was not as happy with that game because I felt like we gave the game away,” Loucks said.
“All those little things that go into winning, on defense and offense, we’re looking to clean up. It’ll be no different in our exhibition against FAMU. It’ll be no different in our non-conference schedule. I think every opportunity you get on the court is a great experience to compete at the highest level and then correct those areas where you’re failing at.”
FAMU vs FSU basketball game could become continued partnership
As Ward and Loucks prepare to coach in the Tucker Center for the first time, the FAMU versus FSU mashup can become an annual occurrence in the regular season and a home-and-home series moving forward.
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They’re hoping for a sellout crowd at the 12,500-seat venue.
“We’re working to try to put them in different types of environments, give them different experiences,” Ward said of his FAMU team. “I don’t know how many opportunities we’ll get to play in front of a big crowd like this.”
Tickets are $10, and FAMU and FSU students will be admitted free of charge if they present their student ID.
Florida A&M at Florida State ― EXHIBITION
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When: Sunday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.
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Where: Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida
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Radio/Broadcast: Seminoles.com
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Charlie Ward, Luke Loucks to unite FAMU, FSU through basketball game
