The Central Michigan Chippewas were scheduled to play a future home-and-home football series with the Florida Atlantic Owls, but the series has been canceled, FBSchedules.com has learned.
Central Michigan and Florida Atlantic scheduled a home-and-home series back in 2015 that was originally scheduled to be played in Boca Raton, Fla., in 2019, and in Mount Pleasant, Mich., in 2021. The 2019 contest was later postponed to the 2024 season.
Earlier this year, Florida Atlantic opted to terminate the agreement and will pay Central Michigan a negotiated $250,000 settlement fee, according to a copy of the document obtained from Central Michigan University via a state Freedom of Information Act request.
The original contract called for a $500,000 penalty “if either party unilaterally cancels the Agreement or otherwise fails to appear for the game.” The negotiated settlement saves Florida Atlantic half of that amount.
With the Florida Atlantic series canceled, the Central Michigan Chippewas have replaced it with a home-and-home series against the FIU Panthers. A copy of that contract was also obtained from Central Michigan University through the same records request.
The Central Michigan-FIU series will kick off at CMU’s Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant on September 25, 2021, which will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. The series will conclude three seasons later at FIU’s Riccardo Silva Stadium in Miami, Fla., on September 7, 2024.
In what should be considered rare for a home-and-home football series, the guarantees for each school will not be equal. FIU will receive a $350,000 guarantee for the game in Mount Pleasant, while Central Michigan will receive only $100,000 for playing in Miami.
Central Michigan was previously scheduled to play at LSU on September 25, 2021, but that game has been moved up one week to September 18, per a copy of the amendment obtained from CMU. The game was likely moved to accommodate the CMU-FIU series.
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