Sun Life Stadium: Bethune-Cookman vs Miami Game Day Bag Policy Information

September 4, 2015 / D Will / Leave a comment

Attn Wildcat Nation

If you are planning to attend the BCU vs University of Miami game this Saturday @ Sun Life Stadium, their is a bag policy to which you must adhere. For more information please see this link: Sun Life Stadium Game Day Bag Policy Information .

NFL Stadium Bag Policy

The NFL has instituted a safety policy for all stadiums that will make the security process more efficient and effective. The Miami Dolphins are committed to ensuring the fan experience is second to none, and the safety of our guests at Sun Life Stadium is essential to maintaining this experience.

The safety policy affects the type and size of bags that are permitted into the stadium — not the items that fans normally need to bring to a game. Fans may continue to carry pockets items such as keys, makeup, combs, phones, wallets and credit cards. Fans wishing to purchase Miami Dolphins branded approved bags can visit the team store at Sun Life Stadium.

Below are the NFL approved bags fans may carry into the stadium:

One bag that is clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and does not exceed 12” by 6” and 12” or a one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar).
In addition to one of the clear bags noted above, fans may also carry in a small clutch bag or purse approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap.
- An exception will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection at Gate E designated for this purpose.
Diapers and wipes can be carried in a clear bag. Each member of a family, including children, will be able to carry an approved clear bag and a clutch purse, providing ample storage capacity.

Fans will continue to be able to tailgate with their usual items in the parking lots. Items such as smart phones, binoculars and cameras will still be permitted into the stadium. This policy is meant to speed up the process of entering the stadium along with increasing security measures.

The NFL and the Miami Dolphins are committed to protecting public safety at Sun Life Stadium. This is an important step in achieving that. For more information on the policy please visit NFL.com/allclear.

Who Will Ascend (Week Three) at FIU

September 13, 2013 / J Bell / Leave a comment

Sat., Sept. 14, 2013

Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-0) travel south this weekend to take on the Florida International Panthers (0-2) in Miami on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. The Wildcats will look to improve to 3-0 on the season, 3-0 all-time against FIU, and secure its first ever win over a FBS opponent (FIU had not yet made the jump to the FBS level when the teams last meet in 2003).

Vegas Wild about the Cats

The Vegas sports betting odds opened on Monday with FIU favored by 3 points. The betting line moved 5.5 points in BCU’s favor within an hour of the spread being posted and another .5 point within 2 hours. By 3:45 p.m. on Monday afternoon, BCU had gone from 3 point underdogs to 3 point road favorites. You heard right; that is not a misprint. Vegas has a road FCS squad (BCU) favored by 3 points over a FBS team (FIU) in their home stadium. OUCH!!!

Vegas sports betting trends suggests the “wise guys” otherwise known as professional gamblers saw value in BCU and bet the line in BCU’s favor. The line has remained the same for most of the week.

The Matchup

Florida International is ranked dead last in the nation in scoring offense averaging a mere 5 points per game. Defensively the Panthers are allowing 483 yards per game and rank 108^th out of 123 FBS teams. Ron Turner started 11 new players when FIU took on Maryland in week one. The team has dealt with a rash of injuries in their first 2 games of the year. The injuries are compounded by the already heavy attrition issues resulting from a tumultuous offseason in which FIU’s leading receiver, Glenn Coleman; starting running back, Kedrick Rhodes, and cornerback Richard Leonard were all ruled ineligible for academic reasons. Transfer running back Jakhari Gore was kicked off the team for off the field issues.

Meanwhile Bethune-Cookman is averaging 362 yards and 39 points per game on offense while yielding just 215 yards and 8 points per game on defense.

BCU is unbeaten in their two prior meetings with FIU defeating the Panthers 31-0 in 2002 and 24-14 in 2003. Like this season, BCU was ranked in the FCS Top 25 at the time of their prior clashes with the Panthers (#21 in 2002 and #7 in 2003).

A win on Saturday will mark the first time in the history of the BCU football program and only the 2^nd time in MEAC history that a conference school has defeated a current FBS foe. Florida A&M defeated the University of Miami 16-13 in 1979.

Road Warriors

The Marching Wildcats will join the football team at Alfonso Field on Saturday. “The Pride” has performed in Nashville, Daytona, Jacksonville, and now Miami in less than 14 days. The band is also expected to travel to Tallahassee for the Florida State contest on the 21^st and will soon make an appearance at Raymond James Stadium for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game according to what we are being told. Give it up for the band.

The game will be streamed live at FIUSports.com. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

What we learned in BCU’s 12-9 win over Tenn State

September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 / J Bell / 1 Comment

Credits: TSU Athletics

So we’re a day late on our weekly wrap-up; give us a little grace please. Our favorite HBCU played on Sunday evening and that threw the schedule off. With that being said, let’s get to it.

No Apologies Needed

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats used a strong defensive effort to grind out a 12-9 victory over Tennessee State in Sunday night’s season opener. While it would have been nice to score more than one offensive touchdown and to put a few more points on the scoreboard, the Wildcats need not apologize for defeating a quality opponent from an automatic qualifier league on their home field. Any win against a team the caliber of Tennessee State is a great win; the score not withstanding.

Brian Jenkins is now 4-1 in “revenge games” with the University of Miami being the only team the Wildcats have succumb to in consecutive tries in the Jenkins’ era.

The Passing Game Still Needs Work

You can make an argument that based on pure talent and athleticism; BCU has the deepest and most gifted receiving corp in the conference. However, if you make that argument please do not attempt to use statistics to support your claim. The Wildcats only gained 98 yards of offense through the air against TSU. Ironically it was QB Jackie Wilson’s 6 yard TD pass to Jordan Murphy that proved to be the game winner on Sunday.

Bethune-Cookman has now played 25 games since last passing for 300 or more yards as a team. Conversely, the Wildcat offense has thrown for less than 100 yards 5 times in that same span. The Beach Cats must develop a consistent passing attack as the season progresses if they hope to have any chance of reaching their ultimate goal. The ability is certainly there; now it’s time to translate that ability into on-the-field production.

Multiple QBs the New Normal

Seniors Brodrick Waters and Jackie Wilson alternated series at quarterback throughout the TSU contest with Waters receiving the starting nod. Both players showed flashes of their potential at times but it seemed the offense as a whole lacked a consistent rhythm or flow. The biggest part of that was the TSU defense no doubt. Let’s face it, that’s an athletic and talented bunch who returned all 11 starters from the OVC’s top defense in 2012. Couple that with the fact that this was just the first game of the season and midseason precision was highly unlikely. There was something left to be desired from a playcalling standpoint and we understand that 3 offensive linemen were making their first starts in a BCU uniform. But maybe, just maybe the three-way split of quarterbacks receiving even number snaps during practice and the revolving door on gameday had something to do with the lackluster offensive performance in week one.

With that being said, we fully suspect multiple QBs will be the norm for this team unless one guy clearly seperates himself from the pack. Oh by the way, Quentin Williams, who led the team in passing yards and passing touchdowns a year ago, did not see the field on Sunday but he will certainly factor into the quarterback discussion at some point during the season.

BIG D

The most impressive unit on the field was by far the BCU defense who delivered a more than solid performance on Sunday. Jarkevis Fields and LeBrandon Richardson each had 10 tackles and Tevin Toney was a disruptive force upfront. The Wildcats kept TSU out of the endzone and limited the Tigers to 3 field goals and just 248 yards of total offense. It was an all-around great performance by the defensive unit. ALL HAIL Defensive Cats!!!!

BCU (baseball) defeats Miami Hurricanes

April 4, 2013July 27, 2013 / J Bell / Leave a comment

Photo Credits: BCU Athletics

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (15-17) traveled to South Florida for the first of their two trips to Coral Gables this season and exited Wednesday night’s contest with a 5-3 victory over perennial power the University of Miami (20-12).Junior right hander Montana Durapau had another strong outing on the hill yielding just 2 earned runs and striking out 7 in seven innings of work for BCU.

Jordan Dailey entered the contest in the 8^th and held the Hurricanes scoreless through the final 2 frames earning him his 5^th save of the season.

BCU never trailed in the contest and plated all five of its runs in the middle innings: two each in the fourth and fifth and another in the sixth.

Eric Sams’ RBI single in the fourth brought home the Wildcats first two runs of the contest.

Shaun McCarty added an RBI in the 5^th on a sharply hit double deep into the right field corner. McCarty scored on a Brandon Turner fielder’s choice later in the inning and pushed the BCU lead to 4-0

Miami responded with an Alex Hernandez RBI single through the left side to put the Hurricanes on the board, narrowing the lead to 4-1.

Freshman catcher Chris Biocic’s RBI single in the sixth capped the Wildcats’ scoring at 5.

Michael Broad launched a monster two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Wildcat lead to 5-3, but the Canes could get no closer.

BCU’s 5-3 victory adds Miami to an impressive list of out of conference foes Jason Beverlins’ squad has defeated this season. Arizona State, Miami, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Florida International, South Florida and Jacksonville University have all suffered defeat at the hands of the Wildcats in 2013.

The Cats return to MEAC play and will travel to Tallahassee on Friday for a three game weekend series against Florida A&M.

Week Three Wrap-Up

September 18, 2012September 18, 2012 / J Bell / Leave a comment

Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

The first quarter of the season is over and we find ourselves still trying to figure out just how good this team can be this year. After stumbling out of the gates against both Alabama State and South Carolina State, the Wildcats struck first against Miami this past weekend but made far too many execution errors to give themselves any chance of pulling off an upset.

Moral Victories won’t do

It was obvious from the postgame interview that Coach Jenkins was not at all happy with his team’s performance. In fact, Coach Jenkins’ responses and overall disposition were much more reflective of a coach who felt like his team ‘let one slip away’ as oppose to a coach whose undermanned team was within 14 points of the University of Miami with 9:00 left in the contest. The worse part about Saturday’s contest wasn’t losing, I mean we are talking about “The U”. They have much more overall talent, they can offer 22 more scholarships (FBS-85; FCS-63), and they had the best player on the field in running back Duke Johnson; but the volume of dropped passes, missed assignments, poor tackling, untimely penalties and overall poor execution by Wildcat players was troubling.

The easy thing to do is to simply write this off as BCU playing against a better team and being forced into execution issues. The problem with that logic is that BCU has not played a full 4 quarters of crisp football all season long. And oh by the way, Tennessee State is the #1 ranked team in HBCU football and they come to town in a few days. The Wildcats can ill-afford to go through any periods of lull or poor execution against the Big Blue Tigers if they hope to stay undefeated in FCS play.

Make the decision for the coach

Here’s the deal. BCU has three talented quarterbacks who all offer something different. I would give up pork for 3 weeks if one of the QBs elevates the consistency of his play, separates himself from the bunch and become the Wildcat’s sure-fire starting quarterback. You can say that I am praying for the next Matt Johnson to arise from this bunch and to do so quickly.

Jackie Wilson has the most in-game experience of the trio. Wilson has started all three games this season and he has not done anything to warrant losing the starting nod. Wilson had most of last season and the first three games of this year to claim sole ownership as THE quarterback; but like a year ago, he is again stuck in a rotating quarterback system. Good things seem to happen whenever Brock Waters is on the field, but Waters is sometimes erratic with his throws. Quentin Williams represented well in his first collegiate game action but the sampling is way too small to draw any real conclusions.

Neither quarterback has played pooly, but consistency at the position is the difference between this team having a good season and making a legitimate playoff run. Hopefully one of these three guys will have a tremendous week of practice and make the decision for the coach with his play.

The only person that will be more excited than me if this happens is Coach Jenkins himself. It will be the first time in a year and a half that he won’t be asked “who’s the starter at QB this week”. That alone may be enough to allow him to finally crack a smile.