HBCU Football Coaches Debate Money Games; Marshall Faulk Looks Beyond Houston Loss

HOUSTON -- The early-season lopsided losses in HBCU football to FBS programs brought the financial divide in college football into focus for Prairie View A&M coach Tremaine Jackson, Florida A&M coach Quinn Gray and Southern coach Marshall Faulk.

Florida A&M lost 77-7 at Miami on September 10. Two days later, Prairie View A&M lost 44-3 at Baylor. HBCU Legends was there for Southern’s 77-6 loss to No. 22 Houston.

Debating the Money Games | SWAC, Kevin Batiste, Reuters

Jackson and Gray shared their thoughts during this week’s SWAC media call, while Faulk spoke at Southern’s media session on Tuesday in Baton Rouge.

All three coaches pointed to financial gaps as a big challenge. Jackson is against scheduling Power Four teams just for the money. Gray accepts these games but says HBCUs need more resources to compete. Faulk talked about Southern’s limits, keeping his players safe, and getting ready for the next game.

Their comments show different views on guarantee games. Should coaches focus on bringing in money, giving players opportunities, or the risks of playing much stronger teams?

Tremaine Jackson questions the value of guarantee games

Jackson explained his role as Prairie View A&M’s head coach and how the school gets paid for playing Baylor.

Baylor agreed to pay Prairie View A&M a $400,000 guarantee, according to HBCU Sports, citing FBSchedules.

“I don’t get a check for playing Baylor,” Jackson told Terrance Harris of The Defender. “That’s not how Tremaine Jackson gets paid,” Jackson said. “The game was scheduled a long time ago. Here’s what we refuse to do. We refuse to complain about the things that we cannot control.”

Jackson said he would not have scheduled this game. He objects because of the big difference in financial support.

“Let me say that I don’t agree that we should play those people,” Jackson said. “And the reason why I don’t agree that we should play those people is because our fundraising efforts, our alums, our people that talk about these things on [social] media boards and Instagram, they don’t donate the money that those schools donate.”

He asked supporters to think about whether their donations match what they expect from the team.

“But we don’t value college football the same way those people do. It’s evident we value classics and homecoming,” Jackson said.

He said his view applies to more than just Prairie View A&M.

“So no, Tremaine Jackson don’t agree that HBCUs or mid-level budget FCS schools should be playing Power 4 people. I do not agree with that,” he said.

Jackson also said that the head coach is the one who has to live with the result on his record.

“Tremaine Jackson is the only one at the university that has something to lose by playing the game,” he said.

Still, Jackson said his job is to get his players ready to compete.

“Men don’t sit around and look for an excuse. Men attack things,” he said.

Jackson believes that one day an HBCU will have enough resources to build a roster like an FBS team.

“Hopefully, man, we’re sitting in a situation where we can get a $20 million roster,” he said. “That’s going to happen. I just don’t know when.”

After losing to Baylor, Prairie View A&M is now 1-2 and getting ready to play Stephen F. Austin this Saturday at Panther Stadium.

Quinn Gray: “The check”

When asked about his main takeaway from Florida A&M’s loss at Miami, Gray summed it up in two words.

“The check. Unfortunately, as it relates to just being brutally honest, because right now we can’t match up with the likes of Miami,” he said.

Front Office Sports, citing a Tallahassee Democrat records request, reported a combined payment of $760,000: $720,000 for FAMU athletics and $40,000 for the Marching 100.

The teams shortened the fourth quarter to 10 minutes because the game was already out of reach for FAMU.

Gray, in his first year as FAMU’s coach and a former Rattlers quarterback, said money problems make it hard to keep and recruit players. FAMU lost five offensive linemen over the summer because they couldn’t offer extra pay.

Unlike Jackson, Gray does not mind scheduling these games.

“I don’t have a problem with them, to be honest with you. I just need to be able to compete better with the opportunity to bring in better talent,” Gray said.

Gray said that when he played for FAMU, his teams looked forward to these games. He thinks they still give players a chance to show their skills to scouts.

But he said college football is now more about money than relationships, so financial support is more important than ever for building a strong team.

“So for us, you know, we got to be able to compete better as it relates to from a financial standpoint as a program to be able to go into those games and it not look as bad as it looked on national TV,” Gray said.

Marshall Faulk confronts Southern’s limitations

Faulk gave an honest review after Southern’s 77-6 loss to Houston.

“That was awful. That wasn’t really a game,” Faulk said. “That was a kind of a preseason crash dummy test for Houston to work on all their good plays.”

The first-year Southern coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer acknowledged the difference between the teams.

“They’re better than us, all right? They’re better than us. They’re ranked what, 22nd? We’re FCS. Everybody know what this is. Let it be what it is. We’re gonna get better,” he said.

Faulk said he thought about the money gap while on the sideline. He remembered when Southern had more experienced players and could compete better.

“But in today’s landscape, um, like, we don’t have the budget to compete against them. We just don’t,” he said.

Faulk said the team’s problems go beyond just paying players.

“We don’t have the bodies, we don’t have the funds, we don’t have the equipment, we don’t have all the stuff that’s needed to compete with a team like that,” he said. “Like guts and glory is just not enough. Want and will, it’s not enough.”

He also said Southern made mistakes that made the game even harder.

“You can’t put your defense on short fields. You can’t turn the football over,” Faulk said.

Faulk credited Houston coach Willie Fritz for his team’s preparation.

“They look ready to play. They looked really good,” he said.

Player health takes priority

Faulk said cutting the fourth quarter to eight minutes showed he wanted to protect his players.

“Hey, man, you got to know when to say uncle,” Faulk said. “Here’s what I owe to these kids, man. Although we’re trying to win a football game and we’re trying to teach them lessons and how to play football the right way, um, they deserve to walk out these games healthy.”

He said he had to put his pride aside to make that call. Still, he plans to review the team’s performance moving forward.

“No, we have to look at it. Not in the sense of grading people, it’s just execution,” Faulk said. “And so there’s a lot of teaching that’s going to come from this tape more than grading.”

Southern’s only touchdown, a 79-yard pass from Wyatt McCauley to Wydell Clark Jr., showed what Faulk wants to build. He called that play “part of our future.”

“We’re not a team yet”

Faulk’s focus on development was clear after Southern’s first game, a 30-17 loss to Alabama State in Birmingham.

Before the Jaguars beat Kentucky State 34-15 in their home opener on September 5, Faulk said his team was still learning to play as a unit.

“We’re a collection of guys. We’re not a team yet,” he said. “We are still in the building phases of us being a team.”

He said the first half against Alabama State showed what the team could do, but keeping up that level of play is still a challenge.

“I told the guys, I said, man, we teased our fans with the first half,” Faulk said. “But before we show people, we got to show ourselves.”

What comes next for Southern

Southern (1-2) will play Louisiana Christian at home on Saturday, September 19, at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge. The Jaguars will then travel to Jackson State on September 26.

For Faulk, knowing about the financial gap doesn’t change what he expects from his team in each game.

“When you go out there, man, you expect to win,” he said. “I don’t care who we playing against.”

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