Miami-FIU: The Final Chapter is Friday Night.

by Kartik Krishnaiyer
Canes Rising Staff

Miami will play its final Men's Basketball game versus FIU for the foreseeable future tomorrow night. Miami will also not be playing FIU in football again and the Baseball series could be dead as well.

Miami played two games against FIU in football: replacement games for a series with Missouri which the Tigers backed out of about a year before the first game was scheduled to be played. But with Miami's decision to begin playing an annual Thanksgiving weekend game with South Florida and the continued scheduling of attractive home and home series with the likes of Ohio State and Nebraska, no room exists to schedule a Sun Belt team like FIU.

In Men's Basketball, the FIU administration has demanded that Miami begin playing a yearly home and home series with the Canes. Miami recently scheduled a series with FAU where the Canes give the Owls one return game for every two Miami home games. From what I can gather, Miami has refused to make the same offer to FIU.

Last year, Miami did play at FIU and I attended the game. Quite honestly after visiting the Pharmed Arena, I do not believe an ACC school should at any time play in such a poor facility. Pharmed was basically filled up by Miami fans and students that night, so the FIU "home" game that was scheduled turned out to be more of a Miami home game.

FIU's students and alumni want very badly to create a "rivalry" with Miami. The current president of Texas A&M, who is an FIU alum even told ABC's Jack Arute on the sidelines of the Miami-TAMU game this year in College Station that Miami was her alma mater's "rival school."

My view on the matter is the same as it was three years ago. Miami should not play FIU in any sport. The games simply become excuses for FIU's students and student athletes to misbehave. Miami's suffered enough embarrasment for a lifetime with the incidents in the football game a few years ago as well as the defection of Pete Garcia to FIU.

When FIU's administration post Modesto Madique learns its proper place in the local university pecking order, we can talk about playing again.