March 25, 2026 was a day stuffed with neighborhood, tradition, and alternative because the Orange Blossom Traditional returned to middle stage with its official kickoff press convention on the Miami Gardens Municipal Complicated.
The morning opened with remarks from Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris, who set the tone by welcoming visitors, groups, and stakeholders into town with delight and function.
“I welcome you all to town of Miami Gardens. On behalf of 115,000 residents that stay right here in our metropolis, we welcome the Orange Blossom Traditional and we welcome you to our stunning metropolis,” Harris stated. “We’ve all the time been supporters of the Orange Blossom Traditional, and we are going to proceed to assist the Orange Blossom Traditional as a result of this occasion stands for greater than only a soccer recreation. The occasion represents HBCUs on the highest plateau you could even take into consideration.”
With Labor Day weekend already circled on the calendar, anticipation continues to construct for the extremely anticipated matchup between South Carolina State College and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. The sport is about for September 6, bringing collectively two powerhouse HBCU applications with deep historical past and even deeper function.
South Carolina State enters the season as again to again MEAC champions underneath Head Coach Chennis Berry, whereas Florida A&M begins a brand new chapter led by Quinn Grey Sr., a FAMU alum and this system’s twentieth head coach.
On the middle of all of it is the continued progress of the Orange Blossom Traditional itself. Govt Director Kendra Bulluck-Main highlighted the occasion’s cultural and financial influence on South Florida, particularly inside Miami Gardens.
“Primary, we’re the one African American occasion in South Florida to be nationally televised,” Bulluck-Main stated. “This occasion, since its inception in 2021, has introduced in over $100 million again to Miami-Dade and Broward County.”
Now getting into its sixth 12 months, the Orange Blossom Traditional has positioned itself as greater than only a recreation. It’s a cultural establishment, a driver of financial influence, and a celebration of Black excellence rooted in HBCU custom.
That custom was entrance and middle within the phrases of Coach Berry, who spoke not nearly soccer, however about legacy and self-discipline.
“I’m a product of an HBCU. I’ve been on an HBCU campus my entire life since I used to be 18 years previous, as a participant and a coach,” Berry stated.
Coming off a dominant 2025 season that included an HBCU nationwide championship, Berry emphasised that success for his program goes past the sector.
“We had an excellent season. We gained the 2025 HBCU nationwide championship. We not solely gained on the sector, however we gained within the classroom,” he stated. “We had 99 gamers when the season ended. We had over 60 gamers with over a 3.0 GPA, and 6 of our gamers had a 4.0 GPA.”
For Florida A&M, Coach Grey is moving into management with a transparent concentrate on legacy and accountability. As each a head coach and an alum, his method facilities on training, id, and delight.
“It’s my accountability not solely as their head coach, but additionally as an alum, to make it possible for the gamers perceive the inspiration that they stand on,” Grey stated.
He continued, outlining a novel method to constructing tradition inside his program.
“Each Tuesday and Thursday, we now have a gathering and historical past lesson about former coaches, former gamers, and the individuals who walked the halls at Florida A&M College,” he stated. “In order that they perceive the folks that got here earlier than them and the inspiration they stroll on.”
For Grey, all of it comes again to delight.
“Simply transferring ahead, it’s all in regards to the delight that you’ve within the college.”
Because the press convention got here to an in depth, one factor was clear. The Orange Blossom Traditional isn’t just a few recreation on September 6. It’s about legacy, training, tradition, and neighborhood all coming collectively on one stage.
And in Miami Gardens, that stage continues to develop.
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