Florida A&M University is determined to keep its football players cool, making history! Learn more in the FAMU release below.
Florida A&M Football fall camp is just over a week away, and the Rattlers are excited about adding the coolant chamber to help keep the student-athletes cool during the Florida summer.
Florida A&M joins other Power Five programs, such as LSU and FSU, in implementing a coolant chamber on their campus and is the first HBCU to do so.
The Rattlers can have this cooling chamber thanks to the FAMU 220 Quarterback Club’s support in providing the unit funding.
“I think this is probably my proudest moment as a Rattler,” said President of the 220 Quarterback Club Eddie Jackson. “Coach (Willie) Simmons told me two years ago that his greatest priority was to make sure that none of his players died by heatstroke or got seriously sick from heatstroke. He wanted some help with that. I saw an article in Sports Illustrated about the coolant center. I saw this guy with the funny name, Paul Boudreaux, and I gave him a call and he was very helpful. He came and talked to the 220 Quarterback Club, he met the president and Coach Simmons got excited and our club got excited. We raised the money for the unit in about two weeks.”
Head Coach Willie Simmons is thankful and excited about the unit being delivered ahead of the 2022 fall camp.
“First off, I can’t say anything without giving a huge shoutout to Eddie Jackson and the 220 Quarterback Club,” said Head Coach Willie Simmons. “They saw the vision and raised funds to make this possible in order to make sure our guys are safe during this hot summer as we report to training camp is something I’m extremely proud and excited about.”
Interim Director of Athletics Michael Smith on what the addition of the cooling chamber means to Florida A&M ahead of fall camp:
“This is going to go a long way with our program, particularly our football program, giving our student-athletes the opportunity to recharge and get themselves in a good place during and after practice,” said Interim Director of Athletics Michael Smith. “Safety is real important, so I know our athletic training team will be happy to have an aid to assist them in that space. We’re excited about it for all the right reasons. Coach Simmons is excited about it, and the coaching staff and the community are really happy to have this type of apparatus in our backyard, so we can do what is most befitting for our student-athletes.”
The Rattlers report for camp on July 28, with the first practice scheduled for July 29 as they prepare for their week zero game at North Carolina on Saturday, August 27 at 8:00 p.m.
