Tarah Jean Tallahassee Democrat
(Source FAMU News):
Florida A&M University’s football field at Bragg Memorial Stadium could soon have a new name in honor of NFL Hall of Famer Ken Riley — and the same goes for FAMU’s softball field that is expected to be named after former head softball coach Veronica Wiggins.
The honorary naming recommendations were approved by the university’s Naming Committee in a May meeting.
But since the naming of any facility or program requires the recommendation of FAMU President Larry Robinson along with the approval of the Board of Trustees, the proposals will be discussed during the trustees’ upcoming full board meeting Thursday.
“If approved, Rattlers will drive on Bob Hayes Lane, take their seats in Bragg Memorial Stadium and watch championship football on Ken Riley Field. Truly, a winning experience,” FAMU Athletics Director Tiffani Sykes stated in a recommendation letter to Robinson.
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Riley — a FAMU alumnus and former pro football player for the Cincinnati Bengals who passed away in 2020 — became the second person in FAMU history to earn the honor of being an NFL Hall of Fame inductee following the 2023 induction.
Following his 15-season playing career in the NFL, he spent two seasons with the Green Bay Packers as an assistant coach before returning to FAMU in 1986 as the head football coach, where he led the Rattlers to two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships before being named the university’s athletics director in 1994.
Riley was also MEAC Coach of the Year two times and a 1982 FAMU Sports Hall of Famer as well as a member of the Black College Football Hall of Fame and Florida Sports Hall of Fame.
In addition to Riley’s legendary achievements, Wiggins — who earned both her bachelor’s degree in 1990 and master’s degree in 1991 from FAMU in health, physical education and recreation — started her career as head coach at the university in 1990 to kick off her own trailblazing journey.
During Wiggins’s 30 years of leading FAMU’s softball team ahead of her retirement, she had over 700 wins, which named her the first softball coach in HBCU (Historically Black College or University) history to record 700 victories in 2017.
The Miami, Florida native led her teams to win 13 MEAC Championships and coached them as they made 11 National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament appearances.
“She has made an indelible impact on FAMU, the City of Tallahassee and the softball community,” Sykes stated in another letter to Robinson, referring to Wiggins. “I wholeheartedly believe that an honorary naming of this facility is the appropriate recognition for her widespread impact and accomplishments.”
Wiggins was also named MEAC Coach of the Year five times, Outstanding MEAC Tournament Coach 13 times, a FAMU Athletics Hall of Famer in 2006 and a MEAC Hall of Famer in 2022.
A recommendation letter from FAMU’s current Softball Head Coach Camise Patterson states that it is “time to give Coach Veronica Wiggins the flowers she is due.”
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On top of the two naming proposals, a recommendation has also been made to name the FAMU football locker room — located in the Gallimore-Powell Fieldhouse on campus — after George “The Godfather” Thompson.
Thompson is an alumnus of the university and a 1985 FAMU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who served as the FAMU football equipment manager for 49 years. He led a successful fundraising campaign in 2019 to replace the university’s football team lockers, according to Sykes.
He was also known to be a close confidant of the eminent former head football coach Jake Gaither, who was honored with Jake Gaither Gymnasium on FAMU’s campus being named after him.
While FAMU’s Board of Trustees will hold committee meetings Wednesday at the university’s Grand Ballroom — where Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the FAMU Foundation Shawnta Friday-Stroud will present the naming recommendations during the Direct Support Organizations committee meeting — the full board meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday is where trustees will vote on the proposals.
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.
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