FIU Panthers football The FIU Panthers football team represent Florida International University in Miami , Florida in the sport of college football . The FIU Panthers are a mid - major NCAA FBS college football team in the Sun Belt Conference . The team plays at the on - campus FIU Stadium . In July 2013 , the Panthers will begin competing in Conference USA . History . On 1 September 1999 , when after several years of contemplating the commencement of a football team , FIU moved a step closer by hiring Don Strock to be FIU ’ s Director of Football Operations . One year later , Don Strock was named Head Coach with plans to lay the foundations for a college football team . QB David Tabor was the first FIU football recruit . In February 2002 , FIU found its star QB in highly touted Jamie Burke from Cardinal Mooney High , Sarasota , FL . Burke was the only player to ever throw for over 500 yards in a single game in Florida as well as led the state in touchdown passes in a season with 34 . Burke was being recruited by the University of Florida but opted instead for FIU when Steve Spurrier left to coach the Washington Redskins . FIU had everything it needed to begin competing in NCAA Football . FIU was placed in the Division I - AA level as an Independent team . Early years . FIU won its inaugural game on 29 August 2002 against Saint Peter ' s College ( New Jersey ) , 27 — 3 . The team faired fairly well against the competition that season and managed to finish with a 5 - 6 record . The Golden Panthers then hoped to build on that in the coming 2003 season . FIU signed to play more challenging teams of the division in hopes to get more recognition as a solid football team . The opening game of the following season started with a loss to Indiana State and it led to a 0 — 8 start for the second year team . They failed to reach the standard set the season before and fell to a 2 — 10 season . The next season followed with similar results , finishing with a 3 — 7 record . After the 2004 season , FIU moved up to Division I FBS , formerly known as Division I - A , despite their relative lack of success in their first three seasons in Division 1 FCS . FIU became the fastest school in the history of college football to reach the highest level . This has since been eclipsed by multiple schools during the conference movement in 2012 . Recent history . The Panthers moved to Division I - A in 2005 . Many of the season ' s players were from the 2003 recruiting class . Keyonvis Bouie , FIU ' s linebacker recorded 118 tackles in nine games , 11 for a loss and three interceptions . A second linebacker , Antwan Barnes recorded 15 tackles for a loss and added 11 sacks to his statistics . On offense , FIU ' s quarterback , Josh Padrick who passed for 2743 yards and 13 touchdowns . His primary target was Chandler Williams , who caught 61 passes for a total of 870 yards . It was these defensive performances that allowed FIU to compete with the teams in Division I - A and finish the season 5 — 6 . FIU had found the foundation upon which the team would be built . As characteristic of FIU ’ s athletic department , the following year , FIU signed to play harder teams . FIU was headed in the right direction but still lacked consistency , and organization . As they began their 2006 season they almost evenly matched the teams which they played , losing almost all of their first few games by very narrow margins . Middle Tennessee 7 — 6 , USF 21 — 20 , Bowling Green 33 - 28 , Maryland 14 — 10 , and University of North Texas 22 — 25 ( 7OTs ) . On 14 October 2006 , FIU and the Miami Hurricanes met for the first time in what was supposed to be the beginning of an annual cross - town rivalry game . Nine minutes into the second half the two teams engaged in a brawl involving players from both schools , including one injured FIU player on crutches and one UM player using his helmet as a weapon . The violence later spilled into the stands , where several spectators were arrested and later released without charges . On the field , police officers were hit with bottles from the stands . 31 players were later punished for the incident , including 13 Miami players and 18 FIU players . Two FIU players were kicked off the team . The FIU defense still finished 28th nationally , and 4th in pass defense . Antwan Barnes ranked 3rd in the nation in tackles for loss with 22 and 6 sacks . Bouie gained 119 tackles 18 for loss , and Alexander Bostic would add 98 tackles , 19 for loss and 8 sacks . Barnes , Bouie and , Bostic came to be known as the “ Killer B ’ s ” . On offense , FIU ’ s receiver Chandler Williams , caught 67 passes for 664 yards . In 2006 , Barnes and Williams were both drafted to the NFL . That same year , the FIU Athletics Department hired a new athletic director Pete Garcia , and found a new head coach for the team , Mario Cristobal . Cristobal became the second youngest Division I - A coach at 37 . Cristobal brought in a new coaching staff in hopes to turn the program around . In 2007 , FIU was the second - youngest team in Division I - A . 2 / 3 were underclassmen ; mostly freshmen . During the 2007 season , FIU played its home games in the Miami Orange Bowl during the expansion of FIU Stadium to 20 , 000 seats . The Golden Panthers concluded the season with a win against North Texas 38 - 19 . It was the last college football game ever played at the historic Orange Bowl prior to its demolition and the last home win at that stadium . In September 2008 , the Panthers inaugurated the expanded FIU Stadium by hosting the South Florida Bulls with a crowd of over 16 , 000 . FIU lost the game 17 — 9 . The team would go on to win the next three games in a showing of a much improved team from the 2006 and 2007 team . On Saturday , 27 November 2010 , FIU defeated Arkansas State University to clinch the Sun Belt Conference Title . This earned FIU its first bowl berth in the short history of its football program . Twenty - nine days later , on 26 December , they became Little Caesars Champions . Fans brought signs saying , " ¡ Sí se puede ! " , Spanish for " Yes we can ! " On 3 December 2011 , FIU accepted an invitation to play in the 2011 Beef ' O ' Brady ' s Bowl , the school ' s second consecutive bowl game . After going from an 8 — 5 season in 2011 to a 3 — 9 season in 2012 , FIU Athletic Director Pete Garcia made the decision to fire Cristobal because " we ’ ve gone backwards over the last year and a half . Over the last 22 games , we ' ve gone 8 - 14 . " Garcia openly coveted Butch Davis to replace Cristobal . The decision was heavily criticized . On January 3 , 2013 , FIU hired Ron Turner , former head coach at San Jose State and Illinois , as the program ' s third head coach . Future non - conference opponents . In 2008 , the non - conference schedule was announced for the 2011 through 2014 football seasons . The new non - conference schedule marked a new home - and - home approach with higher caliber opponents , bringing bigger name schools to FIU Stadium . In September 2012 , Bethune - Cookman University was announced as the home opener game for FIU for the 2013 and 2014 seasons . FIU agreed to pay Bethune - Cookman $ 400 , 000 for each of the two games . In addition , the Panthers will first travel to College Park , Md . , for the Terrapins ’ home - opener next season on Aug . 31 , 2013 . Maryland will make the return visit to Miami and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium on Sept . 10 , 2016 . FIU Stadium . FIU Stadium , nicknamed " The Cage " , is the home field of the FIU Panthers football team . The stadium opened in 1995 , and was expanded in 2007 thereby increasing the stadium ' s capacity to 23 , 500 . FIU Stadium is nicknamed " The Cage " by FIU students and alumni . FIU Stadium was designed by Rossetti Architects and boasts a seating capacity of 23 , 500 . The largest attended game was on October 1 , 2011 versus Duke University with an attendance of 22 , 682 ; FIU lost 27 – 31 . Records and championships . Conference affiliations : All - time record . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > 2004 season and 2005 season wins vacated due to NCAA sanctions . All - time record vs Sun Belt and in - state FBS opponents . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Shula Bowl , annual rivalry game Alumni in the NFL . A total of seven FIU Panthers players have played in the NFL . Notable Panthers in the NFL : < br > DB Nick Turnbull < br > OLB Antwan Barnes < br > WR Chandler Williams < br > CB Anthony Gaitor < br > DB Nick Taylor < br > WR T . Y . Hilton