The 2021 FIU Panthers football team represented
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...
(FIU) in the
2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The ...
. The Panthers played their home games at
Riccardo Silva Stadium
Pitbull Stadium is a college football and soccer stadium on the campus of Florida International University (FIU) in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida with a Miami mailing address. It is the home stadium of the FIU Panthers football tea ...
in
Miami, Florida
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, and competed in the East Division of
Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
(C-USA). They were led by fifth-year head coach
Butch Davis
Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant coll ...
.
The season was marred by drama and controversy, with athletic director
Pete Garcia clearing his desk out in the middle of the night, with no prior announcement or news conference. A few days later, it was announced that head coach
Butch Davis
Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant coll ...
would not be returning following the season. Davis alleged that university administrators had cut the football program's budget by $500,000 each year for the past two years and that coaches were not allowed to recruit on the road. University administrators have not commented on Davis's allegations.
Preseason
C-USA media days
The Panthers were predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division in the Conference USA preseason poll.
Schedule
Personnel
Game summaries
LIU
Texas State
At Texas Tech
At Central Michigan
At Florida Atlantic
Charlotte
Western Kentucky
At Marshall
Old Dominion
At Middle Tennessee
North Texas
At Southern Miss
References
{{FIU Panthers football navbox
FIU
FIU Panthers football seasons
FIU Panthers football
FIU Panthers football program represents Florida International University (FIU) in the sport of American football. The Panthers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Div ...
2021 in Miami-Dade County, Florida