Much has changed between Shula Bowl rivals Florida Atlantic and Florida International since Howard Schnellenberger started it in 2002, going up against Don Strock’s early FIU teams.
The two programs have grown from Division I-AA independents to Sun Belt Conference and now Conference USA foes. Both have won bowl games and are on their third coach since Schnellenberger and Strock kicked off the programs, with FAU even adding an on-campus stadium along the way.
Schnellenberger, through all his coaching stops – at his alma mater Kentucky, Alabama, numerous NFL jobs, the Miami Hurricanes for their first national championship, Louisville, a cup of coffee in Oklahoma and even the USFL – still feels a special connection with FAU, the program he built from the ground up.