One of Florida A&M football’s loudest traditions is returning to Bragg Memorial Stadium.
FAMU’s celebratory touchdown cannon is set to return for the 2026 season, restoring a game-day tradition that dates back four decades and connecting the Rattlers’ current era with a familiar piece of their past.
The cannon had been a fixture at FAMU football games since 1986, with the Rattler Battalion firing it following touchdowns at Bragg Memorial Stadium. The tradition began under Col. Ronald Joe, a Vietnam veteran, FAMU alumnus and former professor of military science who helped arrange a loan agreement with the National Guard to bring a cannon to campus.
It remained part of the soundtrack of Saturdays at Bragg for generations before being discontinued during FAMU’s 2023 Black College Football National Championship season.
Now the boom is coming back.
Quinn Gray brings back a tradition from his playing days
For first-year FAMU head coach Quinn Gray, the cannon isn’t simply another game-day feature.
Gray heard it plenty during his own career at Florida A&M.
The FAMU Sports Hall of Fame quarterback starred for the Rattlers from 1997 through 2001, operating Billy Joe’s famed Gulf Coast Offense and becoming one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in program history.
Twenty-five years later, Gray is back at FAMU as head coach and installing his own version of the high-tempo Gulf Coast attack. Every trip to the end zone at Bragg will once again have the opportunity to end with a boom.
“It’s just tradition, man,” Gray told the Tallahassee Democrat. “To be honest with you, it’s old school FAMU.”
Gray also acknowledged that bringing back a cannon requires consideration for fans who could be sensitive to the sudden noise, including those dealing with PTSD.
“I understand some of the things that may come with that with people who have PTSD,” Gray said. “But at the end of the day, we make sure that we take that into consideration. But at the end of the day, tradition lives forever.”
‘Restore the Strike’ helped make it happen
The cannon’s return is part of a larger effort to upgrade the football program following Gray’s hiring in December 2025.
FAMU launched its “Restore the Strike” fundraising campaign under Marvin Green, the university’s Major Gifts Officer for athletics and the Marching 100. The campaign surpassed its $250,000 fundraising goal earlier this year.
Gray said on social media that approximately $100,000 went toward a collection of football-related purchases that included the custom-made cannon.
The money also helped purchase scissor lifts for filming practices and games, new branding inside the Galimore-Powell Fieldhouse, a paint stripper for the practice field and a segment clock used to manage practice periods.
Gray indicated that additional improvements are planned with the remaining funds.
The effort gives the cannon’s return additional significance. Rather than simply restoring an old piece of equipment, FAMU supporters helped finance the return of a tradition associated with some of the program’s most memorable eras.
FAMU hoping to give the cannon plenty of work
The timing also fits the football identity Gray is attempting to restore.
FAMU enters 2026 preparing to revive the Gulf Coast-style offense that produced explosive football during Gray’s playing career.
Quarterback Isaiah Knowles has been named the starter, with running back Jamal Hailey and wide receivers Kieren Jackson and Mike Peterson among the offensive weapons expected to help power the attack.
If Gray’s offense performs as intended, the new cannon could have a busy first season.
FAMU will get its first opportunity to fire it on Aug. 29 when the Rattlers host Albany State in their Week 0 season opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
“We’re looking forward to having that back,” Gray told the Tallahassee Democrat, “and bringing that exciting part back to FAMU football.”
For longtime Rattlers who remember the sound echoing through Bragg after a touchdown, the return should be unmistakable.