The Florida Classic is the annual college football rivalry game between Bethune–Cookman University and Florida A&M University. The game is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Pop-Tarts Bowl and Citrus Bowl. The Classic has approximately a $31 million impact on Orlando's economy; it was the largest MEAC conference football game before the schools left for the SWAC, and remains the largest Division I FCS football game in Florida.

Florida A&M won the first Florida Classic game in 1978, 27–17, overcoming a 17–0 halftime deficit. The team went on to win the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA championship. Bethune–Cookman made the series competitive starting in 1973, winning 11 of their 14 series victories during that span, including a 58–52 overtime win in 2004, which was the first-ever three-peat for the 'Cats in the overall series, which dates back to the 1920s. Florida A&M holds an 25–18 edge in the meetings since the instate rivalry moved from a home-and-home scenario to an annual neutral site game in Tampa Stadium in 1978.

The two schools went through a two-year hiatus in 1983 and 1984, when they could not agree on a playing site, but public pressure from alumni, fans and state officials brought them back to the negotiating table and they resumed the series in 1985. Bethune–Cookman won the rivalry renewal game, 31–27 in 1985.

The 1997–2007 games saw the Florida Classic revived to the point that it overshadowed the drawing power of the Bayou Classic in New Orleans, between Grambling and Southern University in terms of attendance. In 1998, 66,245 packed the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium for the game which determined the 1998 MEAC Championship and postseason invitations. In 1999, the game drew 70,125 fans to Orlando, the sixth-largest football event ever held in the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium. The 2000 MEAC title game drew 70,719 to see a 31–28 thriller won by the Rattlers. The 2003 game stands as the largest crowd ever in the series with 73,358 in attendance.

In 2005, the game made its debut on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, as a part of a commitment to broadcasting HBCU games.

The game is held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Previous games were at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach and Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee until the two schools agreed on a permanent site in Tampa in 1978.

The Florida Classic has now drawn in excess of 1.8 million fans since 1978. Since 1997, a total of 1,115,783 fans have watched the Florida Classic in the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium, an average of 61,988 per year. By comparison, the total attendance for the 18 years prior to Orlando was 765,529, an average of only 45,031. Between Orlando and Tampa, the Classic has drawn 1,801,587 fans. The record for attendance at the game is 73,358, set in Orlando in 2003.

Marching bands from both universities compete during the Florida Classic halftime show and at various events during the weekend.