After hints were dropped and reports were made over the last week, the University of Miami officially announced a home-and-home football series with the rival Florida Gators.

These games, slated to be played in Gainesville in 2024 and Miami in 2025 add to each team’s non-conference schedule.

Here’s more on the announcement from Miami Athletics:

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami football program announced Tuesday that the Hurricanes have agreed to a two-game, home-and-home series with the University of Florida.

Miami will travel to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2024, before hosting the Gators at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025.

The two teams are slated to kick off the 2019 college football season this Saturday night on ESPN at 7 p.m. in the Camping World Kickoff at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The neutral site contest is the first meeting between the two schools since 2013, when UM defeated Florida 21-16 at then-Sun Life Stadium.

”The Hurricanes and Gators have a long history as in-state gridiron rivals and we’re excited to add a new chapter to the series,” Director of Athletics Blake James said. “This is not only a game that both fan bases want to see, but a game that football fans across the Sunshine State and across the nation are eager to see as well.”

After facing each other every season from 1943 to 1987, Miami and Florida have met just seven times since then. UM holds a 29-26 all-time edge in the series, and has won seven of the last eight matchups.

The Hurricanes also have future out of conference games scheduled with Alabama in Atlanta, Ga. (2021), Michigan State (2020 and 2021), and Texas A&M (2022 and 2023).

Like this season, Miami and Florida will open the season August 31st, 2024 at UF, with the return game in 2025 being a few weeks into the year in mid-September. Miami already has non-conference games against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the schedule for these years, and the addition of UF to the schedule bumps up the competition significantly. There are few teams who play 2 non-conference games of this caliber in a single year, and Miami (and Canes fans) should be pleased with the move to increase the level of the opponents in those upcoming years.

While most may want a renewal of the annual series between Miami and Florida, adding 2 more games, on top of this year’s season opener, has to be at least a little satisfying. I, for one, am glad Florida stopped running scared and finally put Miami back on the schedule. The entire Big 3 — Miami, Florida, and Florida State — should play each other on a fairly regular, if not annual, basis in my opinion, and this home-and-home series is a clear move in that direction.

So mark your calendars. Canes vs Gators will happen this Saturday, but also in a couple years in the not-too-distant future.

Go Canes