NCAA FOOTBALL
How will Hurricane Milton affect the college football week 7 schedule?
Milton’s looming threat has already impacted the organization and timetable of several college and professional sports in the Southeast.
Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified into a dangerous Category 5 storm as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities are issuing urgent warnings as the storm will hit land later today. Evacuation orders are now in effect throughout the Sunshine State in preparation for the impending impact.
The hurricane will probably be the strongest storm in the Gulf of Mexico since 2005.
In college football, games in Florida at risk
Logistics and scheduling for college sports and their professional peers, such as the NFL, NHL, and NBA, have already been impacted in the Southeast as the threat of Milton looms.
Memphis at South Florida
The Memphis at South Florida college football game was postponed by a day due to Hurricane Milton’s impending threat. It has been rescheduled to take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Originally, the game was scheduled for Friday night, but schools and the American Athletic Conference decided it was not feasible.
To ensure the safety of the players and staff, South Florida planned to relocate them from Tampa to Orlando on Tuesday afternoon. They anticipated that the usual hour-and-a-half bus ride would take twice as long due to the evacuation traffic on Interstate 4.
Other college football games in Florida, such as Cincinnati at UCF in Orlando and North Texas at FAU in Boca Raton, may also be affected. However, as of Tuesday, no scheduling changes had been announced, so the situation is still being monitored.
Cincinnati at UCF
Cincinnati at UCF game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orange County. UCF Athletics announced adjustments for volleyball, women’s and men’s soccer, and men’s tennis. They rescheduled UCF’s home volleyball match against Colorado from Wednesday to Sunday and moved Thursday’s women’s soccer match from Orlando to Houston.
UCF’s men’s soccer match vs. Marshall was rescheduled from Friday night to Sunday. Other college events postponed include a women’s soccer match in Boca Raton between Florida Atlantic and Rice; it was to be played on Thursday and now will be played on Oct. 17.
North Texas at FAU
Despite the possibility of Hurricane Milton passing through their campus, the FAU administration board has decided to keep the home football game against the University of North Texas scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.
The game will take place at FAU Stadium, which is located about half an hour north of Fort Lauderdale.
Other public and sports events scheduled for this week at the FAU campus have been canceled due to the hurricane, but the football game remains as scheduled.