Jacob Ogles
The University of Central Florida’s football team announced it will not play a scheduled game Saturday, Oct. 1. Rather, the scheduled home game against Southern Methodist University will take place Sunday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m.
The change in schedule came as forecasts show Hurricane Ian crossing the state and maintaining hurricane force winds as the eye reaches Orlando.
The Golden Knights announced the game will still be televised on cable, but it has not yet been determined which ESPN channel will carry the game.
“UCF Athletics, in conjunction with the AAC, continues to monitor Hurricane Ian and its potential impact on the Orlando area,” reads an announcement by UCF. “Tickets and parking for Saturday’s game will be good for admission to Sunday’s game.”
Additionally, the university still intends to provide free tickets for students, which can be claimed online.
Fans with a UCF Athletics account are encouraged to resell tickets at UCFKnights.com if they cannot make it to the rescheduled game.
UCF had already canceled classes from Wednesday through Friday. Pre-game festivities for Friday had also already been called off, along with all activities on campus starting Wednesday.
The game had been set as a climax for Family Weekend on UCF, where the university encouraged especially first-year students to come to campus and attend the game and other activities. But all activities associated with that event except for the football game had been canceled over concerns of the trajectory of the storm system.
The storm has disrupted other college football games taking place in the state as well. The University of South Florida announced today it will relocate a Saturday game from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. That game will be played at 2:30 p.m. Refunds will be provided to those who purchased tickets and cannot traverse the state this week to watch the Bulls face East Carolina University.
