ACC Commissioner John Swofford has become the latest College administrator to discuss the potential effects of Hurricane Irma. Irma has forced the cancellation of the Miami Hurricanes game at Arkansas State and Florida State’s home game against Louisiana Monroe.
Swofford discussed the severity of Hurricanes Irma, the relation of the Irma to football, the difficulty of rescheduling cancelled games and trying to do what’s in the best interest of everyone that is involved with the universities.
Although the ACC schools didn’t have to deal with Hurricanes last season, the University of Florida did. That caused a complicated scheduling process involving the Gators, LSU and two other teams.
A source from Miami said that the Hurricanes could face difficulty after Hurricane Irma hits. There is a possibility that Miami could have the rest of the season without a place to play. That is what happened with both the New Orleans Saints and Tulane after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Both teams played at the Superdome at the time and had to find alternate places to play. Tulane now has their own on campus stadium.
Swofford issued a statement about the evolving situation.
"“Throughout the state of Florida and the needs that are there, these kinds of events put in perspective where football lies…As important as football is to all of us, it really pales in comparison when you’re talking about life-threatening events and the ramifications of something like this hurricane. …“Ultimately, while we want to try and play the games, we do not want to do so at the expense of the best interest of our citizens, our fans, our players and our students. With football, it’s not easy to reschedule games. We all know that. If the need arises, we’ll do the best we possibly can do to do that, and in as fair a way as it can be done. And if it can’t be done, then everybody adjusts to it, and life moves on.”"
The situation with Florida and LSU nearly created havoc with SEC schedule last season. There was a lot of speculation how it would affect the SEC championship race. Ultimately, the game scheduled for Gainesville was moved to Baton Rouge and postponed to a later date.
Swofford addressed that as well but mentioned it’s too early to start that speculation.
"“There are adjustments that can be made and would be made, if necessary…But it’s really premature to jump to that point.”"
An unidentified Miami Hurricanes assistant spoke to ESPN about where the UM players minds are at with Irma getting ready to strike Florida.
"“The players I talked to, they felt very strongly that they wanted to be with their family,” an assistant said. “The idea of being away and playing a football game with this thing bearing down was a distraction that they didn’t want to deal with. You have players who have small children and moms, and they don’t know where everybody is. That’s a bad look.“It sounds dramatic, but it’s not. It’s life. Lives are in the balance.”"
Next: Miami Hurricanes DC Manny Diaz Issues Strong Rebuttal to Critics
The statement from administrators, coaches and players throughout the week has really put life into perspective. We all want what’s best for Miami Hurricanes athletics. We all want to see their teams play and succeed. Right now that’s not what it is important
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