GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Athletic Director
Jeremy Foley, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and LSU officials began to talk in-depth on Tuesday about the possible ramifications of Hurricane Matthew.
When Foley left the office on Wednesday afternoon, he remained confident the Gators-LSU game scheduled for Saturday at noon at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium would be played, perhaps later in the day if the storm did not pass along Florida's east coast as quickly as projected.
And then Matthew slowed down, took a more direct turn toward the state, and began to gain strength, going from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 4 on Thursday morning.
Those discussions intensified Thursday morning and by late afternoon, the SEC office announced the game was postponed and would be rescheduled at a later date if possible.
"Not a perfect scenario. None of this is perfect,'' Foley said at a press conference after the announcement. "But if you're on the coast of Florida right now, your life is really not perfect."
The Florida-LSU game is one of the most anticipated each season in the SEC. The teams have played every year since the 1971 season.
As fans and media speculated most of the day about the game's status, the league office, which had the final say, worked with both schools in coming to a conclusion.
Ultimately, Hurricane Matthew made the final decision.
"We have to be sensitive to the possible imminent disruption to the state of Florida and in particular Gainesville and the surrounding area,'' Sankey said.
Foley acknowledged one solution LSU offered was to host the game at Tiger Stadium, most likely on Sunday. He added there were no discussions about moving the game to a neutral-site venue.
Florida opted to pass on the offer due to the magnitude of the situation at home.
"Impossible to accommodate that request, which we greatly appreciated,'' Foley said. "I think everyone in this room understands how the University of Florida feels about playing LSU. This series is very important to our fan base and important to this institution, but to try and put a road trip together of 150-plus people in a day and half … again, not in the best interest of safety, not in the best interest of people that would be involved on that trip."
For now, the game's future is in limbo.
Immediate speculation focused on Nov. 19 as a potential makeup date. The Gators are scheduled to host Presbyterian and LSU has a home game scheduled against South Alabama that day. The SEC has lost-revenue insurance coverage for games postponed or cancelled, and buying out the contracts of the nonconference opponents is not a financial strain for the schools.
However, LSU travels to Texas A&M five days later for a Thursday night game and might be hesitant to give up a home game according to various media reports.
Foley said UF is willing to consider whatever scenarios the SEC offers.
"The money is not an issue,'' he said. "If it can be worked out, we'll be thrilled, excited and ready to play that football game. I know our fans will, too. The league will work on those things. It's not as easy as it sometimes seems. We want to play the football game. This is not about not wanting to play a football game.
"At some point that stuff will all sort itself out. The league will be the leader in those conversations."
Besides the obvious – Hurricane Matthew and its potential impact on the state – several other factors played into UF's decision not to accept LSU's offer to play in Baton Rouge, including:
- Local police departments and had already notified the Gators their resources would be deployed elsewhere, leaving the team with no security and a lack of resources needed for a road trip.
- Several major state airports closed on Thursday and Florida officials advised residents not to travel to allow those in evacuation areas to get away from coastal areas.
- Concerns of staff, coaches and players about their families.
Florida head coach
Jim McElwain supported the decision.
"My thoughts and concerns are with the state of Florida, the first responders, our players and their families,'' he said. "In life, there are bigger things than what we are doing on a daily basis and this is one of those times we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Overall, it's all about the safety of everyone involved."
As of late Thursday, Hurricane Matthew was moving at 14 mph and packing sustained winds of 140 mph. Aerial footage of the storm's impact in Haiti showed major destruction.
The Florida-LSU game is an important one. A fun one. Still, Foley's message to fans is that it's only a football game.
"It pales in comparison to what some folks are getting ready to deal with,'' Foley said. "People's safety is what matters and that is why this decision was made. It took as long as it did because of a lot of moving parts.
"It's the right decision and we support it. Our thoughts and prayers with those who are going to be significantly impacted as this storm progresses."
This is the first time a Gators football game has been impacted by a hurricane since 2004 when the season opener against Middle Tennessee State was postponed and rescheduled later in the season.
