Brown not too happy dealing with unknown
Matchup with Knights still in limbo for UNC
North Carolina coach Mack Brown doesn’t know who his Tar Heels will face in their sole nonconference game this season, and that uncertainty is frustrating for the veteran coach.
“Coaches are creatures of routine … so it drives you nuts you don’t know when your opener is and you don’t know who you’re playing,” Brown said during a videoconference Friday, two days after the ACC announced it was moving to an 11-game schedule featuring 10 conference games and one nonconference opponent.
“I don’t know as much about it because they talked about playing the regular season and then there was discussion about no out-of-conference games and then there was a discussion about an eight-plus one [model] and then a 10-plus one,” Brown said of the discussions about a nonconference opponent. “[Senior associate athletics director] Rich Steinbacher and [athletics director] Bubba [Cunningham] are totally in charge of that.”
North Carolina appeared set to open the season on the road at UCF on Friday, Sept. 4, but the ACC’s decision on Wednesday altered those plans.
The league also mandated its nonconference games will take place in the same state as the ACC school, with the opponents expected to strictly adhere to conference coronavirus testing protocols.
The Tar Heels were set to play Auburn in Atlanta as part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic series, but when the SEC announced a move to a conferenceonly schedule this fall, that option disappeared.
Connecticut and James Madison are UNC’s only home nonconference games. The school also could negotiate to host
football
UCF instead of playing the Knights on the road.
“I’m sure they’re in conversations with those people now, but I’ve been so overloaded, I’ve told them to do whatever’s best,” Brown said.
Regardless of who his team plays, Brown wants safety to be the top priority.
“Don’t call me about any decision because I’m going to tell you if it’s all safe, let’s do it,” he said. “… The other part of it, we’ve got to make some money at some point. Whatever you all need to do after safety is concerned to get the right people to play to make some money, do it and I’m all in.”
Officials from the American Athletic Conference said they plan to rigorously test for COVID-19 this upcoming season equal to the level of the other autonomous conferences. It would allow the AAC to continue its pursuit of high-profile nonconference games such as USF versus Texas and SMU versus TCU.
The AAC hasn’t announced how it plans to adjust its fall schedule, but commissioner Mike Aresco said the league would prefer to play a full 12-game schedule.
He added the AAC has developed models for a conference-only schedule or a schedule that features eight conference games and two nonconference matchups.
A decision could come sometime next week, a source told the Orlando Sentinel.
Brown said everything remains fluid for his team even though North Carolina got some clarity from the ACC.
It wouldn’t be the first time a UCF-vs.-UNC game was canceled if it can not be shifted to North Carolina.
The two programs were set to meet in 2018, but Hurricane Florence forced the cancellation of the game.
UCF also has a road game scheduled against Georgia Tech this season, but there is no word on the future of that contest. The Yellow Jackets’ athletics department is led by former UCF athletics director Todd Stansbury, and the football program is coached by former UCF assistant Geoff Collins.