FSU president lauds ’Noles
Thrasher pleased with team’s cautious approach
TALLAHASSEE For the second consecutive season, a hurricane has affected the annual college football matchup between Florida State and the Miami.
While Hurricane Matthew did not prevent FSU from flying to South Florida and playing against UM duirng a thrilling 20-19 victory at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens last October, Hurricane Irma this week forced the Atlantic Coast Conference to postpone the game scheduled for Saturday until Oct. 7.
While hindsight is and Irma affected some portions of the state of Florida more than others, the decision to postpone the game was the right move for all parties involved, FSU president John Thrasher said Tuesday.
“Football is not as important when it comes to the safety of our students,” Thrasher said. “We did the right thing based on the information we had. Football, we can make up those games. To the extent we can, we will.”
The Seminoles’ Week 2 home game against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 9 was canceled and is not expected to be rescheduled. A FSU spokesman said the school is “communicating directly with ticket holders” regarding both games.
None of the school’s sporting facilities sustained “any significant or long-lasting damage” during the storm.
The FSU football team will return to action on Sept. 23 at noon, hosting NC State in Doak Campbell Stadium.
FSU will remain closed for classes through Friday, while dining halls, libraries and several recreational facilities re-opened Tuesday.
The school was proactive in its hurricane prep plans this year after Hurricane Hermine left as many as 100,000 people without power in Tallahassee last September.
“We learned a lot from last year. We were out of electricity in some places on campus for a week or so. We were preparing for that again, and it didn’t happen, thank goodness. But we kept everybody safe,” Thrasher said.
“When you have these things, you have to remember we have 42,000 students here that are from all over the country. Some of them have experienced hurricanes before. Some of them haven’t, so there’s a lot of anxiety.
“We have to do something to bring the anxiety down, and make sure that everybody is safe and they have an environment they feel comfortable in. That’s what we did. I’m very proud of that.”
On Monday night after Irma passed through Tallahassee as a tropical storm, FSU’s office of student affairs organized a cookout for students who didn’t evacuate. Athletes from several FSU teams greeted students and served hot dogs and hamburgers among other items in the Champions Club section of Doak Campbell Stadium.
The Seminoles are collectively working toward returning to a daily routine.
“We talk a lot about Florida State being a family, and I think this week really proved it,” Thrasher said. “We really are.”
During the storm, the FSU football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, beach volleyball and cross country teams were also safely housed on campus.