Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
UM cancels Arkansas game. Dolphins reschedule Buccaneers game to Nov. 19. UF moves up home opener from 7p.m. to noon Saturday.
UM cites travel issues, safety as primary reasons for change
As South Florida continues preparing to feel the potential impacts of Hurricane Irma, the Miami Hurricanes will not be playing at Arkansas State this weekend.
Miami announced on Wednesday morning that the game has been canceled. The school’s statement cited potential travel issues and safety concerns as the primary reasons for the cancellation.
With Miami and Arkansas State not sharing an open date, the game will not be rescheduled this season, university officials said.
During a Wednesday morning appearance with WQAM 560’s Joe Rose, Miami athletic director Blake James said Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir — who previously worked at Florida Atlantic — was “accommodating” about Miami’s decision not to travel to Jonesboro.
“He was willing to be very accommodating. He’s obviously frustrated and disappointed … Miami coming to Jonesboro is probably as big a game as they have,” James said. “I understand their disappointment and frustration. He exhausted every effort and did everything someone can do to try and make this work. It wasn’t a situation where we felt we would be able to either get there in a safe fashion or return in a timely fashion.”
In statement released by Mohajir, he said he offered to move the game to Friday and
“We simply cannot put our student-athletes, coaches, and staff in danger traveling.” Blake James, Miami athletic director
ESPN had agreed, but UM ultimately declined.
On with Rose, James said the 16th-ranked Hurricanes did not practice Wednesday morning and will not practice again until after Irma passes through. Even then, their return to action will depend on safety issues. Miami, which opened the season with a 41-13 win over BethuneCookman, is next scheduled to play at Florida State on Sept. 16.
After Tuesday’s practice, several of the Hurricanes noted they were warily keeping an eye on the storm’s progress. Sixtythree of the players on Miami’s roster hail from Florida. Most of those players are from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
“We make football really important, but lives are definitely more important than football,” Miami offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said on Tuesday, before the announcement of the game’s cancellation. “Sometimes we as coaches and players get caught up in this bubble, but there is a lot of stuff outside of it which is more important. Obviously, we can’t control what happens with the weather.”
Said offensive lineman Tyler Gauthier on Tuesday, “The coaches will let us know what we’re doing. They’ve given us hurricane readiness guides, just to make sure we’re all good.”
The Hurricanes football game is not the only UM athletic event being affected by Irma. Miami canceled a volleyball trip to Philadelphia where the Hurricanes would have played two matches in the Sonesta Hotel Philadelphia Cherry & White Challenge over the weekend. Two women’s soccer matches scheduled to be played at UM and a cross country meet at UM have been canceled as well.
“The decision to cancel these athletic events is difficult, especially as some are scheduled to take place away from Miami,” James said in a statement. “However, we made the collective decision that we simply cannot put our student-athletes, coaches, and staff in danger traveling to and from contests.
“As we have seen from the tragic impact of Hurricane Harvey — and from South Florida’s own experiences — the impacts of hurricanes can be devastating and long-lasting, and can make travel extremely difficult and dangerous.
“I want to thank all of our opponents for their cooperation and understanding. Our thoughts are with those in the path of Hurricane Irma, both here in South Florida and afar. We are comforted in knowing that our community is strong and will come together, if needed, to recover from the storm.”