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UNC Football: Saturday’s game vs. UCF has been cancelled

By Zack Pearson

CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 18: A general view as the sun sets during the game between the Western Carolina Catamounts and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 18: A general view as the sun sets during the game between the Western Carolina Catamounts and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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Saturday’s UNC Football game vs. UCF has been cancelled due to Hurricane Florence which is expected to make landfall on Thursday

The North Carolina Tar Heels will have to wait another week for their home opener in the 2018 college football season.

UNC was scheduled to host No. 18 UCF on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, the home opener for the Tar Heels. But that won’t happen.

On Sunday, the university noted that it was monitoring Hurricane Florence’s path through the Carolinas and would make updates throughout the week. With the hurricane set to make landfall this week the university has made a decision on Saturday’s game.

The matchup between UNC and UCF has officially been cancelled due to Hurricane Florence, the university announced on Tuesday.

Here’s a statement released from Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham on the situation:

"“Hosting a major college football game is a massive undertaking that on a good day involves fans and thousands of state, local and campus personnel, including public safety officials, traveling from all over the area. The current forecast for both the impact and aftermath of the hurricane would require those officials to divert critical resources from what could be much more significant duties. We can’t know for certain the amount of damage the storm will inflict, but the sensible decision at this time is to not play the game,” says Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham."

In addition to the football game, the university announced the following athletic events have also been either postponed or cancelled.

Friday: Field Hockey, Volleyball, Men’s soccer, Women’s Tennis

Saturday: Women’s Tennis

Sunday: Field Hockey, Volleyball, Women’s Tennis

The release also noted that all tickets for the Saturday football game against UCF will be refunded and that fans who have hotel reservations for the weekend should cancel them so that students, staff, and emergency responders can use them.

This game against UCF was the first in a home-and-home series that was set for two meetings between the two teams. Earlier in 2018, the programs announced that the scheduled series has expanded to last over eight years and have a total of four games.

UNC will play at UCF in 2020, then UCF will travel to Chapel Hill in 2024, with the finale set for 2025 at UCF. It’s unknown if another game will be added to the series between the two teams due to this cancelled game.

The Tar Heels will next be in action when they host Pittsburgh in Chapel Hill on September 22nd.

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For more on the Tar Heels and the football program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.

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