UNC Football: Yes, there will be a game on Saturday?
Rumors began to swirl on Friday afternoon, that the UNC football program’s opening game against Florida A&M may be canceled.
If you were on social media during the early afternoon hours on Friday, you experienced quite a roller coaster of events.
As opening kickoff for the UNC football program’s season is essentially one day away, the speculation began that the game against Florida A&M might not happen at all.
Through various sources, information began to leak that the Rattlers were dealing with compliance issues for a handful of their players. Whether due to academic issues or transfer eligibility, it was reported that 20+ players would not be able to suit up on Saturday night.
At times, it seemed inevitable that the game was going to be canceled in some way, but in the end, as they say in show business, “the show must go on.”
BREAKING: From Florida A&M, it is official, this team IS traveling to North Carolina and will play tomorrow. @abc27
— Alison Posey (@AlisonPosey14) August 26, 2022
Alison Posey, Sports Director of ABC27 in Tallahassee, Florida, confirmed that the Rattlers will be traveling to Chapel Hill with the intent to play this game. A school executive went on to confirm to the media that the program will be without 20 players for Saturday night’s contest.
FAMU school spokesman tells ESPN that the school will be without 20 players against North Carolina because of eligibility issues. FAMU will have eight eligible offensive linemen for the game at UNC on Saturday.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 26, 2022
This is not ideal for either side for totally different reasons.
For Florida A&M, this issue is one that could haunt them all season long. It seems as if there are more issues at hand in their compliance department, which is something that will need to be rectified immediately to avoid any future issues.
Additionally, if this game did get canceled, the Rattlers would not only lose out on a big payment from North Carolina, but would be forced to pay a cancelation penalty as well.
If FAMU cancels, it would forfeit the payout from UNC, be on the hook for a cancelation penalty, and then lose out on any non refundable travel expenses. All told, that’s equivalent to about 1/10th of their annual athletics budget. https://t.co/hDf4vQE4ir
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) August 26, 2022
The UNC football program, of course, wants to compete against a team that is close to full strength. However, playing against a short-staffed Florida A&M team is better than seeing their first game canceled and having to wait yet another week to play against someone else.
It was certainly a roller coaster of events, but at this point in time… game on.
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