ECU Cancels Trip to Blacksburg

East Carolina announced today on their official athletics web site that they will not be making the trip to Blacksburg for Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech

The article can be read here, and here is the text of it, in its entirety.

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Citing significant imminent safety concerns, ECU has decided it will not travel to Blacksburg for Saturday’s football game against Virginia Tech due to the forecast track of Hurricane Florence that includes the high probability of a catastrophic impact on the region and perilous travel conditions before, during and after the storm.

Florence, a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 140 mph, is projected by the National Hurricane Center to maintain its track for landfall on the North Carolina coast before affecting the Greenville area with flood-producing rainfall and destructive winds as early as Thursday. The storm is predicted to be more severe than anything the University has experienced in nearly 20 years and its impact could be unprecedented.

The safety and welfare for everyone in the path of this storm is the University’s main priority and decisions regarding athletics events are made in the best interest of ensuring the safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff and their families. In fact, all ECU athletics teams are prohibited from traveling for competition purposes this weekend. This is also consistent with the NCAA’s requirement that member institutions protect the health of and provide a safe environment for student-athletes.

It is ECU’s hope the game can be rescheduled at a later date this season.

Shortly after ECU’s release, Virginia Tech confirmed the news, and the Tech Athletic Department indicated that no other decisions have been made regarding other athletic events at Virginia Tech this weekend.

In addition, Virginia Tech did not release any details on “fans holding tickets to Saturday’s football game,” pending a possible rescheduling of the game.

Here is a link to Virginia Tech’s press release, the full content of which follows.

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech Athletics confirmed Tuesday that East Carolina University has indicated to Tech Athletics officials that it will not travel to Blacksburg for Saturday’s scheduled football game due to the impending impact of Hurricane Florence.

Tech officials had planned on waiting until Wednesday before making a determination on the status of Saturday’s game in hopes that the contest could still be safely played as scheduled once more definitive information on the storm’s projected track and anticipated impact on Southwest Virginia became available.

No decisions regarding the status of other Virginia Tech Athletics home events scheduled for this weekend have been made at this time.

More details for fans holding tickets to Saturday’s football game against East Carolina will be made available once further information is available on whether the game could potentially be rescheduled. As soon as those details are finalized, it will be communicated with all impacted parties.

 

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  1. For what is worth, at 2:00pm game time. Current weather is cloudy, 5% chance of showers and winds at 8mph.
    At game end, forecast is cloudy, 25% chance of showers and winds at 11mph.
    East Carolina not waiting until Wednesday to make a decision, and canceling without talking with VT, sure looks like EC were more concerned with avoiding a defeat, and preparing for a winnable game, than avoiding travel difficulties.

  2. If game was at ECU the decision makes more sense, but it is not. Blacksburg will be safe. Decision by ECU appears to have been made prematurely and without VT. Florida will be as wet as VA I imagine. That said, IF they really are concerned about safety, it’s fine with me but hard to defend how they couldn’t go to Blacksburg then FL. Also fine with me to kill off this series. I don’t think ECU is the type of school we want to play home and home anyway. I thought adding ODU was providing opportunity to drop ECU. Need to drop one of those.

  3. I’m for canceling the whole series. Never liked playing them. I understand the safety concerns. Just don’t like the fact that they could not wait 1 more day and let home team make the call. The storm is now projected(24 hr. later) to land further south and move more west than north, thus making playing in Blacksburg much more doable.

  4. Correct decision by ECU. To put those folks on buses and be in six to eight hours away in SW Virginia while their homes and families and friends might be in danger and losing nearly everything, and their ability to return is uncertain, is crazy. The game is a game. AH

    1. The team is off the Florida today for a 2 week stay, I guess their friends and family on on their own.

  5. All other concerns aside, any time a game is played where safety is involved for players, coaches, or fan (which is a big part of this situation), safety always prevails.

    1. We may never know if that option was on the table for the Wednesday discussion that never happened.

      1. Has anyone thought of the cost, this year and the impact on our ECU schedule going forward. The fact that the welfare of their families had nothing to do with this decision is really what makes me mad.

  6. Well I gotta work Saturday and E.C.U. sucks …. so no big loss. I think it’s just an opportunity for some very important player to get injured in a 52-10 route.

    Walker and Co could use a week off. This is a blessing ….

    Trust me .

    BAMA

  7. Maybe we ought to make ECU pay our season ticket holders for this game..they are getting off Scott free..because they are poo 28 point underdogs..remember several years ago when they came and played in rain? Let someone go over there and make suRe they don’t practice until Monday of next week..if they can’t play Saturday then they can’t practice either..rules are rules…home team makes the decision on if they play or not! The NVAA SHOULD MAKE THEM FORFEIT!!! Why give these bums a pass! It has nothing to do with safety! If it was safety they would let the poor boys play football. Remember the same ECU went to Florida and played there while we played in chapel hill. If we can travel then they can too.

    We need to cut these guys off and tell them to find some other team to whine too! Never play them again.

    1. Lighten up. A major hurricane in the coastal zone (which includes Greenville) is serious business. Additionally, “go/no-go” decisions can’t be made at the last minute. Despite our football passion, there are more important things than football.

    2. I almost thought this post was tongue in cheek but sadly it wasn’t. You are either out of touch with reality or simply don’t own a TV with the weather channel. This storm will be a potential 100 year type storm for the NC/SC area. You want to put kids lives in danger traveling to and from for a football game that can be rescheduled? Just wow, seriously??

  8. We can play on Dec. 8. The only other game that day is Army-Navy @ 3PM.

    No other date works. We have a bye on 10/20 but ECU has a scheduled game that day.

  9. Why not just reschedule the game for November 30th? This is the weekend after the U.Va. regular season ender and probably after ECU’s last game? Frequently, when similar situations have arisen with other schools they must move it to the end of the season. Unfortunately our young players needed this game to improve. Basically we have a scrimmage against a bad ODU team and then Notre Dame comes to town.

    1. November 30th (Actually Dec. 1st) is the date of the ACC Championship Game, which VT plans on playing in. 😉

  10. Living in the 757 i do not blame them one bit. ODU cancelled classes till monday. I have friends and co workers lay are in evac areas. Always better safe. Besides how would they get home. I get that it sucks, but the burg is gonna pounced as well with rain

  11. Disappointing, but it’s the right call. Emergency management and disaster recovery happens to be what I do for a living.

  12. I can’t fault ECU. Safety and life are way more important than a football game. I don’t like it, I want to play football. But sounder minds prevail. I also recall ECU was our opponent in our first home football game after the 2007 massacre. So I think we can cut them some slack. They supported us in our time of hurt, what kind of return of support would it be for us to gripe in their time of difficulty? God bless ECU football team, fans, administration, and community as they confront the most devastating hurricane in some time. God bless us all, each snd every one (Tiny Tim).

  13. I am in a Ocean Front building in MB and as a precaution the governor has gotten most people to leave but I am staying as where do you run to my building was built to withstand hurricanes and if I left for Motel 6 I would stay in maybe would be blown away or flooded so nobody knows yet

  14. The VT Athletics PR statement is all politics. If there wasn’t significant $$$ on the line, Im sure they would have come out and said, “In close communication with ECU, together we decided to cancel this weekend’s game and try to reschedule, given the safety concerns at hand.

    At least that’s what VT should have put out.

      1. I didn’t have the understanding before that I think I do now.

        It looks like ECU is going to FL instead of VT to prep for their next game vs USF. If that’s the case, then I would be pissed too. They could have possibly come to VT, played, and then fly to FL- depending on the weather.

        It was a gamble on their part, but they likely assumed that if they let their players go home, they might not be able to get back and they would lose another week of play.

        1. They have cancelled class in Greenville and most students have headed home, why begrudge the FB coach for taking the team to a safer environment? I am pretty surprised by the lack of understanding a lot of folks on here have about how serious this storm will impact the NC area. Greenville historically floods, they could get up to 15+ inches of rain over a few days. It will be a disaster area. Give them a break, geez.

  15. It’s a good thing. How on Earth can fans expect ECU players to play passionately when their home is being decimated. Good decision. Hope they can make it up in the future.

    1. Not that I will argue. But teams do it a lot and the media make them out to be inspired by playing for their cities and fans.

    2. Well, rumor has it they are high tailing it to Orlando for two weeks. ECU certainly can’t pay for all the loved ones to go to Orlando, and out of harm’s way.

      1. Atlee, THIS I just don’t get. What possible difference to the family’s safety can a college student make.. Are the families to wait for the kids to get home to haul ass out of harms way. Any family in the hurricane path should be GONE already..NOT at home waiting for Little Johnny to come and evacuate with them.

        Of course, a family member who physically needs help getting away is the exception to that should be a hard fast rule..

        “Junior, we’re leaving today for Delaware to stay with your Aunt Matilda. If you have nowhere to go to be safe, you can join us there. Oh, you’re going with the team to Orlando? GREAT! Stay safe and don’t worry about us. We are fine too”

    3. A good thing, yes. And another good thing would be to refund season ticket holders – ticket price and a portion of the seat license [well, I’m dreaming on the seat license]. But they should refund the face value of the tickets.

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