Football Florence

A very anticipated football game between Liberty University and Norfolk State University (NSU) was postponed until Dec. 1, because of Hurricane Florence.

The football game, which would have been held on campus at NSU, was postponed as of 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, due to the anticipated flooding and winds from the incoming hurricane. The game is postponed to December 1 at 2:00 p.m. 

NSU is located directly on the coast of Virginia, with its campus sitting less than a mile from the Elizabeth River, a tidal river that was expected to flood when the storm surge hit.

“Their university is under an evacuation order and based on that information we decided it was in everyone’s best interest to postpone the game,” Athletic Director Ian McCaw said.

McCaw said the decision process was fairly simple and that in the end, the right decision was made.

“This really wasn’t a difficult decision at all,” McCaw said. “Safety was first and foremost. We actually offered for them to come to Lynchburg and stay here.”

During Coach Turner Gill’s press conference, he expressed his concern for the students of NSU and everyone else who will be affected by the hurricane.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the affected families and first responders,” Gill said. “I think that we made the right decision not to try to play.”

McCaw said during discussions there were a few solutions proposed but ultimately postponing the game was the only viable option.

“We’ve been watching the weather here for the last few days and getting updates,” McCaw said. “We had some preliminary discussions with Norfolk State Monday about various possibilities.”

According to McCaw, canceling the game altogether was never even an option.

The Liberty football team will not sit idly by however. Coach Gill insisted that they intend to use this extra time off as a way to help push the team further this season.

“We are going to try to take advantage of these extra days that we have,” Gill said. “We have more time to focus on preparing for North Texas, and we can also get some of our people healed up.”

The next game on the schedule for Liberty is a home game set for Sept. 22 against University of North Texas.

“We are turning the page now and trying to focus on North Texas,” Gill said. “We’re still deciding how we want to use the end of this week. Obviously, weather may control a lot of what we’re able to do.”

Both Coach Gill and McCaw insisted that everyone keep those who are affected by the hurricane in their prayers. An LU Send Now team is already preparing to provide relief to those affected most by Hurricane Florence. 

“I’ve never been a part of anything like this as a coach or as a player,” Gill said. “It’s something new. We go with the facts that we have, and we try not to let distractions prevent you from getting better as a football team.”