With Hurricane Florence expected to hit the East Coast hard in upcoming days, the Virginia athletics department announced that Saturday’s home football game against Ohio has been relocated to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.
States of emergency have been declared in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, causing schedule changes, location changes and postponements for numerous games this weekend.
The Virginia athletics department said that the change in venue was made due to the potential threat Hurricane Florence poses for Charlottesville and to enable emergency personnel to direct their focus on the safety and needs of the region's citizens.
"Our top priority is the safety of everyone involved and I appreciate the understanding of our fans," Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams said. “We're extremely grateful to Vanderbilt University and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletics director David Williams for graciously supporting our efforts. We look forward to returning to Scott Stadium for the Louisville game on September 22."
This game relocation marks yet another weekend of weather problems for the Cavaliers, with the team already having experienced a delayed start time of their season opener against Richmond due to lightning and a consistent downpour in last weekend’s game at Indiana.
Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET. After this week, the Cavaliers are scheduled to begin ACC play with a home game against Louisville.