Hurricane Matthew has struck again, with Louisiana State University and the University of Florida football game getting postponed.
The two NCAA Southeastern Conference powerhouses were scheduled to play Saturday in Gainesville, Fl., but with the hurricane bearing down on the state, the college athletics governing body has called it off.
“We had a very productive phone call today with a great spirit of cooperation between the universities’ presidents and athletics directors and it became clear that the University of Florida could neither host nor travel to a game this weekend considering the circumstances,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement.
“The developments of the hurricane in the last 24 hours, the projected magnitude of its impact and the unknown aftermath of this storm have resulted in this decision to seek another date to play the LSU-Florida game,” he continued. “We have to be sensitive to the possible imminent disruption to the state of Florida and in particular the Gainesville and surrounding area.”
The category 4 hurricane is expected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday evening. As reported earlier by TheWrap, movie theaters on Florida’s Atlantic coast will also be shutting down due to the incoming storm.
While the theater closures are likely to cause a dip in the box office, including for the upcoming “The Girl on the Train.” an expert on such matters told TheWrap that the storm isn’t likely to have a long-lasting effect on ticket sales.