College and professional football teams in Florida and along the East Coast are likely flipping between opponents’ game footage and the Weather Channel. While her forecasted path is still uncertain, Hurricane Irma — now a Category 5 storm swirling in the Atlantic — has much of the Eastern Seaboard, from Florida north to the Carolinas, on notice.
Teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins — two Florida NFL teams set to open their season in Miami on Sunday — as well as a number of collegiate teams thinking about contingency plans.
There are already calls for the Miami versus Tampa Bay game, scheduled for 1 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, to be rescheduled or moved. At present, Irma continues to track west, but forecasters are still unsure when the massive storm will make a move north, which will determine what areas of Florida, if any, are actually impacted.
The Miami Herald reported that the Dolphins are closely monitoring the storm, with a possible decision on relocation or rescheduling to be made by Tuesday morning.
5 AM: Irma has max sustained winds 150 mph. Everyone should continue to monitor, check supplies, and be ready to implement action plan #FLwx pic.twitter.com/P9JlSm7DIU
— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) September 5, 2017
Meanwhile, University of Central Florida is set to host Memphis in Orlando on Saturday. Those teams are also said to be closely monitoring Irma’s progress. UCF coach Scott Frost told the Orlando Sentinel that a contingency plan was necessary but said he’d “let the athletic directors and more important people figure those things out.”
Other teams that could be affected include the Florida State Seminoles, which are set to host Louisiana-Monroe Saturday at 7 p.m. The Florida Gators, meanwhile, will take on Northern Colorado at home on Saturday.
