Oct. 19, 2005
ATLANTA–With Hurricane Wilma projected to hit South Florida this weekend, Georgia Tech’s football game at Miami, scheduled for Saturday at the Orange Bowl, has been postponed, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday.
The game has not yet been rescheduled.
“After discussions with Paul Dee and Dave Braine, we feel that the responsible action is to postpone the Georgia Tech at Miami football game,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “The projected course of Hurricane Wilma shows that if it stays on its current path, it will have a direct effect on the safety of numerous student-athletes, institutional personnel, fans and Florida residents. Our top priority is the issue of public safety for everyone, and we would not want a college football game to interfere with the preparation work to be done by the public safety and emergency personnel.
“At this point, it has not been determined when the game will be rescheduled. We are currently working with both institutions to reschedule the game for a later date.”
Tech head coach Chan Gailey said, “Obviously this is the right thing to do. The safety and well-being of all players, staff and fans is the only thing that matters in a situation like this.”
Tech Director of Athletics Dave Braine concurred.
“It was not a difficult decision,” said Braine. “It’s just a game. I think everybody has learned from Katrina that the sooner you take precautionary measures, the better off you are.
“I applaud the University of Miami and Paul Dee and our conference office for being very decisive in what they felt needed to be done.”
The only other time Georgia Tech had a game postponed was 2001 following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Yellow Jackets were scheduled to play at Florida State on Sept. 15, but the game was moved to Dec. 1. Tech’s only other weather-related incident was in 2000, when the Jackets were scheduled to open the season Aug. 27 at Virginia Tech in the BCA Bowl, but heavy rain and severe lightning caused the game to be cancelled just moments before kickoff. The contest was not rescheduled.
Tech’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 29 when the Yellow Jackets host Clemson at 12 noon on ESPN2.
