Louisville-NC State season-opener moved to Sept. 2

The University of Louisville announced Monday morning that the Cardinal football team’s 2020 season-opener against NC State has been moved from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Wednesday, Sept. 2. The reason is to avoid any conflict with that week’s Kentucky Derby events.

Because of the nationwide pandemic, the 146th Kentucky Derby Weekend, originally set for April 30 through May 2 in Louisville, was pushed back to Sept. 3-5 and coincided with Louisville’s opener. Thursday of Derby week has become known as “Thurby,” a highly attended event with a crowd of over 48,000 in 2019.

Due to the logistical efforts associated with the Kentucky Derby and a UofL home football game, both schools mutually agreed to move the game up one day to avoid any conflicts for traffic, parking and logistics. Cardinal Stadium and Churchill Downs are neighbors, with the facilities located a few blocks from each other and many attendees park at the football stadium

”We appreciate the NCAA, ACC, and NC State honoring our request for a date change for the opening game,” Tyra said. “We are trying to be thoughtful about the shared city resources needed to host a football game and Thurby at the same time.”

Kickoff time and TV coverage will be announced at a later date.

Play the game at p.m. or 4 a.m; as long as it gets played — in a fashion that is safe for everyone involved, of course — I’m good. If this does wind up happening, it could be one of the coolest weeks this city has ever seen.

Prayers up for CardinalStrong’s Cardinal Countdown, which is the only loser in all this.