HUNTSVILLE – As the remnants of Hurricane Harvey continue to pound Houston and the surrounding areas, including Huntsville, Sam Houston and Richmond officials have decided move the game to McLane Stadium in Waco. The game will take place Friday at 6 p.m. at the home of the Baylor Bears.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by the floods,” Interim Athletic Director David Walsh said. “We want to thank the Sam Houston State staff for working together to find a solution. We’re excited about the opportunity to start our season against one of the top teams in the country.”
The game was originally scheduled for Aug. 31 at Bowers Stadium and was then moved to Aug. 27 for a national television game on ESPNU. Broadcast coverage for the game is still developing and will be released once that is finalized.
“I want to thank Senior Associate AD Greg Hinze for his work with David Walsh, the interim director of athletics at Richmond, for their work to make this game happen,” said Director of Athletics Bobby Williams. “Hinze deserves a lot of credit for making this game work. With everything that has happened to our area since Friday, and to still be able to come up with a solution for this game to be played is a credit to the hard work he has put into this.”
Since Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a category 4 storm on Friday, the city of Huntsville has received nearly 20 inches of rain. The campus is currently closed and is not scheduled to reopen until Sept. 5.
The Baylor Bears are set to open their season at home on Saturday against Liberty. Despite the short turnaround, Baylor officials have agreed to open the stadium and admission will be free of charge to any fans wishing to attend the game.
“I want to give a thanks to Baylor Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades, and everyone at Baylor for their help in making this game happen,” Williams said. “It has taken a true team effort from a lot of different people to be able to keep one of the premier FCS games this season on the schedule.”
Any Sam Houston fans who have already purchased tickets can contact the Sam Houston ticket office at 936-294-1729 for more information about their tickets.
This is the third football game at Bowers Stadium to be altered by a hurricane in the last 12 years. In 2005, the Bearkats had a home game against Missouri State cancelled when Hurricane Rita made landfall near Sabine Pass.
In 2008, the Bearkats cancelled a home game against Prairie View A&M because of Hurricane Ike which made landfall in Galveston and was the third-most costly hurricane in U.S. history.
