With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Carolinas, University of North Carolina officials announced Tuesday that the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½-UNC football game scheduled for Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will not be played.

β€œFirst and foremost, our thoughts are with everyone who may be affected by this storm,” ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Vice President and Director of Athletics Danny White said. β€œThe priority must be safety for everyone in the path of the hurricane. Having been through similar situations the past two years, we certainly understand this decision. We wish UNC the best of luck through this storm and for the rest of the year.”

“Our concern is with the safety of everyone being affected by the storm.”

North Carolina and ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ officials stated any tickets purchased through the respective school will be refunded automatically and as quickly as possible. There is no need to contact either school’s ticket office regarding refunds.

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Alumni’s ChargeOn Tailgate is also canceled. The office announced refunds for the event will be issued, and ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Alumni is working on communicating with those who had registered for the tailgate. Should fans have additional questions about the tailgate, they are instructed to contactΒ Knights@ucfalumni.com.

Meanwhile, UNC and ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ will continue to discuss the feasibility of playing the game at a later date this season.

Also, it is unlikely the Knights will be able to replace the North Carolina contest with another game as the Knights don’t have a true open date. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s only open weekend during the 2018 regular season falls on the weekend of Oct. 27. However, the Knights are scheduled to play on Thurs. Nov. 1 vs. Temple.

β€œI’m confident our student-athletes will adjust to this change,” ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ head coach Josh Heupel said. β€œMany of them have, unfortunately, been through similar scenarios here the last two seasons. Our concern is with the safety of everyone being affected by the storm. Our team will turn its focus toward the game with FAU and we look forward to seeing all of Knight Nation back out at Spectrum Stadium next Friday.”