NC State football season opener vs. Louisville is moving to a Wednesday. Here’s why
N.C. State will kick off its 2020 college football season one day earlier than expected in September.
The school announced Monday morning that the Wolfpack’s 2020 season opener at Louisville will be played Wednesday, Sept. 2. The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3, but was moved to accommodate the 146th Kentucky Derby. The Derby was originally set for April 30 through May 2, but because of COVID-19 was pushed back to Sept. 3-5. The Thursday of Kentucky Derby week has been known as “Thurby,” an event that is traditionally highly attended.
Because of logistics between the Kentucky Derby and Louisville home football games, the Cardinals and Wolfpack agreed to move the game to Wednesday to avoid any traffic conflicts and operations.
Cardinal Stadium and Churchill Downs are close in proximity and many Kentucky Derby attendees park at the football stadium.
A time and viewing network for the game will be announced at a later date.
The Wolfpack went 4-8 in 2019 and 1-7 in ACC play, including a 34-20 loss to the Cardinals in Raleigh. The last time N.C. State opened the season with a mid-week game was in 2012, when they played Tennessee on a Friday night in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 9:39 AM.
