What ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, NC State said about Brazil game cancellation
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NC State, ACC commissioner provided update on Brazil game cancellation.
- ACC and schools moved the game due to doubts about the city, sponsor’s ability to host.
- The game will be played Aug. 29 and was kept in Week 0 with NCAA and ESPN agreement.
Week 0 has become a coveted spot in college football. Some of the biggest games in the sport take place with little competition.
N.C. State and Virginia will still get that opportunity, despite a major change of venue.
The ACC announced in June that the Wolfpack and Cavaliers will not play in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as expected. A news release from N.C. State said “the event could not be conducted.” It will now be played in Charlottesville on Aug. 29, the originally scheduled date.
At ACC Kickoff on Wednesday, members of both teams and conference commissioner Jim Phillips formally addressed the cancellation. Phillips said international games need support from its sponsor and host country to successfully hold the event.
“Things seemed to be going along well over the course of the last seven or eight months,” Phillips said in his address. “But very truthfully, I think it was in May, there was some serious doubt about whether the city and the area involved, the managing area involved, would be able to pull this game off.”
Phillips said it was an educated decision. The ACC and the two programs could “leave it to chance,” noting the possibility of issues with the field or other event logistics. Or they could move the game back to the United States — where it was originally set to take place — and host a true conference game.
All parties determined the latter option was best.
Phillips said the ACC pleaded its case with ESPN, its primary television partner, and the NCAA to keep the game in its original slot.
“Both of those institutions and the conference office put together the entire ACC schedule based on some of the teams that were playing in Week 0,” Phillips said, also referencing North Carolina’s game in Ireland. “That would have been a real disadvantage to those student-athletes. I’m very pleased at how the NCAA took that information and then decided that it could stay at Week 0.”
N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said in December that the trip would be a great opportunity for the team. On Wednesday, junior quarterback CJ Bailey and running back Duke Scott acknowledged it would have been a privilege to have gone while also saying they’re OK with the change.
“We found out after a practice. I forget what day it was, but it was after a practice,” Bailey said. “Coach Doeren brought up the team — he had learned two hours before that it was canceled — and he told us we can’t go to Brazil no more. The whole team was like, ‘So what? Now what?’ We’re always hyped. Let’s play in Virginia. Let’s do it. That didn’t faze us to not go to Brazil.”
While Brazil is off the table, Phillips said the ACC will continue to pursue international opportunities as it seeks to broaden not only the conference’s reach, but also college football’s. The Holiday Bowl organizers considered playing in Saudi Arabia. Pitt will face Wisconsin in Ireland next year.
For now, the Wolfpack and Cavaliers will play in Charlottesville as expected when the teams scheduled the series. Scott Stadium is less than four hours from Raleigh, giving more fans an opportunity to attend. Plus, Bailey admits, he’s not a fan of long-haul flights.
“(Our fans) can’t wait for football to start,” Doeren said. “Our crowd is antsy and excited that we’re playing in Virginia instead of Brazil because they get to be a part of it now and go tailgate.”
