With potentially catastrophic Hurricane Milton directly approaching the Tampa Bay area and a game scheduled for Saturday against Memphis, USF head football coach Alex Golesh said his team would move to Orlando on Tuesday afternoon until the storm passes.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was probably the prudent decision.
The game was originally scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium, but the Bulls and the American Athletic Conference announced it would played on Saturday afternoon instead -- if conditions permit. That's a big "if."
“You know that there's so many emotions from so many of our guys,” he said. “But the most important thing is the people of Tampa, the people of this coast, and making sure, from a safety perspective, we could put our guys in a position to be safe. We could put our guys in a position that they've got food, they've got water.”
Planning for a possible move began last Saturday and the logistics weren’t easy. USF had to find rooms to house 120 football players, plus coaches and support personnel. Many of the large hotels in Orlando are also filled with people fleeing the storm, and a football team has extra needs for meeting rooms and enough food for everyone.
“We felt like that was the closest place that could house us all. That was the closest place that was prepared to be able to feed our guys, and where we had space to continue to prepare,” Golesh said.
Stay safe, Tampa Bay. 💚 pic.twitter.com/b9SQwsTt2t
— USF Athletics (@USFAthletics) October 8, 2024
It’s more than just game preparation, though. There’s a human element that affects each individual involved.
“We've got families, we've got little ones, we've got, we've got several wives that are pregnant on the staff, like things that are, that are real life situations that that you're pushing through, you're trying to be sensitive to the reality of the situation, but you're demanding focus from your players. And it's, it's incredibly hard,” Golesh said.
“It's the biggest challenge we have today in general. But certainly with this situation, we're trying to keep it as normal as we can. Obviously, they know they're about to get at a bus. There's going to be traffic on I-4. We're going to probably be in a bus for about three, three and a half hours, and it's just part of it.”
Coaches have the option to bring their families, and most of them will do that.
But on a team with this many people, everyone has a story – especially those who live near USF – and they process what’s happening in different ways. That includes Golesh.
“We've all got things in the back of our minds in terms of what this storm brings. I feel like every time you turn on the Weather Channel and you're like, wowzer, you know? And I don't mean to be a downer, but that’s just the reality of it. God forbid you go on social media and see what the heck is going on, like, it's, it's so wild.
“So, you know, I don't want to normalize any of that. I really don't. And for I understand the importance of every football game for us. I understand the importance of us needing to bounce back and get back into a rhythm where, where we're playing really, really good football. And so I think, I think on both sides of it, they're both important. But I don't know I, I'd be lying if I, if I told you, man, I feel like this football game is gonna be really important Saturday after what happens here?”