Kentucky State will not play college football in Puerto Rico this weekend as previously scheduled. Instead, the Thorobreds will travel to New Hampshire to play on campus at Franklin Pierce.
They were completely bamboozled by the event organizers.
The field conditions were simply not suitable for college football. The cancelation has nothing to do with finances or a lack of attendance!
Kentucky State was supposed to play Franklin Pierce in Puerto Rico.
This historic overseas competition was officially announced back in April. The inaugural HBCU College Football Puerto Rico Bowl would’ve been the first-ever college football game played in Puerto Rico.
Rhonda Russell-Henderson first came up with the idea as a way to give back to the community. She founded the HBCU College Football Puerto Rico Bowl to raise money for a literacy program in the region.
Her mission is admirable!
Kentucky State signed on right away. Finding a second team to play with less than nine months until kickoff was a challenge. Enter Franklin Pierce.
According to Omar-Rashon Borja of Redshirt Sports, the Ravens were in desperate need of an additional game on their schedule. Athletic director Matt Johnson had been searching for months to no avail.
And then the Thorobreds came calling. This kind of cross-country matchup would be considered unusual if it was played in the continental United States. It is even more unique if it is to be played internationally.
Franklin Pierce, though hesitant at first, eventually signed on to play Kentucky State in Puerto Rico.
“These things are great for teams, are great bonding experiences, to get away, spend a couple of days in hotels together,” Johnson told Redshirt Sports.
Plus, the HBCU College Football Puerto Rico Bowl agreed to cover all of the travel and lodging expenses for both programs. There was no additional cost to either university!
However, the execution did not quite go according to plan.
Field condition concerns forced the game to be canceled.
I don’t know why this game took so long to cancel. Kentucky State and Franklin Pierce only announced its move back to the mainland just a few days before kickoff earlier this week.
They cited field conditions and safety concerns.
Local Puerto Ricans questioned the validity of their claim and accused the two schools of lying. They claimed the field was more than playable.
But here’s the thing — they had the wrong field. We all did. (Except for Redshirt Sports!)
This game was initially going to be played at Mayagüez Athletics Stadium in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico but Russell-Henderson, the game organizer, moved it to Estadio Fernando ‘Nando’ Sanabria in Rincon, Puerto Rico at the last minute. She revealed the change during an interview with Omar-Rashon Borja.
Kentucky State and Franklin Pierce should’ve called it off right then and there.
Estadio Fernando ‘Nando’ Sanabria is a baseball stadium. That part is fine. College football games are played at baseball stadiums like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park at least once a year. This is not new.
The condition of the field presents an obvious challenge.
Estadio Fernando ‘Nando’ Sanabria is simply unplayable. A quick Google search for photos of the stadium made it very obvious that this field is not up to standard for college football.
I don’t know why it took so long for the Thorobreds and Ravens to come to this conclusion. Maybe Russell-Henderson made promises she could not keep to improve the playing surface. Perhaps there was blind hope from the two schools. I bet they already had this backup plan in place and waited until the last-possible second to make the switch.
Regardless of what happened, the HBCU College Football Puerto Rico Bowl will not be played at Estadio Fernando ‘Nando’ Sanabria. That is the correct decision.