Kentucky State will not play its historic college football game against Franklin Pierce in Puerto Rico as planned. The game was moved back to New Hampshire on the mainland just a few days prior to kickoff.
Field conditions and player safety were provided as the reason behind the decision.
Local Puerto Ricans question the validity of those claims. They see no reason why the college football game cannot be played at their stadium.
Kentucky State and Franklin Pierce won’t play in Puerto Rico.
The first-ever Caribbean HBCU College Football Puerto Rico Bowl was officially announced in mid-April. It was going to pit Kentucky State, a 138-year-old Historically Black College and University, against Franklin Pierce, a predominantly white private school.
I still don’t know how the latter was picked to participate in this unusual non-conference (and international) college football matchup but it was thrilled to be included. The Ravens considered the invitation as a “historic opportunity to participate in a nationally recognized event celebrating culture, competition, and community.”
And now it will be an opportunity to host an extra home game.
The Thorobreds were the first to announce the cancelation. The first-ever Caribbean HBCU College Football Puerto Rico Bowl is going to be played on campus at Franklin Pierce in New Hampshire on Saturday instead of the original location.
Field conditions and the health of players was presented as the driving force behind the decision to bring the game back to the mainland. That may not be true.
The college football field is supposedly playable.
This game was supposed to be played at Mayagüez Athletics Stadium in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It is the home stadium of Puerto Rico Sol FC with a maximum capacity of 12,175.
According to their joint statement, Kentucky State University and Franklin Pierce University “mutually agreed” not to travel to Puerto Rico “due to field conditions and concerns for student-athlete safety.”
Mayagüez, located on the western coast of Puerto Rico, is generally considered one of the safest areas in the country. So the safety concerns stemmed entirely from the field conditions.
However, Urayoan Uri Rivera currently lives in Mayagüez. He was at the stadium on Saturday and sees no reason for the college football game not to be played overseas as originally planned.
“The field is perfectly fine and all lined up,” Uri Rivera said. “This was all about money.”
Perhaps these two schools are leaning on poor field conditions as an excuse. Maybe Uri Rivera does not hold the playing surface to the same standard as the universities.
It certainly seems like the Thorobreds and Ravens pulled out at the last minute for a lot of different reasons that are not related to the condition of the field. Either way, the game will now be played in New Hampshire instead of Puerto Rico.