Hurricane Isaias Scrambles Florida Sports: FSU Cancels Pensacola Games, FAMU Moves to Friday

Hurricane Isaias has wiped out Florida State's weekend in Pensacola, pushed Florida A&M's game at Alabama State up a day and forced Panhandle and North Florida high schools to shuffle or cancel football games, as the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season heads for a landfall late Friday or early Saturday near the Alabama-Florida line. The National Hurricane Center has posted a Hurricane Warning from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay/Gulf County line, the stretch that includes Pensacola, Destin and Panama City, the heart of this weekend's disrupted schedule.

FSU cancels its Pensacola weekend

Florida State canceled both of the events it had planned in Pensacola on Saturday, Oct. 10. The men's basketball team's exhibition against Mississippi State at the Pensacola Bay Center, part of an event known as the Southern Tip Off, was called off, and FSU said event stakeholders are evaluating options to reschedule it. The baseball team's fall exhibition against Auburn at Blue Wahoos Stadium was also canceled, and that game will not be made up, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos announced the baseball cancellation, citing the potential for severe weather along the Gulf Coast. FSU said ticket buyers for both games would receive an email about their options as soon as possible.

The cancellation costs the Seminoles a rare preseason trip to the western Panhandle. FSU baseball's remaining fall schedule is unchanged:

The basketball team now opens its preseason Wednesday, Oct. 14, against Auburn in Birmingham, Alabama.

FSU also canceled its home cross country meet, the FSU Cross Country Invite, along with the Visit Tallahassee Pre-State Meet at Apalachee Regional Park, and organizers said that event will not be rescheduled. FSU women's soccer was still planning to host No. 1 North Carolina at the Seminole Soccer Complex. "As of now, everything is, you know, we're moving forward," coach Brian Pensky told WTXL.

FSU football still set for Louisville

Florida State's football game at Louisville remains scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Friday, Oct. 9, at L&N Stadium on ESPN. Louisville is well north of the storm's path, and no change had been announced as of Thursday. The Seminoles (3-2, 1-1 ACC) are seeking their first road win since 2023 against the Cardinals (2-3, 1-2 ACC). The hurricane center expects Isaias to be inland over south Alabama by early Saturday, with the tornado threat spreading across North Florida later Saturday.

FAMU moves up its trip to Montgomery

Florida A&M's Southwestern Athletic Conference game at Alabama State, originally set for Saturday, Oct. 10, was moved up one day to Friday, Oct. 9, at noon Eastern (11 a.m. Central) in Montgomery because of the storm's expected effects on the Gulf Coast and Alabama. The game is Alabama State's homecoming and will be streamed on SWAC TV. The SWAC also pushed Saturday's Southern at Prairie View A&M game back one hour and said more scheduling updates were possible as Isaias approaches.

The two programs drew 33,576 fans to ASU Stadium for a homecoming meeting in 2024, when the Rattlers won 28-13. This year's game will kick off roughly half a day before Isaias is forecast to come ashore.

UWF cancels its home game

The University of West Florida canceled its Saturday home football game against Northeastern State. UWF had already moved the kickoff from 4 p.m. to 1 p.m. CT with United Athletic Conference approval on Oct. 5, before deciding Wednesday afternoon to call the game off out of caution for the safety of the campus and the Pensacola community. UWF canceled classes starting Thursday and closes its campuses at 7 p.m. Thursday until Monday.

Other Argonauts events were moved or postponed, according to the Pensacola News Journal: a women's soccer match against Lipscomb was moved to 11 a.m. Thursday, while men's soccer against Central Arkansas, women's soccer against Bellarmine and volleyball matches against Jacksonville and North Florida were postponed without new dates.

Pensacola-area high school football

With Escambia County schools closed Friday and Santa Rosa schools closed Thursday and Friday, Escambia County initially announced it would move all of its Friday football games to Thursday. A later Pensacola News Journal list showed a mix of earlier dates, Monday makeups and postponements:

Okaloosa County Schools canceled all extracurricular and athletic events while schools are closed Thursday and Friday, and Santa Rosa County canceled all after-school activities from Oct. 8 to Oct. 10. Several high school volleyball matches were canceled, including Milton at Crestview, Gulf Breeze at Niceville, Tate at Pace and Choctawhatchee at Navarre, and the Escambia County Diving Championships were postponed. Families should confirm with their school because schedules have changed more than once this week.

Big Bend and Northeast Florida moves

In Tallahassee, FAMU Developmental Research School's game against North Florida Christian was moved from Friday to Thursday, WTXL reported. Rickards and Leon were still scheduled to play Friday night at Gene Cox Stadium, with Leon County Schools on a normal schedule as of Wednesday.

The storm's reach extends to Northeast Florida, where heavy rain is also forecast. The Florida Times-Union reported these Friday games were moved to Thursday, Oct. 8:

No Jacksonville-area football games had been canceled as of Wednesday, the Times-Union reported.

What's next

The National Hurricane Center expects tropical-storm conditions on the Panhandle coast Friday, hurricane conditions Friday night into early Saturday and 3 to 7 inches of rain, locally 10 inches, through the weekend, so more changes are possible for Saturday events across North Florida. FSU is expected to announce whether the Southern Tip Off against Mississippi State can be rescheduled, and Pensacola-area schools must still set dates for postponed games once damage is assessed. Fans should check team and school athletics sites before traveling.