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Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators Considering Moving 2019 Football Game up to August 24th: AP Source

What to Know

  • The game would remain in Orlando, and would serve as a marquee, prime-time kickoff to what will be celebrated as the 150th season.

A person familiar with the situation says Miami and Florida are discussing whether to move their season-opener up a week to Aug. 24.

The teams are agreeable to the move — but it will have to be approved by the NCAA, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the talks are ongoing and a final decision hasn't been made.

The teams are scheduled to play Aug. 31 in Orlando, Florida. The game would remain in Orlando, and would serve as a marquee, prime-time kickoff to what will be celebrated as the 150th season of college football. It also would necessitate Florida and Miami to open their training camps early, which would also require NCAA approval.

"This is a unique and rare opportunity that would showcase college football, both storied programs, and the state of Florida," the schools said in a joint statement along with ESPN (which would broadcast the game), Florida Citurs Sports and the CFB 150th Anniversary Organization.

"Both schools...understand that fans, and the teams themselves, need time to make necessary arrangements should the waiver be granted. A decision is anticipated shortly," the statement continued.

The teams met every season from 1938 to 1987 before discontinuing their annual series. Since then, the teams have met six times with Miami winning five, including their last meeting during the 2013 season inside Hard Rock Stadium.

There is a Football Championship Subdivision game also scheduled for Aug. 24.

The 150th anniversary of college football is set to be recognized all around the college game this year — at the FBS and FCS levels, to NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA. It's widely believed that the first game was Nov. 6, 1869, when Princeton played Rutgers

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