The Vanderbilt-Hawai’i football game is not going to start at its scheduled kickoff time (7:30 p.m. ET).
That’s because lightning has been detected near FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, which has forced everyone to be evacuated. The Vanderbilt Twitter page wants every fan who’s coming to the game to be safe and seek shelter for the time being.
Lightning has been detected within an 8-mile radius of FirstBank Stadium. The stadium has currently been evacuated.
We encourage fans to exercise safety and seek shelter. We will provide updates as they become available.
— Vanderbilt Athletics (@vucommodores) August 26, 2023
We are currently in a lightning delay and have delayed tonight’s start time.
We encourage fans to continue to exercise safety and seek shelter. We will provide an update on gate opening and start time as they become available.
— Vanderbilt Athletics (@vucommodores) August 26, 2023
This is the second straight year that these two programs will play one another. Vanderbilt demolished Hawai’i 63-10 last year, so the latter will be hoping for a much different result this time around.
Vanderbilt finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 overall record while Hawai’i went 3-10.
In fact, all three of the wins Hawai’i had last season came at home. For Vandy, it finished last in the SEC East and had more wins on the road (three) than at home.
Hopefully, the storm will move away so that this game can be played. It’s expected to be televised by ESPN.
Stay tuned for further updates on this situation.