The University of Louisville announced Monday morning that the Cardinal football team’s 2020 season-opener against NC State has been moved from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Wednesday, Sept. 2. The reason is to avoid any conflict with that week’s Kentucky Derby events.
Because of the nationwide pandemic, the 146th Kentucky Derby Weekend, originally set for April 30 through May 2 in Louisville, was pushed back to Sept. 3-5 and coincided with Louisville’s opener. Thursday of Derby week has become known as “Thurby,” a highly attended event with a crowd of over 48,000 in 2019.
Due to the logistical efforts associated with the Kentucky Derby and a UofL home football game, both schools mutually agreed to move the game up one day to avoid any conflicts for traffic, parking and logistics.