For football fans displaced by Florence, one SEC school is offering free tickets

Football in the Carolinas has been shut down this weekend by Hurricane Florence, with South Carolina, UNC, NC State and other colleges all canceling or postponing games as the storm approaches.

But for residents in counties that have been hit with evacuation orders, there’s still an opportunity to catch some college football — for free.

Tennessee announced Wednesday that it will be distributing free tickets to Carolina residents who have evacuated the storm when it plays UTEP on Saturday at Neyland Stadium, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

To claim the free tickets, evacuees will have to have a valid North Carolina or South Carolina ID.

“Our hearts go out to all the families whose lives have been impacted by the hurricanes and tropical storms along the Atlantic coast,” UT athletics director Phillip Fulmer said in a statement. “One of our four pillars is warmth, and we feel this is an appropriate way to bring that to life. Certainly, a football game is relatively insignificant in comparison to the realities these evacuees are facing. But if we can provide just a few hours of distraction and normalcy for these families, I believe we should do all we can to make that possible for them.”

There will be a limited number of tickets, distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Chick-fil-A will also donate 500 chicken biscuits for evacuees.

Ticket distribution will start at 8:30 a.m. and continue until kickoff at noon.

This story was originally published September 13, 2018 at 11:57 AM.