USC-UNC hurricane relief game denied by NCAA. Roy Williams ‘dumbfounded’

On Nov. 5, 2017, South Carolina hosted Virginia Tech in an exhibition game at Colonial Life Arena. The event was rare because it was a couple Power 5 schools publicly playing one another in the preseason. Such matchups normally go down as scrimmages behind closed doors.

The tweak in scheduling was due to charity. Proceeds from the contest benefited those impacted by storms in Texas, South Florida and Puerto Rico.

A year later, the Gamecocks had plans to put on a similar event. First reported by The Post and Courier and further confirmed by North Carolina coach Roy Williams on Tuesday, USC and UNC were to play an exhibition game at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte to benefit those affected by Hurricane Florence — but the NCAA denied a waiver.

“I was dumbfounded when the waiver was not granted,” Williams told reporters in Chapel Hill, N.C.