UNCW cancels Midnite Madness

Men’s basketball tipoff dinner rescheduled to Oct. 26

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Brandon Sans/The Seahawk

Caleb Macurdy and Brandon Sans

UNC Wilmington has canceled Midnite Madness following schedule changes due to Hurricane Florence the school announced on Monday.

Midnite Madness is a tradition that commemorates the start of men’s and women’s basketball seasons. The event features the introduction of both coaching staffs and players as well as skill competitions such as a dunk and three-point contest.

The event was originally scheduled on Friday, Oct. 26, which will instead be the rescheduled date for the Men’s Basketball Tipoff Banquet where former UNCW coach and current Clemson coach Brad Brownell will be the keynote speaker at the Burney Center on campus.

The Seahawks will then face off against the Tigers the next day at 5 p.m. inside Trask Coliseum for a charity exhibition matchup that benefits Florence relief efforts. The women’s program will play a preseason game against Catawba at noon before the charity bout.

Both Clemson and UNCW had to cancel closed-door scrimmages with Ole Miss and Coastal Carolina, respectively, to schedule the charity game and receive a waiver from the NCAA. The NCAA allows only two preseason games per year which can be a public scrimmage against a non-Division I opponent and a private one against another Division I school.

The men’s team will play its second preseason game against William Peace on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. before opening its regular season at Campbell on Nov. 6.