UNC: Thursday night games at Kenan doubtful

North Carolina coach Butch Davis has said he'd like to see Kenan Stadium host a Thursday night football game someday. But whether that will happen remains in doubt.

The Tar Heels, who travel to Rutgers for a Thursday night game on ESPN, have never hosted a mid-week football contest in Chapel Hill since ESPN began televising Thursday night games in the mid-1990s.

Senior associate athletics director Larry Gallo said that because of the on-campus location of the stadium, the hospital nearby and night classes in session, it has become an "accepted practice" not to host because the traffic and parking flow would be disruptive to campus.

"It would be exciting to have a game here ... but we do have some limitations,'' he said. "A lot of people say 'What's the big difference with basketball and football?' Well, 20,000 vs. 60,000. So, 40 (thousand)."

Davis said Tuesday he didn't know if upcoming expansions to Kenan Stadium will change the chances of holding a Thursday night kickoff.

But it would certainly help the program's reach and recruiting.

"There are programs in the country that have done phenomenal jobs on capitalizing on national exposure opportunities,'' Davis said Monday. "… Any time you get the chance to expose the country to what you’re trying to do, what you’re trying to build, the players who are playing, the type of schemes that you run, it attracts kids. So certainly part of that scenario is getting a chance to play on Thursday night."

North Carolina has played on Thursday five times since ESPN began televising the broadcast, going 3-2.

-Robbi Pickeral, (Raleigh) News & Observer