Florida Gators-Idaho Vandals ruled no contest

After more than three days of waiting the University of Florida and the University have reached an agreement to rule the washed out game from last Saturday as a no contest as not rescheduling the game is the only viable option for both universities.

“We looked at a number of options and, in the end, we both thought it was in the best interest of our student-athletes and football programs to play out the remainder of our respective schedules as they stand,” University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said.

Gainesville was struck with more than 1,100 bolts of lightning in a six-hour time window when the Vandals and Gators were set to play. On top of the lightning, more than two inches of rain fell on to Florida field, creating a surface that was not safe for the student-athletes to play on.

“All of the guys wanted to get out there,” quarterback Jeff Driskel said of the game. “It’s not worth risking the season for one game when the conditions are like that.”

Despite only one play having taken place, the Gators will honor their contract with the Vandals and pay the full $975,000 owed to Idaho before February 1, 2015.

“I want to thank UF, especially AD Jeremy Foley, for the professional and first-class way they worked through this issue and the focus on student-athlete welfare,” Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said. “It was not in our best interest to play 10 consecutive weeks without a bye week. We look forward to our return to Florida in 2017.”

The University of Florida is offering ticket refunds to all the fans that purchased tickets to the game.

Here is the information to receive your refund.

If you used credit card to purchase season, single, group or mini-plan tickets: Refund automatically issued to the credit card by Sept. 8. 2014

If you paid in cash or check at Gator Ticket Office in advance of game day: Receive a refund check in the mail by Sept. 22, 2014

If you purchased with cash at Gator Ticket Office on game day: Contact the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, x6800 by 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 30, 2014 to inquire about refund.

Tickets refunded at following prices:
Regular ticket: $25.00
Student ticket: $15.00
Group ticket: Varies

If you purchased ticket from vendor other than the Gator Ticket Office:
If you bought your tickets through Ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster Charge by Phone, you’ll automatically receive a refund in 7-10 days from Ticketmaster. If you bought your ticket from the Ticketmaster resale outlet, please return to the point of purchase to receive your refund. If you purchased your tickets through the Gators Ticket Exchange, Ticketmaster will coordinate the refund with you. If you purchased tickets through non-authorized third parties, you’ll need to contact those sources for questions regarding refunds.

For anyone who purchased an Idaho ticket with cash or check and had a change of address after they purchased the original ticket, please contact the Gator Ticket Office before Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.

All fans that purchased a ticket through the Gator Ticket Office to the season opener vs. Idaho will be given a full refund of the single-game ticket price that they paid for the game. This includes all Gator Booster and UF Student Season-Ticket holders, single-game, group and mini-plan ticket holders who purchased through GatorZone, those who called, visited, mailed their order in to the Gator Ticket Office or those who purchased through the TicketMaster Exchange site. The regular ticket price for the Idaho game was $25, the student ticket price was $15 and group ticket pricing varied.

All fans that used a credit card to purchase their tickets will automatically be issued a refund back to the credit card that was originally used for the transaction by Sept. 8, 2014. Any fan that purchased tickets in advance of the game on Saturday and paid with cash or a check will receive a refund check in the mail by Sept. 22, 2014. Fans who purchased tickets with cash the day of the football game will have until 5 p.m. on Sept. 30 to contact the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800 to inquire about their refund.