UNC's Oct. 22 game with Florida State went smoothly enough - aside from a loss for the home team - that campus officials now say they want to host another mid-week home game.

"It was a trial balloon, and we were really pleased with what we found out," said Dick Baddour, UNC's athletics director. "We will do it again."

The Oct. 22 game was the first Thursday night game held at Kenan Stadium, in the middle of a congested campus. Planners had long feared the gridlock that might accompany such a large event on a workday. UNC Hospitals, which employs thousands, sits just south of the stadium and many workers get out around the same time as many fans would head into campus.

But this year's game was held during fall break, which meant fewer students would be in town. And employees were dismissed at 3 p.m. to lessen traffic.

"We were worried about backups along I-40," Baddour said. "But we were able to control the influx here enough that we didn't really see major backups. And we didn't have any accidents, so we got a little lucky."

The next Thursday night game may be a while, though. It probably won't be next year because the schedule won't allow it to be held during fall break, said Steve Reznick, a psychology professor and associate dean who chairs the university's faculty athletics committee.

"There's no way we're going to cancel classes," he said.

Staff writer Eric Ferreri