Tulane is considering cancel of season

[Mustangs35SMU]

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpsports/i ... tml#075932

Tulane may not play football in 2005

Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
By Benjamin Hochman
Staff writer
DALLAS - Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson said “it is a possibility” that Tulane won’t play football this year.

With about 130 members of the Tulane football family evacuated to Dallas, school administrators are discussing contingency plans for the football team. Hurricane Katrina damaged some of Tulane’s campus and the Superdome, so Tulane football – and Tulane University – is without a home base. Dickson said there will be a decision “in the next three to four days” about where the team will play this year – and if the team will play this year.

“We realize the steps we have to go through – first and foremost, we need to be able to determine if our university is going to be operating this semester,” Dickson said. “Right now, there is no way to determine that. I would anticipate that in the next 72 to 96 hours, they’ll have to make a decision on that.

“The one thing we’re cautious about doing is presuming anything at this point - because of the uncertainty. We’re taking the position that all bets are off. Everything we thought was intact is not intact any longer. We have to rebuild every aspect, from scheduling to all that stuff.”

Tulane’s football team originally evacuated to Jackson, Miss., on Sunday but the weather forced a power outage at its base at Jackson State University, and ultimately sent Tulane out of town. A bus ride brought Tulane to Dallas on late Tuesday night, where the Green Wave has practiced at Southern Methodist University. While the members of the Tulane family have dealt with the tragedies back home, they have also looked at football, said linebacker Antonio Mason, “as therapy.”

But where would Tulane play? Dickson said Rice University and the University of Houston, both fellow Conference USA members, have offered their facilities to the Green Wave. So has the Independence Bowl in Shreveport.

But Dickson will need to meet with Tulane president Scott Cowen to discuss whether Tulane will even have a fall semester, and if the university will relocate to another city. Cowen, Dickson said, stayed on campus during the hurricane, and planned to evacuate on Thursday. Cowen is expected to fly to Houston, where Dickson and C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky will meet with him today.

“We will try to mirror what our university does,” Dickson said from the lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel, where the team is staying. “If our university sets up in Dallas or Houston, then we would integrate our student-athletes into that.

“The basic premise – they’re students first, and we’re trying to get them back into the status of being students. Their first day of classes was supposed to be today. Getting them back, if we can do that, then we’ll figure out the rest, the athletic part.”

Tulane’s opener at Southern Mississippi, originally scheduled for Sunday, was rescheduled for Nov. 26. The Golden Eagles, whose home of Hattiesburg, Miss., was also damaged by the hurricane, have evacuated to the University of Memphis.

The next game scheduled for Tulane is Sept. against Mississippi State at the Superdome.

“There’s a lot of unknown,” Dickson said.

With the exception of women’s soccer, all of the other Tulane fall athletes have evacuated to their parents’ homes or homes of friends. The soccer team is participating in a tournament at Alabama-Birmingham, and the Wave expects to remain in Birmingham through next Wednesday. The team is then expected to fly to San Diego, for a tournament beginning Sept. 9.

[SMUFan]

Wow.
Here's hoping that our Tulane friends are safe and can begin to reassemble their lives and their fine school.
Be safe down there, Green Wave. Deal with football when the rest of your lives start to get back on track.

[Treadway21]

Well put. Our prayers are with them and their families.

[PonySnob]

If they cancel, does it count as a win for SMU? Will Tulane reimburse SMU for lost revenue? Will SMU reimburse season ticket holders for the ticket they purchased that is not used?

[SMU Football Blog]

If they cancel, does it count as a win for SMU?

Probably not. More likely 8 Counference USA teams will have 10 game seasons.

Will Tulane reimburse SMU for lost revenue?

Pretty sure we won't ask for it.

Will SMU reimburse season ticket holders for the ticket they purchased that is not used?

Possibly. More likely give a credit towards future season ticket purchases.

[jtstang]

Will Tulane reimburse SMU for lost revenue?

You gotta be f-ing kidding me. Have you seen the news? That's low even for you.

[HFvictory]

Tulane may never completely recover from this blow, it is diasterous all around. The school has struggled recently trying to stay in Div 1A and this may be the last straw. Hopefully they can recover, but it will take additional outside resources and do not know if C-USA can fully assist.

Obviously football is the least of concerns for many from Tulane and New Orleans today and I hope and pray that the immense suffering will end soon for those in the area, but the city will need some positives soon and saving tulane football could be one in the future.

[Nacho]

Please ban ponysnob. I am serious He is a disgrace.

[Hoop Fan]

Please ban ponysnob. I am serious He is a disgrace.

I'll second that. Spare us the free speech crap too, moderators on forums like these routinely ban for less.

[EastStang]

I agree with you about the lowness of the forfeiting money part. However, I do expect that there will be some on this board with generous sentiments now, will turn ugly come November, if we're sporting a 5-5 record. I am sure the CUSA Commissioner is trying to figure out a way with Tulane to save their football season. Losing Tulane and USM could ruin a number teams bowl chances (or help them).

[Billy Joe]

Frankly, I do not believe we should be concerned about losing Tulane on the schedule for bowl purposes. Let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's focus on playing competitive football which means going into the fourth quarter we still have a realistic chance to win some of the games on the schedule.

[PonySnob]

Please ban ponysnob. I am serious He is a disgrace.

I'll second that. Spare us the free speech crap too, moderators on forums like these routinely ban for less.

Spare me!!!! I know that what happened in New Orleans is a terrible tragedy.....I was just asking some legitimate questions. Our athletic department is on a shoe-string budget and am sure that any lost revenue would be sorely missed! Given that nothing like this has every happened before (luckily!) these are questions that have probably never had to be answered.

And yes, there is a thing in this country called free speach!!!

[bubba pony]

the destruction of a whole city is more important than any college football season. it's shallow and cruel to even inquire at this point in time. note in the original story where it reads that tulane is considering relocating to another city. this is unprecedented.
NOL may never be rebuilt. news today is will cost over $100 billion.
by the way, colleges in the NYC area are offering admittance to Tulane students so they can get this semester in. it's noble and right that all colleges assist. imagine if it was our beloved SMU. certainly we would want the same treatment and compassion.
By the way, did SMU reimburse anyone after the death penalty cancelled our two seasons? I don’t believe so.

[The XtC]

[quote="PonySnob"][quote="Hoop Fan"][quote="Nacho"]Please ban ponysnob. I am serious He is a disgrace.[/quote]

I'll second that. Spare us the free speech crap too, moderators on forums like these routinely ban for less.[/quote]

Spare me!!!! I know that what happened in New Orleans is a terrible tragedy.....I was just asking some legitimate questions. Our athletic department is on a shoe-string budget and am sure that any lost revenue would be sorely missed! Given that nothing like this has every happened before (luckily!) these are questions that have probably never had to be answered.

And yes, there is a thing in this country called free speach!!![/quote]


You have to be joking. Please tell me that this is a joke. It boggles the mind that you actually could be just as big a piece of [deleted] as this indicates. I've always assumed that absolutely everything you write is a joke. That it was all some kind of tongue-in-cheek stab at the stereotypes of SMU. Why else would anyone intentionally refer to themselves as "Pony Snob"? But your attempt at defending your previous statement is forcing me to rethink this. You arent joking are you? You actually are the moronic, arrogant [deleted] that you come across as. Its not an act. You're a worthless human turd. I guess there are all kinds of people in the world, I just wonder what barrel we had to scrape the bottom of to find you?

Incidentally, if you dont appreciate my thoughts on this matter, feel free to stop by my tent on the Boulevard, and I'll discuss it with you in more detail.