Tulane May Not Play Football In 2005

[MeanGreen61]

Off the CUSA board.

If so could it have ramifications beyond this season ?

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.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpsports/inde..._09.html#075932

[NT91]

very sad.

[PlummMeanGreen]

If Tulane did not play, could not any of their players transfer and immediately be elgible to play at their school of choice? Of course, they've already missed an entire week of school at most D1-A schools across the USA.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

---If Tulane does not classes ..there are big problems in the future... their staff needs a income (especially now since many of their homes are gone as well) and will have to go elsewhere I would think... Resuming in Spring would be difficult if even possible.

---If they wish to kept their football program intact perhaps those students could attend Lamar with is not too far away from N.O. and no longer has a football program. UT-Arlington has none either.... both places have stadiums and a fan base that might attend games some. Surely the NCAA would make all kinds of strange allowances. At UT-Arlington which has a stadium and practice room I would think the athletes could attend there or even go to TCU, or other nearby colleges to get classes they need.... This be a nutty idea but the whole situation is very strange and requires an odd solution.

---If we can't work out a solution for the LSU game and Tulane cancels their season then we could add one of their opponents (Both of us would be one game short) on Dec 3. or move a SBC team to Dec 3 and play one of Tulane's scheduled opponents in the date we were scheduled to play the SBC opponent.....Maybe Rice Nov. 12..and FAU at the end. or UTEP on Oct 14 and move FIU to the end.

Edited September 2, 2005 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[Arkstfan]

Well when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, I would wager it will be far cheaper for Tulane to not play. If they keep the team together they've got to travel, be housed, be fed, and those players who we hope are on a track to get a degree in five years will spend a year playing football likely without earning credits.

Even paying the coaching staff it will still be cheaper to just forget it for this year and start practicing in the spring. They need to make the call NOW because others need time to adjust their schedules.

[Baby Arm!]

If Tulane doesn't play football this year I don't think they will ever bring the sport back. Remember it was just a year or so ago that they were giving SERIOUS consideration to ending football because of the exspense. It took a lot of rallying the alumni and some serious commitments $$$ to keep the sport alive at Tulane. Faced with all of the other problems the school is now facing, I believe they may rethink spending the money on a football program.

[Legend500]

I really would hate to be the bad guy but i'll ask the obvious question. Us or L. Tech? Is this "good" news for a move up?

[NT91]

ESPN.. "they will play this season"

[ADLER]

Tulane Closed for Fall 2005

9/2/2005, 8:55 p.m. CT By JUSTIN POPE

The Associated Press

(AP) — Tulane University canceled its fall semester Friday because of Hurricane Katrina and encouraged its students to take classes through others schools while the New Orleans university tries to clean up from the flooding.

Several schools already have offered to take in displaced Gulf Coast college students — as many as 100,000 in the New Orleans area alone, according to the American Council on Education.

On Friday, ACE announced guidelines for the temporary moves reflecting the financial fears of Gulf Coast schools that don't want to lose their students for good.

The statement released by the higher education group asked that the schools enroll the students as visitors. It also asked that they not charge tuition to students who already paid fall tuition. For those who haven't paid, it said the schools should charge the same tuition as the students' original schools and send those schools the money.

Many colleges already had spelled out in their offers that students would not have to pay extra, though the financial details of the offers have not all been clear.

The federal Department of Education was completing changes to allow students to transfer their student loans to new schools, said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the Washington-based American Council on Education.

The hurricane has left officials at New Orleans-area colleges struggling to communicate with the outside world.

Tulane used its Web site to post the message late Friday announcing the fall semester had been canceled.

Tulane President Scott Cowen, working from Houston, said the school of 8,000 undergraduates would accept credit from any regionally accredited university and was encouraging students to take courses they would otherwise be taking at Tulane.

Cowen also said the school would work to keep its sports teams together and continuing to represent Tulane by relying on other schools for practice and playing facilities.

"Our student-athletes are an integral part of this plan. We want our athletes to carry the torch, face, and name of Tulane University during this difficult time," he said.

Marvalene Hughes, president of Dillard University, a historically black college in New Orleans, said she was planning further discussions with staff Friday night but was exploring a range of options and was not yet prepared to give up on the semester.

"I don't give up that easily," said Hughes, who has been president for just two months and was staying with family in Alabama.

Norman Francis, president of Xavier University in New Orleans, had been located and was safe after being out of touch for several days because of the hurricane, Hartle said.

There was no immediate word from other colleges but Hartle said he expected most schools in New Orleans would be closed until at least January. Officials have said it will be months before the city is functioning again.

Edited September 3, 2005 by ADLER

[ADLER]

Tulane to play football this fallAssociated Press

They haven't quite figured out how yet, but Tulane is going to play football this season.

Students are being allowed to enroll in "nine of the leading higher education associations," according to a statement from Tulane president Scott Cowen. That means the school's athletes will also be able to play sports this fall.

"We're playing ball," said Scott Sidwell, Tulane's associate athletic director. "Now it's up to us to make it happen."

Athletic director Rick Dickson and Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky began discussing contingency plans for Tulane after the team forced to leave New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina. The duo flew to Houston on Friday and met with Cowen.

"Until 4 p.m. on Friday," Dickson said, "we didn't know the answer if we could compete in our sports programs."

But a decision was made to get Tulane students in classrooms, and that meant football players, too. The team is currently staying in Dallas, as guests of Southern Methodist University.

"We want our athletes to carry the torch, face, and name of Tulane University during this difficult time," Cowen said.

"Logistics have not even been tackled," said Dickson, who will remain in Houston for weekend meetings. "The first priority between now and next week is to make a decision of where to place the team and to get them in class."

The Green Wave's first game will be Sept. 17 against Mississippi State. It is yet to be determined whether the game, originally scheduled for New Orleans, will be played in Starkville, Miss., or in Tulane's future "home."

But the players just want to play.

"We need this season," Wave quarterback Lester Ricard said. "I think that will be the ultimate joy, to see us do well this season."

"It's something that we want to do for New Orleans," Wave linebacker Antonio Mason said. "A lot of people look at us as not only reps of Tulane, but of New Orleans. People can look at us and say, wow, look at that team they're going on the road, going through all that adversity, and still getting the job done."

ESPN Tulane To Play article

[NT80]

Tulane officials say school will have athletic season

08:20 PM CDT on Friday, September 2, 2005

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News

Tulane officials said today they will have an athletic season.

After meeting for several hours in Houston, Tulane president Scott Cowen, athletic director Rick Dickson and Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky determined it was in the best interest of everyone involved for the New Orleans private school to carry on.

Tulane's senior officials have moved to Houston and will remain there for the foreseeable future. As for the football team, currently based in Dallas, it possibly could move to Houston, but that hasn't been determined.

[stebo]

I hope that North Texas steps up and offers these student athletes dorm space and enrollment in Denton. They will feel right at home since they are the Green Wave and we are the Mean Green. I know that I will be cheering on the Green from both teams this year. Go Green Wave - Go Mean Green!