Tulane makes its post-storm plan
The program will move to Birmingham, AL while the Oklahoma game heads to Norman
Moments ago, the College Football world received its answer after a hectic Monday on the status of Tulane Football, as well as the school’s home opener against #2 Oklahoma.
The game will happen, but Oklahoma will now host the Green Wave in Norman on Saturday at the original time slot of 11 am after New Orleans suffered catastrophic infrastructure damage during Hurricane Ida (power, reportedly, is currently out on campus). Here is the official statement from Tulane:
In light of the catastrophic damage sustained by the City of New Orleans and, after consulting with our emergency preparedness and response teams at the institutional, local and state levels, we will relocate our September 4 football game against the University of Oklahoma to Norman, Oklahoma. While game time will remain 11:00 AM, television information and other game-specific details will be announced by the University of Oklahoma. We appreciate the understanding, support and communication with the University of Oklahoma, especially Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione.
We have moved all Tulane athletic department operations to Birmingham, Alabama, including our student-athletes, and we will remain in Birmingham until it is safe to return to New Orleans. I want to thank UAB Director of Athletics Mark Ingram, Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne and the City of Birmingham for receiving our student-athletes, coaches, staff and families.
There are a few important notes in here:
We now have confirmation from Oklahoma that the game will remain on ABC.
This week, the football team moved to Birmingham, AL. This will be more than temporary, as we’ll discuss below with the Tulane Athletics program moving to Birmingham during the recovery period.
EDIT: Brett McMurphy is now reporting that Tulane will eventually get an Oklahoma home game. More details in the live update below.
While we do not yet know the status of the remaining game in the Oklahoma-Tulane series (though many have speculated today that the Sooners would return for the final game of the contract), this does solidify that Tulane will start playing football this week, which was certainly in doubt just a few hours ago.
Tulane Athletics moves to Birmingham
Before this announcement, our sources say that some Tulane athletes and staff received communications today indicating that they should prepare to stay in Birmingham for potentially as long as “four to six weeks.” The department will begin taking the group by bus this week (though, as we know, football is already practicing at Legion Field).
This would indicate that the impact of Ida on the program will be significant for the future, with approximately a month (or more) where football and volleyball will be setting up shop at Legion Field and UAB.
After the Oklahoma road trip, Tulane’s schedule goes as follows:
Sept. 11: Morgan State @ Yulman
Sept. 18: @ Ole Miss
Sept. 25: UAB @ Yulman
This next comment is my speculation, but I would guess Morgan State is most seriously at risk given the timeline. Tulane has an opening in the schedule between Houston on Oct. 7th and SMU on Oct. 21st, but it’s unclear whether Tulane could find an FCS or FBS program (cough, UConn) that could fill that gap if it happens.
And that’s what we know for now. For Tulane fans who are in town or will be working there way back, we’re wishing you the best. Roll Wave.
Live Updates: Tickets and Other Information
5:08 PM: Tulane AD Troy Dannen shared on Twitter that Tulane has not yet been able to re-establish ticket communications but will do so once they are set up in Birmingham. This was in response to an OU season ticket buyer who wished to donate their ticket money (good on ya, Sooner):
Indeed we will have something set up. Unfortunately with no cell or phone service in NOLA, we aren’t able to open communication with the ticket office just yet. We will get established in Birmingham over the next few days.
We also have a report from Brett McMurphy that Tulane will get an Oklahoma appearance at Yulman in the future, though this was not in the school’s release:
5:15 PM: We have more details from the Oklahoma press release on the game. Tulane will be designated as the home team, and the Green Wave will receive the net proceeds from ticket sales at Oklahoma’s stadium.
The change in location was made after Hurricane Ida moved across New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Sunday. Conditions in New Orleans are not favorable to host a game this week. Even with the change in venue, Tulane will be the designated home team for this game and will retain all net proceeds from ticket sales. All tickets for this game will be sold separately and are not part of season ticket packages. Ticket procedures are included later in this release.
5:20 PM: Thank you to a reader who just shared that Tulane has announced school will be closed through October 11th. Students will first be evacuated to Houston. Full statement emailed to students:
Dear Tulane Community:
Now that Hurricane Ida has passed through the New Orleans region, we are surveying and securing our campuses. Due to catastrophic transmission damage to the city power grid, all of Orleans Parish is currently without power. Other pieces of critical infrastructure, including services associated with Sewerage & Water Board and the supply chain and critical labor for the region, may be impacted for several weeks. Like all in the region, Tulane experienced a range of damage that requires repair. Due to the current lack of power and critical services in the city, we have decided to restructure the semester to allow for maximum in-person instructional time while also protecting the safety of our community.
We are closing campus and cancelling classes through Sunday, September 12. The two weeks of canceled classes will be rescheduled at the end of the semester, allowing us nearly two and a half months of on-campus education following our return. Classes will resume online only beginning Monday, September 13 through Wednesday, October 6 to give the city time to repair and reinstate power and other critical services.
On Monday, October 11, following fall break, we will return to in-person classes on campus. Fall break, October 7 - October 10, will allow our students, faculty, and staff time to return to the city and campus prior to class resuming. This time working and learning virtually will allow us to prepare our campuses and ensure you will return to a safe, operational university and city. If the city’s return to normalcy is accelerated and circumstances permit, we may have the opportunity to bring our community back to campus sooner. More details will be shared in coming weeks, and future communications will address expectations for staff during this time.
Beginning tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., we will evacuate all remaining students (undergraduate and graduate; in-residence and off-campus) to Houston via bus – all students should pack no more than two pieces of luggage, their computer, and valuables. Students will receive details about evacuation procedures this evening. Students who make other arrangements must leave campus by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. Per City of New Orleans leadership, it is best if those students, faculty and staff who evacuated remain away from the city.
Tulane is currently establishing a hub in Houston to provide food and lodging at Tulane’s expense for students until they can get flights home. Emergency funds are available for students who need additional financial support. Please contact the office of the Dean of Students for more information. The School of Medicine will communicate directly with their students, faculty, and staff regarding their plans. Students from Irby, Phelps, Paterson and Wall who were relocated to the Commons/LBC for safety can return to their residence halls to begin packing. Off-campus students, undergraduate and graduate, who did not evacuate are invited to come to the LBC, charge devices and eat at the Commons today only.
Please use extra caution on surrounding streets – it is imperative that everyone continues to follow city restrictions and university instructions. The challenges we’ve experienced during the past two academic years have well-prepared us for remote learning and work. We are confident that we will be able to effectively continue teaching, learning and working remotely while our emergency personnel work to address damages on campus, and across the city and region.
We are very thankful and counting our blessings – not least among them our students, faculty and staff. We are continually amazed and humbled by the Tulane community's fortitude, positivity and exceptional personal commitment. Many in our region have experienced widespread damages and we plan to participate in relief efforts to support our neighbors in need. Please continue to monitor your email for daily updates from Tulane, which will also be posted at http://tulane.edu/emergency. We will continue to share updates as conditions change and improve. For any questions, contact our Call Center at (504) 865-5000. In addition, you can continue to stay updated with Nola Ready emergency alerts at http://ready.nola.gov/alerts.