MSU-Tulane moved to Shreveport

[Greenhead22]

September 9, 2005

MSU-Tulane moves to Shreveport

# State gives up $200,000 guarantee for Sept. 17 game at Independence Bowl

By Ian R. Rapoport
irapopor@clarionledger.com


Tickets

# Date: Sept. 17

# Time: 7 p.m.

# Place: Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.

# TV: Independent Television/PAX, CSTV

# Ticket prices: Sideline seats are $35; end zone tickets are $20.

# If you want tickets:

— Contact Ticketmaster at 1-800-488-5252, beginning today at noon.

— Purchase tickets at the Independence Bowl box office.

# If you already have single-game tickets:

— Exchange Superdome tickets for Independence Bowl tickets. Trading them in gets you a general admission seat in Shreveport.

—Return already-purchased Superdome tickets for a full refund by providing the MSU athletic ticket office with your unused ticket by Monday, Oct. 17

— Forego a refund and have the cost of the ticket donated to the Tulane athletic department

# SOURCE: Mississippi State athletic department.

STARKVILLE — The events of Hurricane Katrina have caused those affected to make unprecedented adjustments. Count the Tulane football players among those whose lives have been altered.

In response, the Mississippi State athletic department took an unprecedented step of its own.

After days of deliberations, officials from Mississippi State and Tulane announced Thursday that they will play their Sept. 17 game at the Independence Bowl in Shreveport at 7 p.m.

Additionally, MSU will take the unusual measure of waiving its $200,000 game guarantee in order to help Tulane handle the budget shortfall caused by moving its operation after Hurricane Katrina struck.

"There were so many issues up in the air, so many unknowns, I figured this is just one we could put to bed real quickly and help them out in a big way," Mississippi State athletic director Larry Templeton said. "We've never done this before. But then again, we've never had circumstances like this before."

The game was originally scheduled for the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, but the destruction caused by the hurricane made that impossible. It will still be televised on CSTV and Independent Television (formerly PAX). Tulane football players relocated to Louisiana Tech's campus in Ruston, La., while the rest of its athletes are taking classes at four other schools.

Giving Tulane its money back will leave a $200,000 shortfall in MSU's budget.

Templeton said he hasn't "figured out how his department will work through it yet."

But he feels it was the right thing to do, considering the fact that Tulane isn't sure how it's going to fund its entire program.

Refunding Tulane isn't the only concession MSU made, and the university wasn't the only one making the concessions.

Instead of staying the night before in Shreveport to prepare for the game, the Bulldogs decided to fly in and out the day of the game. The flight is roughly an hour long. Tulane will bus in and out on the same day.

"We were adamant about making sure we didn't take hotel rooms away from people displaced by the hurricane," Templeton said. "As soon as Coach (Sylvester) Croom decided to fly, that solved that problem."

The city of Shreveport is doing what it can to assist Tulane, as well. It will pick up the cost of game operations, which is something it doesn't ordinarily do.

The only aspect of the game the city won't cover is the salaries of the referees, which Conference USA will pay for.

"It's an effort to help and support Tulane and just be good citizens," said Ken Antee, chief administrative officer for the city of Shreveport. "We'll recoup the money in other ways. The game will be televised, so we get the intrinsic value of people seeing another positive thing in Shreveport. People will stay in our hotels, shop in our malls, all that stuff."

Antee added that the hotel situation in the Shreveport area is improving. Since the teams forewent their 150 rooms, those are available. The city has more evacuees checking out of hotels every day, according to Antee.

Otherwise, planning the game on such short notice doesn't present any logistical problems for the site that is used to putting on the Mainstay Independence Bowl game every year, he said.

Mississippi State and Tulane fans will have to make sacrifices, too, involving their tickets. Fans looking to buy tickets can purchase them through Ticketmaster or at the stadium ticket office.

But for those who had seats for the Superdome, they can exchange them on game day, return them for a full refund, or forego the refund and donate the price of the ticket to Tulane.

Templeton said State has sold 3,000 tickets.

"We are encouraging our citizens to support the Green Wave by attending the game," Shreveport mayor Keith Hightower said in a statement, "(We) are asking our corporate citizens to help offset the loss of home game revenues in New Orleans."