LSU wrong on night game

For once, a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium makes no sense.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, LSU moved its football home opener against Arizona State to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

In that instance, LSU administrators had no choice. With evacuees seeking shelter at the school’s campus, a home football game with more than 90,000 fans in attendance wouldn’t have been feasible.

Less than two weeks from now, it’s going to be the same story. Yet with fifth-ranked Tennessee scheduled to visit Tiger Stadium Sept. 24 for a key SEC showdown, LSU isn’t budging.

Not only will the game be played at Tiger Stadium, but officials insisted that the game be played at night, just the way ESPN had planned it months ago. ESPN had no qualms about taking a game with the ramifications of LSU-Tennessee, a potential matchup of two top-five teams.

The TV network and the SEC verified Monday that the game would be played at 6:45 p.m. local time, much to the dismay of UT athletics director Mike Hamilton. Hamilton didn’t ask that the game be moved. He just wanted it to be played in the afternoon to allow fans time to safely travel out of the area and find a hotel.

A home game for LSU, in many ways, would be a great thing for Louisiana residents. With many homes severely damaged and lives turned upside-down, a football game could provide some sense of normalcy during a chaotic time.

But a game of this magnitude being played at night is just going to get in the way.

Even for a school that brings a caged tiger to every home game, the campus is a zoo. Baton Rouge’s population has roughly doubled since Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast.

What this means is that traffic on game day will be unbearable, and a hotel might not be found for hundreds of miles. Considering that it’s a night game, fans might have to pull an all-nighter and drive all the way back to Tennessee. And the school won’t consider refunding tickets purchased months ago by UT fans.

Right now, LSU can’t even guarantee hotel rooms for UT’s players. They might have to settle for somewhere within a 100-mile radius or, better yet, fly down on the day of the game and jump back on a plane as soon as it’s over.

Sound like a headache? It is — for players, fans and media alike.

And for what? So LSU can keep alive its tradition of playing home games at night?

LSU athletics director Skip Bertman should be congratulated. He got his home-field advantage. And the Tigers now have a better chance of winning the game.

But in a position to do the right thing during a time of crisis, LSU lost.

— Ryan Callahan is the sports editor of The Daily Beacon. He can be reached at callahan@utk.edu.