Hurricane Ida and college football
The opening weekend of the 2021 college football season was supposed to represent a return to normalcy. With a vaccine available and in plenty of arms, across the country plenty of stadiums will be full as this marks a nationwide homecoming weekend unlike any other in the sport's history.
But "a return to normalcy" belies one ugly truth: plenty of bad stuff still happens in normal times, too.
Such is the case in Louisiana right now, where Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc over the weekend. The storm is currently bending its way up and across the eastern portion of the United States right now, but Louisiana is just now beginning to deal with the havoc Ida left behind.
This, of course, puts hosting football games -- and all the public infrastructure required to do so -- on the back-burner. In fact, the city of New Orleans is without power right now and, with no current estimate of when the lights will flick back on, football is on the back-burner of the back-burner.
As such, here's a rundown of reschedulings and movement across the state. We'll update this piece as necessary:
Tulane
The Green Wave are scheduled to host Oklahoma at Yulman Stadium on Saturday. This game is reportedly moving to Norman.
Update: Moving the game to Norman has not been confirmed because it's still to be determined if the game will be played, says Tulane AD Troy Dannen.
Second Update: The game has been officially moved to Norman.
New Orleans Saints
The Packers at Saints game slated for next Sunday at the Superdome is currently up in the air. The Saints are currently sharing the Cowboys' facilities in north Dallas.
LSU
LSU decamped for Houston ahead of the storm. The Tigers visit UCLA on Saturday and open their home schedule with McNeese on Sept. 11.
Louisiana
The Cajuns rode out Ida in Lafayette, though campus is closed for today. UL visits Texas on Saturday before hosting Nicholls on Sept. 11.
ULM
Classes continue as scheduled. The Warhawks open at Kentucky on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech
Campus remains open and there are no indications Saturday's opener at Mississippi State will be affected.
Grambling
Grambling is holding classes on campus today. The Tigers open with Tennessee State in the Black College Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday.
Southern
Campus is closed through Tuesday. The Jaguars visit Troy on Saturday and open their home schedule the following week.
Southeastern Louisiana
The school's website says "all locations of Southeastern will remain closed until further notice." The Lions are slated to host North Alabama on Saturday.
Nicholls State
Campus is closed until further notice. The Colonels visit Memphis on Saturday; their first home game is not until Sept. 25.
This page will remain updated throughout the week as Ida moves across the country and Louisiana attempts to move forward.
