LSU, Vols grapple over kickoff time

Chalk it up as another — much, much lesser — effect of Hurricane Katrina: a tiff over the kickoff time for the Sept. 24 football game in Baton Rouge.

Hamilton has asked LSU to adjust its traditional evening starting time to a day game, noting Volunteer fans may not be able to find hotel rooms and would have to drive there and spend the night somewhere else.

But rearranging travel plans is not much of an inconvenience compared with life in Louisiana these days.

“We’re not living in the middle of that every day. It’s life. There are folks in Baton Rouge who are having to deal with circumstances that hopefully none of us will ever have to deal with personally. That’s what makes it touchy,” Hamilton said Friday.

Ultimately, both schools’ preferences may be moot. ESPN has first dibs on the game and can choose as early as Monday whether it will broadcast it. If so, the network’s open time slot is at night.

Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive visited LSU on Thursday with Georgia President Michael Adams, who is president of the SEC. They found the campus was getting back to normal after helping evacuees and giving up space for a temporary medical center and morgue.

SEC officials are not advocating for either side, and they would probably only get involved if LSU said it couldn’t host the game.

“Since Hurricane Katrina, the people of LSU — students, coaches, administrators, staff and professors — have played an indispensable role in assisting evacuees and the injured being helped in its campus facilities. Now that the need for this effort is winding down, the LSU campus is anxious to return to as much normalcy as possible,” conference spokesman Charles Bloom said. “The SEC is cognizant of that and will follow its normal procedures as it comes to television selection and game management issues.”

LSU athletic director Skip Bertman told the Advocate newspaper of Baton Rouge the game was still on.

“And although the outcome of that game is important, it’s probably not as important as the medicine it will provide to the people in our state and around the country,” he said Thursday.

Tennessee fans bought out their allotment of 7,000 tickets for the game. They will not be reimbursed if they choose to not attend, a policy that would be similar at Tennessee if the circumstances were reversed, Hamilton said.

Tennessee officials are hoping some of the hotel rooms will open up as the game gets closer. Otherwise they are looking at contingency plans for the football team’s travel. They do not want to have to fly to Louisiana on game day.

LSU officials have agreed to help Tennessee with their arrangements if necessary, Hamilton said.

LSU has already had to change its football schedule because of the hurricane. The opener against North Texas was postponed to Oct. 29. This weekend’s home game against Arizona State was moved to Tempe, Ariz. The Tigers have an open date before the Tennessee game.

Whether Tennessee fans like it or not, Hamilton has probably done all he can to make it easier to attend the game.

“I think our role is to communicate what’s in the best interest of the fans,” he said. “Then we move on to decide how you live with it.”