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Board member pushes LSU-Southern game
By SCOTT RABALAIS
srabalais@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter
Talk about your political football.
As Thursday's joint meeting of the Southern and LSU boards of supervisors was wrapping up, Southern board member Tony Clayton of Baton Rouge called for a resolution to have LSU and Southern play in football either next year or discuss the possibility of playing in the near future.
With the meeting room at the C.B. Pennington Jr. Conference Center still buzzing at the prospect, Clayton backed off of his request.
But he said he would try again at 9 a.m. today when the Southern Board of Supervisors meets on its own at the SU campus.
"I'm going to push for it," Clayton said.
LSU and Southern play regularly in baseball and occasionally in men's basketball -- the Tigers and Jaguars will open their seasons against each other Nov. 21 at LSU.
But LSU and Southern have never met in football. LSU is looking for a home game on Sept. 4 to replace a game with Virginia Tech that was recently pushed back to 2007.
LSU has scheduled a rotation of NCAA Division I-A in-state schools -- Tulane in 2001, Louisiana-Lafayette in 2002, Louisiana-Monroe in August and Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
LSU regularly pays those schools a guarantee of $400,000.
Though Southern plays in Division I-AA, Clayton figures it's the Jaguars' turn.
"(LSU) would beat us," Clayton said. "LSU is a Division I team.
"But LSU being the flagship school has done so many things to help Southern. I think this game would help us forge an even better relationship."
Clayton said an LSU-Southern football game would probably be a one-shot deal. He realizes playing a I-AA team hurts LSU's strength of schedule.
"I would not want to play on a regular basis," Clayton said. "LSU can't afford to. But I think LSU should float around the state and give everyone a chance."
LSU board chairman Roger Ogden of New Orleans and Southern board chairman Albert Gilliam of Shreveport both said they wanted the school's respective athletic directors to study the matter.
"We have worked to get the board out of the athletic business at LSU," Ogden said. "That was not always the case. It's not our nature to get involved but to look to our chancellor and our (athletic director.
"Certainly I think this discussion will take place."
Gilliam said he would suggest remanding the matter to the athletic directors: Southern's Floyd Kerr and LSU's Skip Bertman.
"We don't micro-manage these issues from the board," Gilliam said. "We will strictly adhere to protocol. This is something that should emanate from the ADs.
"While this sounds like a good idea, let the people who should know if it is study it."
The idea of an LSU-Southern football game doesn't appeal to Kerr.
"When I came here I was asked that at my first press conference," Kerr said. "I still hold fast that we shouldn't play football.
"Financially it would be a great benefit, no question. Fan-wise, it would be an intriguing matchup. But when it comes to a football program looking at another football program, that's not even on the radar screen to consider."
Southern already has a home game scheduled for Sept. 4 against Allen, which plays here Saturday.
LSU has been searching for a game, but preferably against a high-profile Division I-A team.
"We're still looking," Bertman said. "We haven't ruled out anything yet -- including that Southern proposal. But I've never spoken to Floyd about it."
After Virginia Tech asked to postpone its trip here, Bertman said LSU approached Nebraska and then Minnesota about playing a home-and-home series starting in Tiger Stadium in 2004.
Dan Radakovich, LSU's senior associate athletic director who handles football scheduling, has sent out e-mails to all 117 Division I-A teams. He said he has spoken directly to 25 schools, including Oklahoma and Southern Cal.
Like Nebraska and Minnesota, Oklahoma and USC both need home games next year as well.
"We're trying to stick with a high-profile Division I club," Bertman said, "but it's hard at this late date."
Bertman said he was interested in bringing in Tulane. The Green Wave will play here again in 2009 and LSU faces Tulane in the Superdome in 2008.
But because of changes in the makeup of Conference USA -- part of the domino affect of the ACC annexing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College from the Big East -- Bertman said Tulane is now unavailable for 2004.
Because of the conference changes, there may also be a postponement of the NCAA rule set to go into effect next year requiring I-A schools to play five I-A home games. That could also free up some schools to play at LSU, Radakovich said.
Board member pushes LSU-Southern game
By SCOTT RABALAIS
srabalais@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter
Talk about your political football.
As Thursday's joint meeting of the Southern and LSU boards of supervisors was wrapping up, Southern board member Tony Clayton of Baton Rouge called for a resolution to have LSU and Southern play in football either next year or discuss the possibility of playing in the near future.
With the meeting room at the C.B. Pennington Jr. Conference Center still buzzing at the prospect, Clayton backed off of his request.
But he said he would try again at 9 a.m. today when the Southern Board of Supervisors meets on its own at the SU campus.
"I'm going to push for it," Clayton said.
LSU and Southern play regularly in baseball and occasionally in men's basketball -- the Tigers and Jaguars will open their seasons against each other Nov. 21 at LSU.
But LSU and Southern have never met in football. LSU is looking for a home game on Sept. 4 to replace a game with Virginia Tech that was recently pushed back to 2007.
LSU has scheduled a rotation of NCAA Division I-A in-state schools -- Tulane in 2001, Louisiana-Lafayette in 2002, Louisiana-Monroe in August and Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
LSU regularly pays those schools a guarantee of $400,000.
Though Southern plays in Division I-AA, Clayton figures it's the Jaguars' turn.
"(LSU) would beat us," Clayton said. "LSU is a Division I team.
"But LSU being the flagship school has done so many things to help Southern. I think this game would help us forge an even better relationship."
Clayton said an LSU-Southern football game would probably be a one-shot deal. He realizes playing a I-AA team hurts LSU's strength of schedule.
"I would not want to play on a regular basis," Clayton said. "LSU can't afford to. But I think LSU should float around the state and give everyone a chance."
LSU board chairman Roger Ogden of New Orleans and Southern board chairman Albert Gilliam of Shreveport both said they wanted the school's respective athletic directors to study the matter.
"We have worked to get the board out of the athletic business at LSU," Ogden said. "That was not always the case. It's not our nature to get involved but to look to our chancellor and our (athletic director.
"Certainly I think this discussion will take place."
Gilliam said he would suggest remanding the matter to the athletic directors: Southern's Floyd Kerr and LSU's Skip Bertman.
"We don't micro-manage these issues from the board," Gilliam said. "We will strictly adhere to protocol. This is something that should emanate from the ADs.
"While this sounds like a good idea, let the people who should know if it is study it."
The idea of an LSU-Southern football game doesn't appeal to Kerr.
"When I came here I was asked that at my first press conference," Kerr said. "I still hold fast that we shouldn't play football.
"Financially it would be a great benefit, no question. Fan-wise, it would be an intriguing matchup. But when it comes to a football program looking at another football program, that's not even on the radar screen to consider."
Southern already has a home game scheduled for Sept. 4 against Allen, which plays here Saturday.
LSU has been searching for a game, but preferably against a high-profile Division I-A team.
"We're still looking," Bertman said. "We haven't ruled out anything yet -- including that Southern proposal. But I've never spoken to Floyd about it."
After Virginia Tech asked to postpone its trip here, Bertman said LSU approached Nebraska and then Minnesota about playing a home-and-home series starting in Tiger Stadium in 2004.
Dan Radakovich, LSU's senior associate athletic director who handles football scheduling, has sent out e-mails to all 117 Division I-A teams. He said he has spoken directly to 25 schools, including Oklahoma and Southern Cal.
Like Nebraska and Minnesota, Oklahoma and USC both need home games next year as well.
"We're trying to stick with a high-profile Division I club," Bertman said, "but it's hard at this late date."
Bertman said he was interested in bringing in Tulane. The Green Wave will play here again in 2009 and LSU faces Tulane in the Superdome in 2008.
But because of changes in the makeup of Conference USA -- part of the domino affect of the ACC annexing Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College from the Big East -- Bertman said Tulane is now unavailable for 2004.
Because of the conference changes, there may also be a postponement of the NCAA rule set to go into effect next year requiring I-A schools to play five I-A home games. That could also free up some schools to play at LSU, Radakovich said.
