Oklahoma extends heartwarming gesture to Tulane after Hurricane Ida

Tulane will remain the designated home team in its Week One meeting with Oklahoma after relocating it to Norman, Oklahoma due to Hurricane Ida, per the Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson. The school also announced that their opponent will retain all net proceeds from ticket sales, despite playing at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

“In this extraordinarily difficult moment for the people of Louisiana, we want to do our small part by assisting Tulane with the game this weekend,” Oklahoma president President Joseph Harroz Jr. said. “While we regret that it’s necessary for us to host it, we will welcome the Tulane family this Saturday with open arms and heavy hearts. We hope this act is one small way that we can help alleviate some of the stress the university is currently enduring.”

He continued: “Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with all those impacted and those helping with the relief and recovery in the coming weeks and months.”

Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday, exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina did in 2005. The storm has already wreaked havoc on the sports world in recent days.

Tulane relocated to Birmingham, Alabama for the week. The team hoped that the game would remain on as originally scheduled at home. Instead, the two teams will head to Oklahoma and the No. 2 Sooners will get a home game to open their 2021 season.

Rescheduling the season opener

The Athletic initially reported the move in location. The season opener for both teams will still be played at noon ET on Saturday. Because of the change, television information remains unknown.

“In light of the catastrophic damage sustained by the City of New Orleans and, after consulting with our emergency preparedness and response teams at the institutional, local and state levels, we will relocate our Sept. 4 football game against the University of Oklahoma to Norman, Oklahoma,” Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen said in a statement. “While game time will remain 11:00 AM, television information and other game-specific details will be announced by the University of Oklahoma. We appreciate the understanding, support and communication with the University of Oklahoma, especially Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione.”

Tulane appeared set to host its first Power Five opponent since 2018 when it lost to Wake Forest in overtime. The Green Wave is coming off a 6-6 season in 2020 and will now try to focus on the biggest game of their careers while balancing the weight of this natural disaster.