tufinal4

As a Tulane alum and fan with 3 kids who have gone to or are going to LSU now, the end of the series is simply a shame. It is a rivalry dating back 116 years, and is bigger than the circumstances at any particular point in time. Tradition is supposed to matter in Louisiana.

Tulane gave LSU the lion's share of the revenue (net of $1.8 million) from games in the Dome to take the revenue issue off the table, at least in Skip Bertman's mind. Compare that to $3.5 million gross for a home game (if my understanding is correct), minus the payout to the visiting team ($750k perhaps?), minus game day expenses, and the difference wasn't supposed to be that great. I don't know what was wrong with the man's logic.

If you accept that, then add to it the fact that LSU, just one year ago, asked Tulane to switch games so that you could play Washington on the road, an 0-12 team from last year, which suddenly became so vitally important. I'm sure the LSU athletic leadership was misleading at best in those discussions and in getting Tulane to agree on such short notice; they have been making noise about dropping the series ever since the ink dried on the 2008 switch. I think that is what the Tulane AD is so privately ticked about. Think about it.

One other thing that Skip tried to explain to his fan base was, he didn't feel it made sense to play 2 difficult OOC series every year, because that would make it too difficult combined with the SEC every year. Also, the feedback he consistently got from LSU fans was they didn't want 3 OOC rent-a-win games per year either at home, that created too many undesirable home games. Tens of thousands of LSU fans living in N.O. can't afford to go to B.R. to see LSU, and don't have access to tickets. So, this was a sensible solution provided the money issue was resolved (which you have to admit it came pretty close), you'd have 7 home games every year, with one difficult OOC series game or Tulane at home every year and the other on the road. LSU's less affluent New Orleans fan base would have a chance to see the team regularly. And, a 115 year old rivalry would be rekindled.

Big money LSU supporters hated this from the beginning, regardless of whether it made any sense, because it meant playing Tulane home-home and because it was Tulane. A lot of LSU people do in fact hate Tulane and couldn't stand the thought of playing them in anything that might be perceived as an even arrangement.

Despite what has been posted by many above, Tulane's past and future schedules are factual proof that we have no difficulty getting attractive home-home arrangements. Ole Miss, Miss St, Georgia Tech, Alabama (return game to Dome delayed to 2012), Texas, etc. all have no problem playing home-home series. It is a trip to N.O. for their fans, and a good in-season recruiting trip to an NFL stadium. Because of the history, and my experience as a Tulane student and lifetime fan with the LSU game, I nevertheless wish it were otherwise. I went to Tulane from 1979-1982 and witnessed 3 wins over the Tigers, and a lot of other good games before and since.