(TICKER)?The threat of Tropical Storm Gustav has prompted Louisiana State to move up the start time of Saturday?s season opener against Appalachian State.
The contest will now start at the unusual time of 11 a.m. EDT - six hours earlier than originally scheduled.
No football-related activities will take place on Saturday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, as the facility is being prepared for use as a medical special needs shelter associated with the anticipated impact of the storm.
Gustav is expected to intensify into a hurricane and New Orleans - 70 miles from Baton Rouge - was directly in the path of the storm as of Friday morning.
The school said the switch was made in consultation with state officials in anticipation of an evacuation of New Orleans.
?Public safety was the overriding concern expressed by all parties when we met with the governor and his staff today,? LSU director of athletics Joe Alleva said in a statement released by the school. ?Ten a.m. is obviously not the optimal time for a football game.
?But when one of the options was to not play the game at all, this is a matter of making the best of an unfortunate situation.?
The contest will now start at the unusual time of 11 a.m. EDT - six hours earlier than originally scheduled.
No football-related activities will take place on Saturday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, as the facility is being prepared for use as a medical special needs shelter associated with the anticipated impact of the storm.
Gustav is expected to intensify into a hurricane and New Orleans - 70 miles from Baton Rouge - was directly in the path of the storm as of Friday morning.
The school said the switch was made in consultation with state officials in anticipation of an evacuation of New Orleans.
?Public safety was the overriding concern expressed by all parties when we met with the governor and his staff today,? LSU director of athletics Joe Alleva said in a statement released by the school. ?Ten a.m. is obviously not the optimal time for a football game.
?But when one of the options was to not play the game at all, this is a matter of making the best of an unfortunate situation.?
