Florida AD Jeremy Foley: Game rescheduled but with no help from LSU
The LSU-Florida game postponed last Saturday by Hurricane Matthew has been rescheduled for Nov. 19.
Florida, which was scheduled for a home game, will now travel to Baton Rouge.
The solution didn't come easy. And it it wasn't pretty, according to outgoing Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley.
"We made this decision to play the game in Baton Rouge," Foley said. "The conference office asked us to find a solution in working with LSU, yet LSU was never a true partner in our discussions. The Southeastern Conference offered some other solutions, and the LSU administration made it clear that they were unwilling to consider other reasonable options."
LSU AD Joe Alleva was adamant during the week that the Tigers would not give up their home game on Nov. 19.
LSU-Florida game rescheduled for Nov. 19 after Hurricane Matthew postponement
Alleva also released a statement:
“We are happy with the decision to have our game against Florida rescheduled for November 19 in Tiger Stadium. As previously reported, it was our wish to have played the game last weekend but all options that we put on the table were declined. After extensive discussion, the University of Florida agreed to play the 2016 contest in Baton Rouge and LSU agreed to play the 2017 game in Gainesville.
“I want to thank the Southeastern Conference, in particular Commissioner Greg Sankey, for his efforts to make sure that we found a place on the schedule to play the game. This is a game that our players and fans look forward to each year and we are appreciative of the lengths that our league office went to in order to make this game happen.
“Historically, we have always enjoyed a great relationship with Florida. We have great respect for their institution and their football program. I hope that we can all learn from this experience and as a league, be in a better position to deal with these situations in the future.”
To accomplish the switch, each school has bought out the opponents they were scheduled to play on that date — Presbyterian for Florida, South Alabama for LSU.
"I also would like to thank Presbyterian for their cooperation during this process and allowing us to move ahead with a solution," Foley added.
Florida will end up with five homes games this season — Massachusetts, Kentucky, North Texas, Missouri and South Carolina. The Gators face Georgia each season in Jacksonville.
LSU has agreed to play the 2017 in Gainesville, which was originally scheduled to be played in Baton Rouge. LSU will return to Gainesville in 2018 as the normal schedule rotation resumes.
“It was important for us to come to a resolution. Each university had its own set of concerns throughout this process, however existing SEC regulations did not provide an avenue to resolve conflicting issues in a more timely manner,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “As I have repeatedly said, this game needed to be played. In the end, I want to give credit to the University of Florida for making concessions to move this year’s game to Baton Rouge.”
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