OU vs Tulane Officially Moved to Norman
Posted on: August 30, 2021
The Sooners were scheduled to visit New Orleans next weekend to kick off their 2021 football season against Tulane.
As you all know, Louisianna has been devasted by Hurricane Ida which has left all of New Orleans and much of the surrounding areas without power, underwater, and dealing with a catastrophic amount of debris.
Last week, in anticipation of the potential disruption, Tulane took their football team to Alabama in order to be able to continue practicing.
Now, as James mentioned was likely in his notebook, the game has officially been moved to Norman.
NORMAN, Okla. – This Saturday’s Oklahoma-Tulane football game has been moved from New Orleans to Norman. Kickoff remains at 11 a.m., and the game will be televised on ABC as previously announced.
The change in location was made after Hurricane Ida moved across New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on Sunday. Conditions in New Orleans are not favorable to host a game this week. Even with the change in venue, Tulane will be the designated home team for this game and will retain all net proceeds from ticket sales. All tickets for this game will be sold separately and are not part of season ticket packages. Ticket procedures are included later in this release.
Tickets purchased through Tulane for the game in New Orleans may not be used for the game in Norman. Those patrons will need to resolve through the Tulane ticket office at the appropriate time.
In addition to moving this game, the two schools have agreed to work together on identifying a date in a future season for a game in New Orleans.
“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,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “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.
“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.”
OU Vice President and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione has worked closely with Tulane officials in changing the arrangements for the game.
“This is obviously a heart-wrenching time,” said Castiglione. “We have been reminded again of the life events that take precedence over everything else we do. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tulane President Michael Fitts, Athletics Director Troy Dannen, the Tulane community and everyone impacted by this storm.
“I know that many of our fans were looking forward to visiting one of our favorite cities, New Orleans. But now, we have an opportunity to do what we do best, and that is extend our hospitality to people who are facing a significant challenge. All of us will do our part to make the Tulane team and fans feel welcome and appreciated as we host their home game.”
“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.”
Joseph Harroz Jr.
Due to the short notice and holiday weekend, several of OU’s contracted game services providers will be unable to assemble a full staff for this game. For that reason, only the lower bowl (including club levels, loge boxes and suites) of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium will be used for fan seating.
Apart from those seats allocated for Tulane, OU season ticket holders will have first opportunity to purchase tickets and will be contacted Monday evening via email. Those with lower bowl, club level, loge box and suite season ticket locations may purchase their existing seats for this game. Those with seats located elsewhere in the stadium will also have an opportunity to purchase tickets and will be accommodated in various locations throughout the lower bowl. The deadline for season ticket holders to purchase tickets will be 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
The price of the lower-level tickets for season ticket holders will be $30, and $50 for suites and clubs to include hospitality. OU students will have an opportunity to purchase tickets priced at $20 beginning Tuesday. If tickets remain after season ticket and student requests are accommodated, a public sale will be held on Friday and those tickets will be available at $50 each.
“I wish that we could accommodate a full stadium for this game, but these are challenging circumstances with very little notice,” Castiglione said. “We rely on hundreds of trained professionals from several agencies to work with us on game day and have learned that it is not possible to be fully staffed for this event. We have thoroughly assessed the many aspects of hosting a game and there is no question that this is the right course of action.”
Fans are reminded that they will need to download the Oklahoma Sooners app to access game tickets. It is highly recommended that the tickets be downloaded to a wallet app before arriving at the stadium.
Additional game details and OU’s game day protocols will be released this week on SoonerSports.com and the OU Athletics social media platforms.
Recovery efforts are now underway along the Gulf Coast. OU officials urge those wishing to support relief efforts to give generously to agencies of their choice. Another giving opportunity will be announced later this week.
