Hurricane Ida battered much of Louisiana and areas of the Gulf Coast over the weekend in what has been regarded as one of the most powerful storms in U.S. history.
The impact of Ida could have reverberations for HBCU football as Week 1 approaches in less than six days.
At Southern, where nearly 270,000 residents in Baton Rouge are currently without power and the university helped house those seeking shelter, the Jaguars are scheduled to play at Troy in Alabama Saturday.
First-year head coach Jason Rollins said before the storm hit that the school would be monitoring the situation and had established a plan to prepare for whatever unfolded.
As of Monday, the Southern-Troy game is still on.
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“Our administration is seasoned in dealing with hurricanes,” said Rollins. “They have a good plan in place.”
What the effects of Ida mean for Morgan State, originally slated to face Tulane on Sept. 11 in New Orleans, is unclear at the moment.
The Oklahoma-Tulane game set for Saturday will not be played in New Orleans due to the aftermath of the storm.
Bears head coach Tyrone Wheatley explained Monday that he was unsure about the status of next week’s contest.
Tulane is stationed in Birmingham, Alabama holding team workouts ahead of a trip to Norman to play the Sooners.
“We don’t know just yet,” said Wheatley. “Just out of respect for them, we want to let things unfold. As I know of now, I would say the game is on until otherwise.”
Morgan State opens the regular season versus Towson.
No person might be more familiar with the developments in Louisiana than one-time Southern coach Dawson Odums.
Now at Norfolk State, Odums shared that he was following what was happening in Louisiana and was hopeful the damage was not too great.
“This is not a 24-hour ordeal. This is weeks and months of devastation that these individuals are probably going to have to endure,” said Odums.
“The one thing about the people of Louisiana is that they’re strong. They believe in their cities and they believe in their state. We’re praying for all the individuals in the state of Louisiana.”
