As of the close of business hours Wednesday, Rutgers and Tulane are still set to kick off at 8 p.m. from the Superdome despite the impact of Hurricane Isaac in the region.
According to Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti, he and Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson are in contact about variuous contingency plans, but are currently set to keep the original schedule.
“I’ve been talking to [Dickson] pretty frequently,” Pernetti said. “I spoke to him just a little while ago and, as of right now, nothing has changed. We talked about how it would be important to have a decision if something is going to change as soon as possible, but they got all hands on deck because of the Superdome and the energy company down there and the city and the hotels.
“They feel comfortable right now with where they are, but I’m going to get another update tonight around 9 o’clock and from there, if there’s any information that’s changed. Right now nothing’s changed.”
The latest updates have more than 500,000 homes in the area without power, but there has been no damage to the Superdome, according to an update on NOLA.com.
Flights into New Orleans are mostly cancelled through Thursday, but Rutgers’ charter flight out of Newark, N.J., is still set to leave on schedule Friday.
“It’s sort of typical TV stuff, Al Roker getting blown away on a corner, but that’s indicative of everything that’s going on in the city there,” Pernetti said on some of the weather concerns. “According to Rick, the rain systems they put in place after [Hurricane] Katrina held up pretty well and they’re working closely with everybody, including the energy company. Because I think the power is the biggest issue, but not necessarily an issue at the dome right now, which is good news.”
There is no set timetable for a final decision, Pernetti said. With the team scheduled to land in New Orleans late afternoon on Friday, expect everyone to know by then, Pernetti said.
“In my mind, if we were to get on the ground [in New Orleans] and then change it, it would be a real problem,” he said. “Beyond that, Rick and I agreed that if there’s going to be a change, we’re going to try to … decide and put it in place as soon as possible. Right now, there’s nothing changed.”