GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With darkness starting to settle over Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Thursday night, outgoing Florida Athletic Director
Jeremy Foley stepped behind a podium in the press lounge.
For Foley to hold a quickly assembled 7 p.m. press conference there had to be a good reason and there was.
About 90 minutes prior to Foley's arrival news broke that the Florida-LSU game postponed by Hurricane Matthew was back on. Not on
Steve Spurrier-Florida Field down below, but rather at Tiger Stadium on Nov. 19.
"It's been a long week dealing with the aftermath of postponing this game,'' Foley opened. "But a week that pales in comparison to the families of those who lost their lives, their homes, their jobs, who were impacted in any way by Hurricane Matthew."
In the real world, the reverberation of Hurricane Matthew remained a daily challenge for residents along the Florida coast and other parts of the southern Atlantic Coast. In the college football world, the Florida-LSU postponement and potential makeup dates remained a hot story throughout the week.
It reached a boiling point Thursday when
Florida and the Southeastern Conference settled on playing the game in Baton Rouge (ticket info included in the link and more to come Friday on FloridaGators.com). In return, LSU must travel to UF in 2017 and 2018.
"It became abundantly clear this was going to be a difficult negotiation,'' Foley said. "LSU had drawn a line in the sand and was refusing to consider any other options presented except those consistent with the line they had drawn."
As Florida officials worked with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva remained firm on not playing on the road on Nov. 19. The Tigers were scheduled to host South Alabama and Florida had Presbyterian on the schedule that day prior to Thursday's announcement.
Alleva has faced harsh criticism from the national media in recent days on his unwillingness to budge from playing a home game Nov. 19. He released a statement late Wednesday regarding the rescheduled game with Florida.
"Historically, we have always enjoyed a great relationship with Florida. We have great respect for their institution and their football program,'' he said. "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."
As a result of traveling to LSU, the Gators essentially lost two home games this season, the original Oct. 8 home game against the Tigers and the Nov. 19 game against Presbyterian.
The Gators will eventually recoup the lost revenue from the SEC's insurance policy and other financial incentives, but Foley expressed disappointment in the financial impact on the Gainesville community.
"The thing that bothers me the most is the economic impact of two games,'' he said. "That is the most difficult part of this conversation for us. It's also a reality and we're not insensitive to that, but there wasn't a solution to that. We're sorry. Like I said, this is a far less than perfect situation for a lot of people. But in the end the decision that was made we feel is in the best interest of, as I said, the league and the long-term interest of the league in particular.
"We recognize fully this decision will not be accepted by all. We ask for your trust and understanding. It is the right one for the university and this conference. The league is a family, and sometimes members of the family have to make a decision that is in the best long-term interest of the family. This is what makes this conference great in my opinion."
Florida head coach
Jim McElwain understood the predicament and supported UF's decision to play in Baton Rouge. McElwain has been preparing the Gators for Saturday's homecoming game against Missouri but has been unable to escape the chatter of a potential UF-LSU makeup game.
He shot straight again on Thursday about a popular storyline in Louisiana: Florida did not want to play the game.
"As I've said all along – we will play anyone, anywhere, anytime," McElwain said. "I think I've made that pretty clear. The Gators never run from anyone or dodge anyone."
The Gators will host LSU on Oct. 7 next season, setting up a home schedule that includes games against Northern Colorado, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, LSU, UAB and Florida State.
Florida has just two home games remaining following the buyout of the Presbyterian game, on Saturday against Missouri and Nov. 12 against South Carolina.
The No. 18-ranked Gators face a difficult November with road games at Arkansas, LSU and Florida State. However, with the conference's competitive integrity at stake if the Florida-LSU game was not played, Foley is confident the right decision was made for the long-term.
"Most of all I think it's a resolution that's good for the Southeastern Conference. I think it gives our fans an unbelievable schedule next year,'' he said. "Obviously LSU and Florida did not see eye to eye on this situation, but I also understand the fact that they're dealing with situations, too. I assure you that commissioner Sankey looked at a lot of different options trying to make this work.
"Things always have a way of working out. And so what may not be ideal in the moment for the Gators is going to come back to us in spades a year from now."
