Tulane Football to Play Two Games at Tad Gormley Stadium in 2003

J.P. Losman

NEW ORLEANS - Tulane will play a pair of games at Tad Gormley Stadium in 2003 with the Homecoming contest Oct. 11 versus Houston and the game versus Northwestern State on Sept. 6 slated for the City Park venue, Director of Athletics Rick Dickson announced Thursday. Last season Tulane staged a successful Homecoming game with Navy at Tad Gormley Stadium to mark the Green Wave's first outdoor home game since 1974.

Tulane also announced that the first three of its six home games - Superdome games versus TCU on Sept. 1, a nationally-televised contest on Labor Day night, and the Mississippi State game on Sept. 13, in addition to the Northwestern State game Sept. 6 at Tad Gormley - will kick off at 7 p.m. The three remaining contests, including the Homecoming game Oct. 11 at Tad Gormley and Conference USA matchups versus Memphis and East Carolina in the Superdome, are scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start. All times are Central.

"After the success of Homecoming last year at City Park with the parade, the tailgating, the overall atmosphere and the number of students we had at the game, the decision to move this year's Homecoming game outside again was easy," Dickson said. "In looking at the schedule, Northwestern State also provided an opportunity to play a night game, which many of our fans have been asking for, outside. We're grateful to the Superdome and the LSED (Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District) for working with us and giving our fans a chance to enjoy these outdoor events."

Tulane defeated Navy, 51-30, before a crowd of 28,123 on Oct. 26th last year. Prior to that, the Green Wave's last outdoor home game was played Nov. 30, 1974 versus Ole Miss.

"The fan response we got at Tad Gormley last year really got our players excited about going back there this year," said Head Coach Chris Scelfo, who begins his fifth year at the helm of the Green Wave program in 2003.

"The different kickoff times will give all of our fans a chance to attend games," he continued. "We look forward to opening up the season at 7 p.m. on national television versus TCU."

Dickson said the three early September home games and the TV game on September 1 with TCU set for 7 p.m., provided the impetus to split the start times between 7 and 1:30.

"Many of our fans requested night games, yet we also have a core group of families who want to come downtown during the day," Dickson said. "We think we will have the best of both worlds with the September games at 7 p.m. and the October and November games, including Homecoming, kicking off in the afternoon."