Area schools monitoring Tropical Storm Nate in advance of Saturday games

Tropical Storm Nate, which is forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, could have an impact on three college football games in southeast Louisiana.

Tulane, Nicholls and Southeastern all have home conference games on Saturday, but the system – which became a tropical storm with the National Hurricane Center’s 7 a.m. CDT advisory Thursday – could be a Category 1 hurricane in the Gulf by Saturday with the potential for landfall early Sunday along the northern Gulf Coast.

Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen said on Twitter Wednesday evening that university officials are monitoring the storm in advance of Saturday afternoon’s Hall of Fame game against Tulsa.

We are monitoring potential Gulf Coast tropical storm/hurricane “Nate” impacting @GreenWaveFB vs Tulsa Sat. Game time currently 3pm CDT.

— Troy Dannen (@TU_Dannen) October 4, 2017

Football schedules in the American Athletic Conference have already been impacted this year by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Meanwhile, Southeastern welcomes Incarnate Word for its Homecoming game at 4 p.m. Saturday in Hammond, while Nicholls is set to entertain Northwestern State, also on Homecoming, at 6:30 p.m. in Thibodaux.

In a text message to Crescent City Sports, Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett said Wednesday night that any decision to change or even postpone a game because of weather is a joint effort of both participating schools and the conference office. The efforts begin with the home team and their discussions with local officials.

“Can we safely play a game and get everyone to and from the site without incident?” Burnett said. “It would be a combined effort among many, and constant communication is key.”