Katrina Seniors Stick Together

A few days turned into four months. And those four months have since turned into four years, and counting. It's a span that continues to teach the definitions of perseverance, spirit and courage.

Eight current Tulane players were on the team in August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and forced Tulane to play 11 games during an 11-week span in 11 different cities. For the "Katrina Seniors," forever linked by struggle and friendship, their collegiate careers are quickly winding to a close.

"We need some more wins but we are not giving up," defensive tackle Reggie Scott, a Katrina Senior who has played in 37 career games, told FanHouse. "We are working over here. There ain't no quit in us."

The Green Wave, 2-5 and riding a three-game losing streak, makes its shortest trip of the season Saturday and renews the oldest rivalry in school history for a final time on the road when the team buses the 80 miles from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, La., to face ninth-ranked LSU (6-1).

Both Tulane and LSU, which received wide praise for its relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation and features players also impacted by the storm, have mutually agreed to discontinue the football series following this season.

The two teams will play one more game in New Orleans at a future date.

Saturday's game marks the 98th all-time meeting between the schools -- the Tigers have won the last 17 games in the series, which began in 1893, including the last 10 at Tiger Stadium.

Tulane probably won't win on Saturday either, but it knows all about surviving, pulling together and beating immeasurable odds.

"Everyone had it in their minds that we were going to stay strong, that we'd be able to get through that 2005 season and help build for the future," said linebacker David Kirksey, a three-year letterman and team captain who has played in 40 career games and, like all eight Katrina seniors, has had his NCAA eligibility lengthened by a redshirt season.

"That entire experience really made you grow up as a person. It showed that you can't take anything for granted in life and you always need to be prepared. If you feel like something is important to you, stay focused, follow through and don't let anyone change your mind."


Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Tulane fielded NCAA Division-I teams in 16 sports. As part of the university's Renewal Plan announced in December 2005, some sports were suspended.

Tulane currently has 13 Division I-A programs -- football, men and women's basketball, baseball, women's volleyball, track and cross country, tennis, women's golf, and women's swimming and diving. However, it plans to field 16 sports by 2011.

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, all of Tulane's varsity sports teams, with the exception of cross-country and track and field, moved to four other universities in Texas and Louisiana for the remainder of 2005, while continuing to represent Tulane in competition.

Dr. Scott Cowen, the university president, decided that the athletic teams should "carry the torch, face, and name" of Tulane that fall.

Face of the Program

Of course, no team's journey received more coverage than the football team, coached by Louisiana native Chris Scelfo at the time. Scelfo was fired following the 2006 season, ending an eight-year stint for a coach that held the program together through Hurricane Katrina but struggled to win before and after the storm.

Scelfo was replaced by Bob Toledo, now in his third year, but who also has found it difficult to win in The Rebuilt Big Easy. He's 8-23 at Tulane.

On Aug. 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the United States with devastating effect. It was reported that more then 1,800 people lost there lives, and more then $81 billion in damage occurred. Of course, the effects of the storm in New Orleans were shattering and long-lasting.

"We stayed in a gym because the hurricane had hit there, too. We had to sleep, eat and work out in the gym, so it got pretty nasty in there. When the power went off, we had to take our showers by flashlight."
-- Reggie Scott As the hurricane approached, Tulane's football team -- 88 players, 10 coaches and assorted staff -- was evacuated to Jackson, Miss., a few days before its season opener at Southern Mississippi on Sept. 4. (The game was later postponed to the end of the season).

It was the start to an incredible journey.

"In Jackson we stayed in a gym because the hurricane had hit there, too," Scott said. "We had to sleep, eat and work out in the gym, so it got pretty nasty in there. When the power went off, we had to take our showers by flashlight."

After a few days in Jackson, the team moved to Dallas and eventually to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La., where it remained headquartered through the 2005 season as much of the Tulane campus and athletic facilities suffered water and other structural damage because of the hurricane.

In addition to Scott and Kirsksey, cornerback Charles Harris, offensive lineman John Landa, linebacker James McMurchy, offensive lineman Tyler Rice, safety Corey Sonnier and receiver Jeremy Williams were on the 2005 Tulane team.

Scott, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility following the 2008 season, played in seven games as a redshirt freshman in 2005. The native of Charlotte, N.C., vividly remembers the Green Wave's orders to evacuate as Hurricane Katrina barreled towards the city above the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

"We were told to pack light, two pairs of clothes, and that we'd be gone for a couple of days and be right back," Scott said. "Of course, nobody had any earthly idea what would happen."

For four months, the team battled doubt, fear, and uncertainty. Players had no idea if the personal belongings in their apartments, dormitories or homes in New Orleans remained dry -- or remained at all due to looting.

The team's stay in Dallas was luxurious compared to Jackson. Players lived in a DoubleTree Hotel, still some 500 miles from home. They existed on borrowed and donated supplies. A hotel conference room was transformed into a locker room. SMU offered to share its weight room and whatever else Tulane needed.


It was during the trip to Dallas when the team buses pulled into a truck stop in Shreveport, La., and players saw television coverage of the destruction and chaos in New Orleans for the first time.

Eighty percent of the city was flooded, with some parts under 15 feet of water. Many who remained in their homes had to swim for their lives, wade through deep water, or remain trapped in their attics or on their rooftops.

The Louisiana Superdome, home to the Green Wave and New Orleans Saints, was used as a designated "refuge of last resort" for those who remained in the city.

Kirksey, a native of Mobile, Ala., was additionally apprehensive because the hurricane also had also impacted his hometown and family. While his home was not damaged, the city suffered power outages and his parents slept in their car at night for nearly two weeks and used the air conditioner to escape the stifling summer heat.

"When the hurricane was approaching, I don't think many of us took it seriously -- and we know now it didn't turn out so well," Kirksey said.

"We were prepared but nobody predicted the devastation. We thought we'd come back and see a lot of limbs down, a lot of debris everywhere. But nobody was prepared for what we saw on television and when we returned to campus (in January 2006). I didn't think we'd be gone for months at a time."

The Green Wave's final move was to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La. By this point, players had grown weary and their challenges were well known. The season reflected their struggles.

Tulane went 2-9.

"After a couple of weeks in Ruston, and dealing with everything, everyone wanted to just go home," Scott said.

M.A.S.H Unit

Located in Louisiana's capital of Baton Rouge, the nearest major city to New Orleans, the LSU campus became an integral resource in hurricane relief efforts.

For eight days, the usual activities of the college campus were suspended to help those in need. The field house was used as a special-needs shelter. Helicopters ferrying the sick landed on the running track.

Rahim Alem, a redshirt senior defensive end from New Orleans, volunteered to help where needed because "people right here in front of you were going through hell," he said.

Alem's family in New Orleans had safely evacuated. Their two-story home was damaged, repaired and later sold. A former star at St. Augustine High in New Orleans, Alem kept in touch with friends and teammates on the Internet. Everyone had a story to share.

"We were lucky because we really didn't lose anything of value, but one of my friends lost everything and he needed counseling because all he thought about was committing suicide," said Alem, a noted pass rush specialist whose brother Chad Jones is a starting safety on the Tigers football team and pitcher on the baseball team that won the College World Series in 2008.

Alem's parents -- his father Al was a defensive end for Tulane and lettered for the Green Wave from 1976-70 -- now have an apartment in New Orleans and continue to work in the city.

"The first time I went back that January [2006], everything looked different," Alem continued.

"Sometimes you didn't even know where you were at, even though I lived there. You had to go by memory. The whole experience humbles you. You feel like you are almost invincible because a lot of things that happen in the world, you are shielded from. It's like it won't happen to you. But you learn that anything can happen to you at any point in time.

"It makes you realize what's really important. At the end of the day, we had to sell our house -- and I don't live where I grew up any more. But the people around me that I love are fine. And that is what's most important."

LSU senior receiver Chris Mitchell was a high school senior at John Ehret High in Marrero, La., located on the west bank of the Mississippi River and within shouting distance of New Orleans, when Hurricane Katrina struck.

Mitchell, who was living with his older brother at the time, packed a few personal items and drove with his brother to Shreveport, La, before fleeing into Texas for three weeks.

When Mitchell returned home and to school for the first time in late September, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"It's difficult to explain. I never experienced nothing like that before and I hope I never have to experience it again," said Mitchell, whose prep team played just six games in 2005 due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The program had more than 100 players before the storm struck, but many enrolled in other schools and the Patriots played their first game with around 25 players. Mitchell played quarterback, wide receiver, safety, punter and kick returner and accounted for 15 touchdowns that season.

"It was kind of weird because not everything was up and running and we weren't even practicing that much," Mitchell recalled.

"They made school announcements that said a game was scheduled against such-and-such and we could play the game if everyone wanted to. Most of the players that came back were underclassmen, and they really didn't know what it meant to go out and play hard every day.

"In a way it was fun. I have a different memory of every game, and I remember the players who came back more so than the ones that never returned."

Mitchell, who was born on Christmas Day, 1986 in New Orleans, says he now better understands the struggle to overcome hardship and tragedy.

"That entire time was so strange, like something you watch on TV," Mitchell said.

"You see an earthquake in California and it's awful but you figure something like that won't ever happen to you. I never thought the hurricane would be as bad as it was. We lost everything -- material things can be replaced, so that didn't bother me -- but you can't get back those personal things like photos. That's what hurts.

"When we got back and saw the results of what happened...you just can't immediately adjust to something you had never experienced and was that bad.

"It felt good just to get back playing football."

Battle for the Rag

The winner of the Tulane-LSU game will receive a banner known as "The Rag." The banner is decorated half Tulane and half LSU with each school's logo on the respective sides.

The Rag exchanged hands with each team's victory from the first game of the series in 1893 until 1981.

The original Rag, however, was lost between LSU's victory in 1980 and Tulane's win in 1981. Some speculate the Rag was delivered to Tulane following the Green Wave's 1981 victory, but was destroyed in a fire at the Tulane Student Center prior to the 1982 game. A replacement flag was created in 2001 and was present in 2008 at Tiger Stadium.

Tulane's last win in the series was in 1982, when the visiting Green Wave capped a 4-7 season with a 31-28 upset of the Orange Bowl-bound Tigers.

The losses have mounted against its rival, but Tulane is a survivor.

"I will never forget this place. It was pretty rough for everyone, but knowing that you get can through it proves that you can get through anything if you really put your mind to it. That goes outside of football, too. We want to finish on a good note."
-- Reggie Scott Lackluster football attendance was just one of the concerns brought up in May 2003, when Tulane officials reviewed the financial strain of sustaining their athletics program.

Citing a $6.7-million deficit in the athletic department, the idea of dropping football and fielding a select few teams in Division III was floated among members of the Tulane Board of Trustees.

Two years later Hurricane Katrina threatened to wash away the history and heritage of a proud city and an established Green Wave football program. Many wondered if New Orleans would ever feel like home again.

It does. Thanks to grit and guts.

"That entire experience definitely made me stronger," Scott said.

"I will never forget this place. It was pretty rough for everyone, but knowing that you can get through it proves that you can get through anything if you really put your mind to it. That goes outside of football, too. We want to finish on a good note.

"Whatever your goal is -- to play a season, no matter the outcome -- you need to stay together as a team."