Update: LSU reverses visiting band prohibition
UPDATE June 15 4:30 p.m. ET
LSU has reversed its ban on visiting bands playing at halftime at Tiger Stadium.
The school said in a release that the new plan involves "re-configuring" seating in the south end zone to provide a more direct route to the field for visiting bands.
There are serious safety issues to consider in adopting the proper plan for on-field performances by visiting bands,” LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said in a statement. “When both our band and the visiting band are scheduled to perform, there’s the possibility of having over 600 additional people converging onto already crowded sidelines while the game is in progress. There are legitimate safety concerns that can affect our student-athletes, so we have developed a plan to insure a more secure environment for everyone."
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LSU may be having some second thoughts about a decision that recently became public.
The school enacted a provision last year that prevented visiting marching bands from performing at halftime of football games at Tiger Stadium. However, the decision hadn't been publicly confirmed until last week. And it's "still being assessed."
“We’re still looking at this. This is still being assessed,” LSU deputy athletic director Eddie Nunez told the Advocate. “This is not a dead decision. This is something we’re actively looking at, going to be meeting with risk management again. We’re going to try to do what we can to make this work. If we can, we will try to make it work. We would love to continue the pageantry.”
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The decision to ban visiting bands was made on the recommendation of a risk-management assessment which deemed that the sideline areas were too cramped for two bands as they waited with the teams in the final minutes of the second quarter.
“Risk (management officials) looked at this because of a couple of situations that have happened in the past — very close situations, things considered something we needed to keep our eye on,” he said. “They asked us to look at this. If you remember, a year and a half ago, we went and added a fence behind our home team bench. It was part of this whole situation, trying to create a buffer.”
Nunez also told the Advocate that the decision only affected "one to two" visiting teams per season.
Jacksonville State's band director told WSFA 12 his school would not be bringing the band to Tiger Stadium this fall because of the ban. It would cost the school $120,000 to bring the band and director Dr. Ken Bodiford said the expense wasn't worth it if the band couldn't play on the field.
"We're going to just use this money to go to Frisco, TX with the full band, you know, if our team makes it to the national playoff games," Bodiford told the station.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
