Louisiana State and Florida reach deal to reschedule game

It took some haggling — and concessions on both sides — but Louisiana State and Florida have agreed to reschedule a Southeastern Conference game that was postponed because of Hurricane Matthew.

Florida got the Nov. 19 date it wanted and LSU avoided playing a stretch of road games with the make-up switched from Gainesville, Fla., to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

“It was important for us to come to a resolution,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Each university had its own set of concerns throughout this process.”

Sankey praised Florida for surrendering its home game. In return, the teams will play in Gainesville instead of Baton Rouge next year.

“As I have repeatedly said, this game needed to be played,” Sankey stated.

The original postponement was announced as Hurricane Matthew barreled toward Florida. Officials had no way of knowing the storm would ultimately skirt the coast.

Florida quickly agreed to the Nov. 19 make-up — both teams had nonconference opponents scheduled at home for that date and could buy out those contracts.

But traveling to Gainesville in the middle of next month would have forced LSU to play on the road three times in 12 days.

There was some talk of skipping the game altogether. On Thursday, Sankey said neither team would have been eligible for the SEC championship without the requisite eight conference games.

The SEC said it hopes to revise its rescheduling policy, granting the commissioner authority to determine a date and location if the schools cannot agree.

david.wharton@latimes.com

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