Alabama Football Opens Practice Facility to Tulane

Nick Saban said Alabama was glad to help out a team that has been temporarily displaced by Hurricane Ida.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama wasn't the only team to practice inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility on Tuesday. Nick Saban and the Alabama football program opened up the facility to the Tulane football team after they left New Orleans because of Hurricane Ida prior to their first game against Oklahoma.

"So anytime we can help people that are in a tough spot, we're glad to do it," Saban said during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "We've had other teams practice in our facility before, and I'm never opposed to that. And certainly in this case we wanted to be as accommodating as possible."

Tulane was originally scheduled to host the Sooners in the Caesars Superdome on Saturday. Not only has the game been moved from New Orleans to Norman because of the storm damage in Louisiana, but the Green Wave had to relocate for practice this week to safely get out of the path of the hurricane. 

Saban and his family spent five years in Louisiana when he was the head coach of LSU in the early 2000s, and there are several players on the Alabama roster who are from that state. 

"Obviously you know we're very concerned about people who have been put in a difficult circumstance because of the storm," Saban said. "A lot of people in south Louisiana, which includes Tulane, are having a lot of struggles and these guys are in a tough spot." 

Tulane has been staying in Birmingham throughout the week and practiced at Legion Field on Monday. The Green Wave showed an appreciation for the use of the Alabama facility on its official social media accounts. 

On Monday, Alabama defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis from Wisner, Louisiana said his family was all safe, but he was sending love to his home state. Tuesday, junior linebacker Christian Harris, who is from Baton Rouge also said his family has been safe.

"Baton Rouge didn’t really get hit that bad," Harris said. "They had a lot of wind and rain but there was a lot of areas in Louisiana that definitely need help, and it’ll be greatly appreciated for anybody that can do whatever they can to help those people out in LaPlace and all those areas."