Sugar Bowl to Proceed Despite Louisiana AG’s Desire for Delay

The Sugar Bowl was postponed a full day following a deadly attack in the early hours of New Year’s Day on Bourbon Street on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, the Sugar Bowl announced a new schedule of pregame festivities beginning at noon, leading up to kickoff at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday—despite vocalized concerns from Louisiana’s attorney general.

The game, featuring a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup between Notre Dame and Georgia, was originally slated for 8:45 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day in the Caesars Superdome, but it was postponed after a white Ford pickup truck rammed through Bourbon Street early Wednesday, a popular tourist destination filled with partygoers celebrating the new year, killing at least 15 and injuring dozens.

On Wednesday night, Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill told NBC that she would’ve preferred the Sugar Bowl be delayed at least another day. “You know, it’s not my decision, but I would like to see it delayed at least another day,” she said. “If they asked my opinion, I would tell them that I think it was a wise decision to delay it at least a day.” But in its press release, the Sugar Bowl said that the game-time decision had been made in conjunction with federal, state, and local officials, as well as college football administrators. 

Front Office Sports has reached out to the attorney general’s office for clarification.

Sugar Bowl officials said in a press release Wednesday night that safety resources normally available for the game were preoccupied with the fallout from the attack, and that the postponement would “maintain the typical standards of a major event in the Caesars Superdome.”

The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terror, and said in a statement that it found the flag of ISIS, as well as several explosives. The driver, identified as 42-year-old U.S. citizen Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a shootout with police. Local officials also said that explosives had been placed throughout the French Quarter and that detonation specialists spent the day Wednesday sweeping the area—another potential reason for the game’s postponement.

Despite Murrill’s concerns, however, the game is on. 

On Wednesday night, photos and videos on social media showed the Georgia team leaving its hotel, boarding buses to a closed walk-through practice.

ESPN adjusted its schedule to accommodate the new kickoff time, by moving the entire game megacast to Thursday afternoon. As part of the shuffle, the Gator Bowl between Duke and Ole Miss, taking place in Jacksonville, will be postponed 30 minutes from 7:30 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET to accommodate the Sugar Bowl.

ESPN announced its full team will be available for the game, and a spokesperson told Front Office Sports on Wednesday that all talent and crew members were safe and accounted for following the attack. 

It’s still somewhat unclear what game day will look like on the ground, however.

Because of the postponement, fans would have had to stay at least one more night, purchasing extra hotel rooms and moving flight reservations. On social media, reports emerged Thursday morning of fans clad in both Georgia and Notre Dame gear at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, presumably choosing to skip the game altogether.

The Sugar Bowl made a thread on X/Twitter on Wednesday night with updates for game day, appearing to suggest all pregame festivities, like the “Tailgate Town” event outside the Superdome, would take place in addition to the matchup. 

The Sugar Bowl has not made announcements for specific enhanced security for game time, but CEO Jeff Hundley said Wednesday: “We have full faith and confidence in the governor and the mayor and all the federal, state, and local first responders. … Any time we have an event like the Sugar Bowl, public safety is paramount, and all parties involved agree that could only be achieved with a postponement. Now we will move ahead to take care of the details to make the Sugar Bowl the first-class, fun, and safe event that it has been for over 90 years.”

During a news conference Wednesday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry assured fans that the Sugar Bowl would be safe to attend—saying he knew because he would be there. “The facility is safer today than it was yesterday,” he told reporters.