Rick Dickson Quotations

Until 4 p.m. on Friday, ... we didn't know the answer if we could compete in our sports programs.

Until we get a sense of what the next step is, I really think this is a good outpost for us as far in terms of stability and trying to maintain some normalcy.

We're going to line up some professionals -- counselors. The reality is just setting in for all of us. We didn't have the benefit of looking from the outside in. They're still absorbing everything that did happen. There will finally be some realization of what happened -- as it's been described to us, the worst disaster in our country's history.

We're still absorbing everything that did happen. The worst national disaster in our country's history, and you're part of it.

We want to represent Tulane everywhere; our goal is to give hope to everyone, ... If we do that, and do it with dignity and serve the greater purpose, it'd be the greatest victory any of us had ever been a part of.

I can't say enough about the tremendous outpouring of support we have received from every single person we have spoken to over the last several days. Our priority was to continue to provide a high quality academic and athletic experience for our athletes. This plan could not have come together without their help.

We're pleased that our Green Wave teams will be able to continue to compete and proudly represent Tulane University and the city of New Orleans during the fall semester. We have received a tremendous amount of support already from our Conference USA family and from athletics programs around the country. This collaborative effort to put Tulane University teams on the fields of play this fall is unprecedented.

Our preference is to first identify a home away from home venue for our football team. The possibilities, there are more than a handful right now. We haven't weighed in on any of them at this point, and we haven't ruled any of them out.

Our first preference is to first identify a home away from home venue for our football team.

Our community needs hope. Our student-athletes represent hope for them. They will carry the torch and be the face, and display the name of Tulane University and the New Orleans community until we are able to come home and do that on our own campus.

Logistics have not even been tackled. The first priority between now and next week is to make a decision of where to place the team and to get them in class.

We have tried to create a stable environment. There were tough circumstances in Jackson. Here we knew we would have the (Conference USA) conference office that could communicate for us. (Wednesday) we struggled just to communicate with people without land lines. The (conference) was able to pro-actively set things up for us.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of experience in dealing with these situations.

What we're trying to accomplish in all of this is, when possible, we'd like to play in-state, around our fans. And we look at where the opponents are and see which site makes sense, because there is also a financial aspect in all of this.

We've played homecoming games there, ... so it would have to be explored. Much would depend on how it came out of the flooding.

Somebody said it was a week ago Sunday this all began, ... It seems like many years ago.

A number of schools and athletic directors have stepped up and gone above and beyond more than anything I have experienced. We will never be able to express the amount of appreciation we have.

This is the first step and a significant event in the healing process for Tulane athletics, our university, our city and those affected in the Gulf South.

They are built like bomb shelters. They are providing a safe haven.

This logo embodies our current focus. We said from the beginning that traditional scorecards are out the window as far as Tulane athletics is concerned this year. This is our goal, to get back in the game, to persevere and to accomplish this mission of representing our university and our community.

It just made the most sense, based on availability. We know that many of our fans have relocated along the I-10 corridor from Baton Rouge to Houston, and, with its central location in that region, Lafayette will be a great site.

It looks as though Fogelman may have dodged a serious bullet,

Then, we'll put the logistics of the athletic piece together next.

That's absolutely something we think about all the time, ... Everyday, we keep in mind that we're representing (Tulane).

These Tulane student-athletes are visiting students at Louisiana Tech and will be held accountable by both institutions for their actions, ... Both institutions set high standards of behavior for their students, and the high expectations and standards of both universities will serve as a guideline for us in dealing with this matter.

That's beyond the first phase of this, ... We're trying to make certain everyone is in safe harbor.

The cooperation with all of these schools has been outstanding. We never forget these young men and women were student-athletes, and we did the best job we could in accomplishing this under difficult circumstances. It was something made easier by the way the schools involved accepted our people.

I have shared with our coaches that Tulane athletics has been given a role and a mission, ... We have to carry the message, to Tulanians especially, but also to the whole country, that an institution as valuable as a 170-year-old university and a culture as rich and vibrant as ours in New Orleans, will not and cannot be erased by this disaster.

In the end, this is probably the best scenario, to return students to as normal a campus setting and experience as we could.

The conference gave us a chance to put a plan together. It's remarkable we haven't lost anything yet.

We're going to line up some professionals - counselors. The reality is just setting in for all of us. We didn't have the benefit of looking from the outside in. They're still absorbing everything that did happen. There will finally be some realization of what happened - as it's been described to us, the worst disaster in our country's history.