Dear SEC Fans,

I would like to take this opportunity to shed some light on the LSU / Florida scheduling issues. There are some important items that were not discussed in public.

Virtually all hotel rooms in Gainesville, at economy hotel locations, were expected to be occupied from Thursday through Tuesday with evacuees. This meant nicer accommodations were beginning to fill up. Locations such as the Hilton informed us they would be obligated to provide rooms on a first-arrived basis. Additionally, they projected they would be understaffed and potentially short on supplies such as food for their dining areas. In short, there was a great risk that LSU's squad would have faced difficulties that were, quite frankly, unfair.

First responders in our area were obligated to respond to issues related to Hurricane Matthew. We found it unethical to put attending fans, players, and staffs at risk of not receiving adequate levels of security and medical care.

Our composite risk assessment indicated that postponement was the most prudent move.

We were very sympathetic to LSU's concerns about missing a home game. We are well aware of the fiscal constraints and budgetary shortfalls within the state of Louisiana. However, it's very important to understand that due to the hurricane, the Univ. of Fla. and the city of Gainesville were already going to miss a home game and the attendant revenue. To miss two home games means a decrease in annual revenue of approximately 20% for many local businesses.

After the postponement, LSU, through Athletic Director Joe Alleva, made it clear that under no circumstance would LSU travel to Gainesville in November. The SEC Commissioner informed both schools that if the game was not played, neither school would be eligible for the SEC Conference Championship game. Also, both schools were informed that if the game was not played because LSU refused to travel, the game would be considered cancelled, not forfeited.

We at the Univ. of Fla made the decision to play the game in Baton Rouge knowing that a victory would secure the SEC Eastern Division Championship, and that additional revenue would be generated as a result. While that revenue cannot make up the loss to local businesses, it can help offset that loss. And, of course, we wanted to give our players and coaches the opportunity to win a championship.

Our players, coaches, and staff were made aware of this decision. As a result, what we witnessed this past weekend was a Florida Gator Football Team that put together a tremendous performance on behalf of the University and the local community, as well as themselves.

I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some background that many fans were not aware of. Quite frankly, LSU should not have refused to play the game in Gainesville. The SEC Commissioner was prepared to make every effort possible to insure both schools did not suffer financial setbacks for a lost home game. However, the conference was not in a position to make up for two lost home games and the local revenue for the city of Gainesville. And, yes, this did create some negativity and ill feelings between the administrations in each school. However, the game is over and we are hopeful the extra revenue over the next two years, as well as that from winning a championship, prevents our local community from suffering unrecoverable damage due to this situation. As Gators and SEC members, we will continue to cheer for our fellow SEC members and I wish both schools much success.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Foley