LSU makes push to assure Rose Bowl that Tigers fans gladly will make trip
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
By James Varney
BATON ROUGE -- LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman vowed Tuesday that the department will pay any price and bear any burden to play in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

A chartered plane at roughly $200,000 for the team? Done. Two more for the full band and cheerleaders? Done. Beverly Hills hotel rooms? Book 'em.

"It's expensive, but it doesn't matter. Whatever it costs, it's worth it," Bertman said. "To play in the granddaddy of them all, at 4 p.m. on New Year's Day, against Michigan -- it would be a dream come true."

To realize that dream, the LSU Alumni Association and the Tiger Athletic Foundation are mounting a nationwide ticket-sales campaign. The goal: Show the Rose Bowl committee that, while LSU might lack the name recognition or coast-to-coast fan base of, say, Notre Dame, it is nevertheless a team with a following, a school that will represent.

The pitch from school officials to anyone considering joining LSU on what would be its maiden voyage to Pasadena, Calif., is a straight one.

"Our assumption is this will be as valuable as any ticket in the history of LSU athletics," Bertman said. "I don't want to not be picked by the Rose Bowl because they don't think we can sell enough tickets. I want to make sure they don't think people in the South don't support their team."

Whether Michigan (11-1) or LSU (10-2) garners a Rose Bowl invitation remains unknown, and the Wolverines are in the unprecedented position of hoping they don't. Two games Saturday will clear the uncertainty before Sunday's announcements: Florida (11-1) and Arkansas (10-2) meet in the Southeastern Conference championship game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and Southern California (10-1, 7-1) closes against cross-town rival UCLA in a Pacific-10 matchup.

Should the Bruins (6-5, 4-4) upset the Trojans, Michigan would prefer a rematch with Ohio State (12-0) in the national championship game, although, in theory, Florida could get that nod if the Gators defeat the Razorbacks.

Regardless of those outcomes, however, LSU believes it has earned a Bowl Championship Series appearance, and school officials aren't being coy about it. Bertman and others said they are in full sales mode with the Rose and Orange bowl committees, the two BCS games for which the Tigers -- No. 5 in the BCS rankings -- are in the running.

At first, LSU Coach Les Miles declined to state a bowl preference, but eventually he conceded he and the players want the purple and gold at the Rose. He believes the Tigers have proved themselves worthy on the field.

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We should schedule them home and home (ND)....oh wait they dont want to play till at least 2019....i forgot

Well, this plan beats the hell out of the one He had last year.

you forgot the salvation army