Written by Pete Thamel at SI.com
The satellite camp power struggle between Texas and LSU has swung back in the Tigers’ favor as of late Tuesday evening. After several developments, LSU appears to have successfully boxed Texas out of Louisiana. Texas was scheduled to participate in a satellite camp hosted by Division III Belhaven University, first in Baton Rouge and then later in Hammond, La., on Thursday. By late Tuesday evening, Belhaven head coach Hal Mumme said political pressure from LSU ultimately led to the camp being canceled.
Belhaven’s camp—originally slated for BREC Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge—appeared to be in danger early this week, as political pressure on a local high school coach threatened the stadium agreement. Belhaven coaches had linked up with Memorial Stadium officials, Mumme said, and agreed to pay them $500 for the use of the stadium to host the camp. But Louisiana political forces managed to end that planned camp. After Mumme signed the initial deal, he got a call from an assistant superintendent in Baton Rouge, who invoked a loophole in the paperwork that forced Belhaven to move the camp from BREC Memorial Stadium.
Mumme, the former coach at Kentucky, confirmed to Sports Illustrated early Tuesday evening that Belhaven then signed an agreement to host the camp at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond. The eleventh-hour change to Saint Thomas was welcomed because one of Mumme’s former players at Southeastern Louisiana, Hutch Gonzales, is the school’s head coach. But hours after that second agreement, school administrators in Hammond succumbed to pressure from LSU. Mumme said the canceled camp will cost cash-strapped Belhaven, which is located in Jackson, Miss., $5,000.
To continue reading this article, click here
