As the LSU Athletic Department continues to cope with the effects of Hurricane Gustav on athletic facilities and schedules, a new threat is on the horizon.Hurricane Ike made its way across Cuba on Monday and weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, but it is almost a certainty Ike will strengthen once it hits the Gulf, said Jay Grymes, University Agricultural Center climatologist.”The track of the storm — certainly between now, Friday and Saturday landfall — will probably change considerably,” Grymes said. Tracks of the storm show Ike heading west toward Texas. “Historically almost one of three storms end up outside of that cone,” Grymes said. “Even though the latest tracks in the latest hurricane center forecast has it pointed at Texas if you look at the cone, we are still in that cone.” The Athletic Department plans to hold Saturday’s game in Tiger Stadium but is making preparations to move the game to Dallas, Shreveport, Atlanta or New Orleans, depending on the trajectory of the storm.”By Wednesday, hopefully we’ll have a decision on where we’re going to play.” said Athletic Director Joe Alleva. “Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that Ike dissipates.” Other teams are making plans for Ike’s potential trip to Louisiana.LSU soccer coach Brian Lee said his team is preparing to play this weekend and will not make any adjustments to its normal routine unless the academic calendar is adjusted. “We have just had some tentative talks with some people in both directions,” Lee said. “Whether we have to go east or west, we‘ve got a tentative idea of where we might be able to stay out of harm’s way.” Hurricane Gustav forced the Tigers to cancel home games last weekend.   Lee said his team doesn’t plan to make up those two games.”We had a full 20 games scheduled,” he said. “Losing two games doesn’t hurt that much. Plenty of teams play 18.” The Tigers travel to Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday and host Houston on Sunday at the Soccer Complex. Lee said if these are canceled, his team would have to try to make up one of the missed games.The LSU volleyball team is practicing at the CAP Elite facility on Bluebonnet Boulevard while the PMAC is being used as a special needs medical facility. The Tigers will leave Thursday for the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, Neb.”God forbid Ike decides it’s gonna visit Louisiana over the weekend,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “We’ll probably be out of town anyway. We’ll adjust from there.”The team spent 10 days away from Baton Rouge during Gustav, including a stint in Memphis on its way home from the Creighton Tournament in Omaha, Neb.”The problem is the uncertainty,” Flory said. “You just don’t know where you’re going from one minute to the next.”She said the mental stress will be more difficult than the physical fatigue.”You can either chose to make that an excuse and a reason that you don’t reach your goals for the season, or you can choose to face the adversity,” Flory said. —-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]