LSU has become more experienced in dealing with disasters this year than anyone could’ve expected.Hurricane Gustav, which hit Baton Rouge on Sept. 1, and the March 26 severe weather left lasting impressions on many facilities on campus, which sustained a combined $44 million in damage, according to University estimates.Tiger Stadium suffered damage during Gustav on its west side awnings over Stadium Club seating and glass coverings, and the north end zone scoreboard was also damaged. Other athletic facilities that endured roof damage include the football indoor practice facility, LSU Natatorium, Carl Maddox Field House and the Tiger Park construction site. The LSU Soccer Complex press box was also ruined.LSU Sports Information Director Michael Bonnette said the damage was unprecedented among the athletic facilities.”It’s unbelievable,” Bonnette said. “I’ve been around a long time and never seen damage like this before. We have tremendous resources and great people, and we’ll come through this.”The University Student Recreational Complex also had severe damage to its roof and basketball courts.Besides facility damage during Gustav, the LSU football team was forced to postpone its Sept. 6 game against Troy to Nov. 15. The Tigers also moved their opener against Appalachian State to 10 a.m. on Aug. 30 to accommodate the evacuation of Baton Rouge residents.While the football team took cover in Baton Rouge, other athletic teams were scattered across the continent in the wake of Gustav. The women’s basketball team took refuge in Vancouver, British Columbia, after playing in the Labor Day Canadian Tour, and the volleyball and soccer teams remained in Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago, respectively.Junior midfielder Michelle Makasini said the soccer team was in shock of the storm coverage they saw on TV in Chicago.”We’re watching CNN constantly, and it’s just depressing,” Makasini said from Chicago. “Sometimes we just have to change the channel because we’re wondering what we’re going to come home to.”All told, the cost of damages from Gustav totaled $40 million. The hard-hitting storm that struck Baton Rouge on March 26 — with peak wind speeds of 67 mph at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport — brought on about $4 million more in damage costs. Most notably, the football indoor practice facility was again afflicted with more than $1.4 million in damage, including “about 35 percent” of the roof suffering wreckage, Bonnette said.”That facility has been there for many, many hurricanes and has been able to withstand those types of storms,” Bonnette said. “This is the worst I’ve seen it.”The damages left by the inclement weather were something Paul Favaloro, director of the Office of Facility Resources, said the University hadn’t experienced twice in one academic year in his entire 17 years here.”It’s unusual for a storm of either [Hurricane] Gustav or this storm’s caliber to come through,” Favaloro said. “Much less in one fiscal year.” LSU spring football practice was forced indoors the day after the storm as the team prepared for a weekend scrimmage.The bleachers in the LSU Soccer Complex completely blew over, and the newly completed projects of Alex Box Stadium and Tiger Park, which opened in late February, both sustained damage to their outfield fences. A softball doubleheader was canceled, but the baseball weekend series against Ole Miss went on as scheduled.Eddie Nunez, associate athletic director of operations and development, said the main initial goal was to temporarily fix each facility, but the repair process was “long” and often “frustrating.””Going through the University System, we have to get an architect, and we have to get a contractor involved, so it’s a more lengthy process,” Nunez said.WAFB Chief Meteorologist Jay Grymes called the storm part of “pretty powerful squall lines,” and he said it was possible a tornado hit the campus.Favaloro said whatever the storm actually was, it certainly left its mark on a campus that had grown far too accustomed to coping with natural disasters.”Whatever it was that came through here left a trail,” Favaloro said. “Whether it be tress, buildings or what. Whatever the storm was, it certainly left its trail.”——Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]