Sadly, tradition is a thing of the past.
This season, LSU will not play a Southeastern Conference home game at night for the first time since 1935.
A streak of 76 consecutive seasons with at least one conference kickoff after dark is officially coming to an end with Monday’s announcement that LSU’s game against Auburn will start at 2:30 p.m., courtesy of CBS.
The Tigers have no say-so in what happens; they just have to roll with the punches.
But SEC commissioner Mike Slive could go to bat for one of his programs.
No one that has any stake in the LSU football program — be it player, coach, staff, fan, or media — is happy about the announcement.
Night games are what give LSU football a magical lore. No team in the country is more associated with playing at a certain time of day than LSU and the evening.
The Earthquake Game, Halloween 1959, the night No. 1 went down, five fourth-down conversions against Florida and Byrd’s miracle catch against Auburn were all night games.
It’s more than the heart-stopping endings that seem to occur after sunset. Night games are a way of life for LSU fans.
But LSU has its hands bound this time.
The Tigers are the No. 1 team in the country and have been leaving opponents in dire straits with a take-no-prisoners mentality. They’re an easy sell to television executives.
Also, don’t forget to mention the 15-year, $55 million deal the SEC signed with CBS in 2008, according to sportsbusinessdaily.com. The contract gives CBS the right to pick one game of its choice every weekend, one primetime game during the season and two doubleheader weekends, one of which is Thanksgiving weekend.
This season, CBS chose to use its primetime game and other doubleheader weekend on Oct. 1, with Alabama facing Florida in the primetime and Auburn playing South Carolina that afternoon.
Slive certainly can’t force CBS to let LSU play its home games in peace  — in the dark — but he can help.
Another game on the Oct. 22 docket is the matchup known simply as “Third Saturday in