LSU and Florida will reschedule their canceled Oct. 8 meeting to Nov. 19 at Tiger Stadium, the Southeastern Conference announced Thursday afternoon.
A kickoff time has not been decided, but the teams will play before 2:30 p.m., according to a Florida press release.
“We made this decision to play the game in Baton Rouge,” Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “The conference office asked us to find a solution in working with LSU, yet LSU was never a true partner in our discussions. The Southeastern Conference offered some other solutions, and the LSU administration made it clear that they were unwilling to consider other reasonable options.”
LSU and Florida will buyout both of their scheduled opponents — Presbyterian and South Alabama, respectively — and attempt to play each other.
Earlier in the week, LSU athletic Director Joe Alleva said the Tigers would not give up their home game on Nov. 19. As part of the agreement, LSU will travel to Florida for games in 2017 and 2018.
Foley said LSU President F. King Alexander was on conference calls throughout the week between Foley and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
“It became apparent that it was going to be a difficult negotiation,” Foley said.
LSU was able to keep its open date before Alabama, but will close out the season playing five-straight SEC games.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said he heard the news around 4 p.m., a few minutes before practice, but withheld the information from the team.
“I think it’s going to be fun,” Orgeron said. “It’s going to be an exciting night in Tiger Stadium … There has been a lot of stuff said back and forth, so it just puts the rivalry a little bit higher.”
Tickets bought from LSU’s originally scheduled matchup on Oct. 8 will be valid on Nov. 19. Prices for game tickets have not been announced. Parking passes and tickets that were originally purchased for LSU’s game against South Alabama will be valid.
“It was important for us to come to a resolution,” Sankey said in a statement. “As I have repeatedly said, this game needed to be played. In the end, I want to give credit to the University of Florida for making concessions to move this year’s game to Baton Rouge.”