Northwestern coach David Braun said Monday he didn’t intend to disrespect the city of New Orleans when the Wildcats denied Tulane’s request to wear white jerseys during Saturday’s game to honor the 2005 team that played in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Tulane wore plain green helmets with no decals to honor the team in its 23-3 victory, but the Green Wave wore green jerseys instead of the white ones the 2005 team wore in its opener. Northwestern wore its white road uniforms.
After the game, Tulane coach Jon Sumrall indicated he thought Northwestern’s decision to stick with its white uniforms was disrespectful.
At his weekly news conference Monday in Evanston, Braun told reporters he was caught off guard by Sumrall’s comments but also understood them. He left a message with Sumrall on Saturday night, and the two spoke Sunday.
“Understand where he’s coming from,” Braun said. “He did a great job of utilizing that to really motivate his team. They played inspired football.
“Ultimately the decision around that was certainly not a gesture of disrespect. I don’t pretend to understand what the city of New Orleans has been through. But what I can tell you is this university (and) myself have a tremendous amount of respect for the impact that Hurricane Katrina had on New Orleans and that region.”
A Northwestern source said the teams had agreed on which uniforms to wear well in advance of the game, but Tulane asked Aug. 17 to switch to its white jerseys. The source said such swaps are usually made months in advance, and given the short window of time for the Wildcats equipment staff to make the change, the request was denied.
Northwestern had made a similar request to an opponent in May to wear white uniforms at home and had it denied. NCAA rules state that visiting teams wear white jerseys unless both teams agree in writing before the season that the home team will wear white. Visiting teams also can ask for special exceptions for both teams to wear contrasting colored jerseys.
Braun said Monday that he, athletic director Mark Jackson and chief operating officer Pat Goss align on such decisions.
“It was certainly not a gesture of disrespect, but the timing of the request did impact our ability to honor the request,” Braun said.
Sumrall brought up the uniforms in his postgame news conference after Tulane ran away with the game, intercepting Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone four times and also forcing him to lose a fumble.
“That’s their prerogative, but when you show disrespect to the city of New Orleans, that’s what’s going to happen to you,” Sumrall said. “You’re going to run into a team like this. They had a chip on their shoulder. … We might have used that for a little bit of motivation to represent the city. So don’t disrespect New Orleans ever.”
Braun became emotional Monday when talking about a trip he and his Winona State teammates and coaches made to New Orleans in May 2006, when they “spent a week mucking houses and trying to do our small part in trying to help that community.”
“Seeing it firsthand was devastating,” Braun said. “The resiliency that New Orleans has shown, the toughness that they’ve shown, the community that has shown up the last two decades for that city to be where it is at today, certainly not a gesture of disrespect.
“Having a chance to return to New Orleans for the first time since that trip, I think where that city is at right now is a reflection of the people that call it home. It was good to have that opportunity to talk with Jon yesterday.”
Northwestern has a short turnaround after the opening loss and will host Western Illinois on Friday in Evanston.
