Despite finals and rain, Tulane campus is abuzz ahead of ACC football game: ‘a magical moment’
Students walk in the rain with umbrellas the day before the championship football game on Tulane campus in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Staff photo by Enan Chediak, The Times-Picayune)
On Friday afternoon, Tulane freshman Henry Gammel plans to take his psychology final exam then rush to Yulman Stadium to watch Tulane’s football team compete for the American Conference Championship title.
“People are definitely excited,” Gammel said as he picked up a Tulane-branded raincoat from the campus bookstore Thursday afternoon. “It’s a really big game for us. Pressure’s on.”
Upcoming final exams and forecasted torrential rain didn’t put a damper on Tulane University’s Uptown campus this week, where students buzzed with excitement ahead of Friday’s game against North Texas University. This year marks the Green Wave’s fourth straight year playing for the conference title.
Win this game and Tulane will almost certainly have a spot in the College Football Playoffs for the first time in program history under the new 12-team playoff system.
“It’s sort of a magical moment for Tulane,” said university President Mike Fitts. “It’s unprecedented in our history.”
On Thursday, the campus library was crowded with students hunkering down ahead of finals week, which begins Monday. But many said they planned to forgo their studies for a few hours and treat Friday night’s game as a much-needed study break.
“Finals are probably the most forefront on people’s minds,” said Alexa Trapani, a fifth-year architecture student. “But everyone’s really excited about this game because it does mean so much.”
Tulane student Colin Perret holds up a rain jacket that he plans to buy from the bookstore on campus in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025 for the championship football game the next day. Perret and his two friends said that they try to attend every football game and were excited for the big game the next day, despite the forecasted rain. (Staff photo by Enan Chediak, The Times-Picayune)
United by football
Fitts said when he took the helm of the university more than a decade ago, football games were sparsely attended.
But as the team has improved in recent years, more students – and locals – have come to cheer them on. Last Saturday’s game against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte was almost sold out, despite most students being away for Thanksgiving break. Most attendees were New Orleanian fans, Fitts said.
“There are a few things that can bring a community together like sports — like football — and I think everybody is deeply energized and happy about this,” Fitts said.
Fitts makes a point to stop by the student section at most games and “make a fool of myself,” as he put it, leading a “Roll Wave” cheer, slapping hands and hyping up the crowd.
There are 4,000 free student tickets for home games, Fitts said, and if they run out students can purchase general admission tickets.
Trapani said she’s seen football culture at Tulane evolve over the last five years.
“It’s become more and more of a thing every season,” she said.
Some students thought Friday’s game should put an end to the debate over whether Tulane could be considered a “football school.”
“If we win tomorrow, we’re officially a football school,” said Luke Broussard, a senior from Lafayette who was working a shift in the undergraduate student admissions office Thursday morning.
He noted that on recent trips home, in addition to the usual chatter about LSU football, his relatives have started asking about Tulane’s team.
Jack Randman, a junior from Cincinnati, said he wasn’t deterred by the rainy forecast. He has a final scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, after which he plans to tailgate and head to the game an hour early to snag his ticket.
“I’m going either way,” he said. “I think the rain might help us.”
