An 18-day whirlwind: What it took for the LHSAA Prep Classic to kick off at NSU

NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State athletic director Greg Burke and his staff were excited, but nearly overwhelmed late last week as they continued preparations for the LHSAA Prep Classic, with nine games slated for Turpin Stadium over four days.

“Once we were notified by the LHSAA on Dec. 8 that it was coming to Natchitoches, it was on,” Burke said. “We still have an athletic department to run. But our staff and this community have rallied to do their best to make sure that every fan and every student who comes to our school has the best possible experience while they’re here. It may not be the Superdome, but we want all of them to say, ‘that was fantastic,’ when they leave here.”

COVID-19 issues made hosting the Classic at its traditional site in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome unfeasible. 

Burke believes the effort his staff has put into hosting the LHSAA Cross Country Championships for 30-plus years played into the LHSAA’s decision to award the community with its most prestigious postseason event.

The organization reached out to NSU officials five to six weeks ago to see if the university was interested. It helped that NSU’s football season won’t be held until the spring, so there would be no interference with a game or practices. 

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“It was very preliminary,” Burke said of the questioning. “But we told them that if they needed us, we would make it work.” 

When the LHSAA called, Burke asked to see the bullet points describing what NSU needed to follow to accommodate hosting the event. The NSU staff compiled potential expenses for things like security, ticket takers and cleaning crews then sent them to the LHSAA. 

“Initially, the championships were going to start Dec. 26, but we told them doing it the day after Christmas would be difficult,” Burke said. “It was moved to Sunday, Dec. 27 as the first day.”

Burke then received a call from LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine saying the event was headed to Natchitoches. 

“When we got the word, we had 18 days, including weekends, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, to get things done,” Burke said. 

All of the expenses required to put on the event – ticket sellers and takers, security, parking lot attendants, custodians – will be borne by the LHSAA, according to Burke. NSU will receive a share of ticket sales, while revenue from the grab-and-go concessions will go into the university’s main coffers. There’s also some potential revenue from a trio of VIP boxes about 26 rows up from the field in the stadium.

“We are leasing those to a number of the schools that have asked about them,” Burke said. “Those are some hard-dollar avenues for us.”

The soft dollars include getting hundreds of high school students who will eventually attend college somewhere, on your campus. 

“We have always said that if we can get a student or a student-athlete on our campus, we feel we can get them to attend college here,” Burke said. “The benefit of having young people on your campus is immeasurable.”

The economic impact of having families from 18 schools visit Natchitoches is also hard to measure. The period between Christmas and New Year doesn’t normally create a lot of tourism for the community, despite the popular Natchitoches Christmas lights.

“The esprit dé corps between our campus and this community is solid. And something like the Classic strengthens the bond,” Burke said. “And when you have 18 days to put it together, it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation.” 

NSU will have a team host for each of the visiting teams.

“We are rolling out the red carpet,” Burke said. “It’s a privilege to host the Prep Classic and we are laser focused on making sure the experience is second to none.”