The Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game, set to take place on New Year's Day, has been postponed after a deadly attack in New Orleans left at least 10 people dead and dozens more injured.
Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a news conference that the playoff quarterfinal between Georgia and Notre Dame would be delayed to Thursday.
The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs will take on the No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish at an early kick-off time of 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT).
"Public safety is paramount," Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said at a media briefing alongside federal, state and local officials, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. "All parties all agree that it's in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours."
The Superdome, which will host the game Thursday afternoon, had been on lockdown early New Year's Day for security sweeps after a truck plowed into a New Year's crowd about a mile away.
The casualties occurred when a driver rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day. The driver was killed in a firefight with police following the attack at about 3:15 a.m. along Bourbon Street near Canal Street, the FBI said.
"We live in the fun and games world with what we do, but we certainly recognize the importance of this and support [public safety efforts] 100%," Hundley said.
NCAAF
The 2025 Sugar Bowl originally was scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m. local time (8:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. PT) Wednesday.
The Georgia and Notre Dame football teams arrived in New Orleans on Sunday and have been staying at downtown hotels just blocks away from where the violence occurred.
The Superdome, which is about 20 blocks away, also is scheduled to host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
Notre Dame said they were "working with law enforcement and others to determine the full scope and impact of the tragedy," In a statement Wednesday morning.
"We ask our fans to join us in prayer for those injured and lost in this senseless act of violence. Those staying at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel are welcome to join us for the previously scheduled Mass there at 11 a.m. Otherwise, we ask that you join us in prayer from wherever you are," the university wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
We ask our fans to join us in prayer for those injured and lost in this senseless act of violence. Those staying at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel are welcome to join us for the previously scheduled Mass there at 11 a.m. Otherwise, we ask that you join us in prayer from…
— University of Notre Dame (@NotreDame) January 1, 2025
The attack, which the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism, occurred on Bourbon Street, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties.
The driver was killed in a firefight with police, the FBI said.
At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell also described the killings as a “terrorist attack” and the city’s police chief said the act was clearly intentional.
New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did.”
“It was very intentional behavior. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” Kirkpatrick said.
