Tulane exited Yulman Stadium on the opposite side of the field than normal today because they were headed to the new 18-wheeler equipment truck parked next to the practice field. The entire team stood in front of it for a series of group pictures, with beaming athletic director Troy Dannen watching.
In the past, Tulane had to pack all of its equipment in the belly of the plane on road trips and then rent a U-Haul when it arrived to take the equipment to the team hotel. Now the Green Wave has joined the modern era, keeping up with the Who's Who in college football.
The process began last fall when Dannen asked associate athletic director for business and operations Chris Maitre to "find an equipment semi like every other program has." Maitre spent about six months working on the project before settling on a brand new 18-wheeler from a Tampa company.
The truck had the Angry Wave insignia on the side of the cab. The trailer is painted green with capital white letters Green Wave and a picture of Yulman Stadium in the middle of the two words.
"We worked on the design late last spring," Yulman said. "It's a brand new semi and a brand new trailer."
Dannen said having the 18-wheeler would make getting in and out quicker because they won't have load and unload the team plane. A few seats on the plane will be freed up because more of the equipment staff will be able to travel in the truck. The time saved will make a difference.
"It might have meant an extra hour," Dannen said. "But when you're playing a game at 7 and get to the airport at midnight, it's an extra hour you'd like to keep."
Willie Fritz has never been at a program that had its own truck to haul equipment.
"It's awesome, isn't it?" he said. "This is kind of the deal a little bit with Division I football. It's kind of neat when we see all these other teams come in here with these big old 18-wheelers, and now we've got one. It's great advertising for Tulane and our athletic department. I think they are going to put our web site on the back of it. That cab is going to be on the road all the time year-round, so people will see that, too. It's great advertising for Tulane University football program in particular. It's first class."
Tulane no longer will have to unload and load the equipment between games. Some of the stuff will stay in the trailer all the time, helping with time management and wear and tear.
"I've driven the equipment truck a lot (when he coached at Blinn College in the 1990s), but it didn't look like that," Fritz said.
In the past, Tulane had to pack all of its equipment in the belly of the plane on road trips and then rent a U-Haul when it arrived to take the equipment to the team hotel. Now the Green Wave has joined the modern era, keeping up with the Who's Who in college football.
The process began last fall when Dannen asked associate athletic director for business and operations Chris Maitre to "find an equipment semi like every other program has." Maitre spent about six months working on the project before settling on a brand new 18-wheeler from a Tampa company.
The truck had the Angry Wave insignia on the side of the cab. The trailer is painted green with capital white letters Green Wave and a picture of Yulman Stadium in the middle of the two words.
"We worked on the design late last spring," Yulman said. "It's a brand new semi and a brand new trailer."
Dannen said having the 18-wheeler would make getting in and out quicker because they won't have load and unload the team plane. A few seats on the plane will be freed up because more of the equipment staff will be able to travel in the truck. The time saved will make a difference.
"It might have meant an extra hour," Dannen said. "But when you're playing a game at 7 and get to the airport at midnight, it's an extra hour you'd like to keep."
Willie Fritz has never been at a program that had its own truck to haul equipment.
"It's awesome, isn't it?" he said. "This is kind of the deal a little bit with Division I football. It's kind of neat when we see all these other teams come in here with these big old 18-wheelers, and now we've got one. It's great advertising for Tulane and our athletic department. I think they are going to put our web site on the back of it. That cab is going to be on the road all the time year-round, so people will see that, too. It's great advertising for Tulane University football program in particular. It's first class."
Tulane no longer will have to unload and load the equipment between games. Some of the stuff will stay in the trailer all the time, helping with time management and wear and tear.
"I've driven the equipment truck a lot (when he coached at Blinn College in the 1990s), but it didn't look like that," Fritz said.
