BATON ROUGE (AP) &045; LSU postponed its scheduled football game Saturday night against North Texas because of Hurricane Katrina.

&uot;The events of yesterday and this morning have made it clear that this is not the time to play a football game,&uot; LSU athletic director Skip Bertman said Tuesday. &uot;This is a dire situation that rivals any in the history of our state, and our priorities are on participating in recovery efforts.&uot;

LSU has canceled classes until Sept. 6.

&uot;The scope of this tragedy is becoming more evident as time passes, and LSU’s focus is on assisting in the recovery effort of our state,&uot; LSU chancellor Sean O’Keefe said. &uot;LSU is a primary evacuation site and we are not going to conduct any activities that could deter from our mission of assisting in the recovery mission.&uot;

LSU’s Carl Maddox Field House is being used a Special Needs Shelter, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center has been designated as a triage unit for medical emergencies, and the Bernie Moore Track will be used as a helicopter landing site.

The school hoped to announce the date for the postponed game in the next two to three days. LSU is ranked fifth in the country.

Also, the Tulane-Southern Mississippi game scheduled for Sunday in Hattiesburg has been moved to the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

&uot;We have been in contact with the administrators for both universities and we all agree that the focus of our attention should be on the continued safety of the student-athletes, coaches and the lives of those affected by this storm,&uot; Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said. &uot;Playing a football game is not our highest priority at this time.&uot;

Tulane’s football and women’s soccer teams fled New Orleans on Sunday, making a 9 1/2-hour bus ride to Jackson. They’ve been practicing at Jackson State.

In other changes, Nicholls State’s game at Utah State on Saturday has been canceled. Nicholls State is located in Thibodaux, La.

Also, Southern’s game Saturday at McNeese State in Lake Charles, La., has been canceled, and Jacksonville’s game Thursday night at Hammond has been postponed indefinitely.

Alcorn State athletic officials may make a decision today whether or not to play Saturday’s season opener against Grambling as scheduled.

Alcorn athletic director Robert Raines said Tuesday evening the majority of the campus remains without power and in-state students may be sent home.

&uot;We are hopeful by tomorrow &045; and I think this is being very optimistic &045; we’ll have electricity to the institution,&uot; Raines said.

&uot;Right now there is no electricity other than the cafeteria and the head administration building. I’ve been told the water supply may be diminished by the end of the day.&uot;