Athletic director Joe Alleva wrote LSU fans a letter via the athletic department’s website Monday. Alleva touches on school teams helping with flood victims, student-athletes who competed in the Olympics and the football team’s week one game against Wisconsin.

Here’s the letter:

Dear Tiger Fan,

The historic flooding that has devastated our region has left many residents without homes and facing a challenging road to recovery. Not surprisingly, the spirit of the people of Louisiana remains resolute as we all work together to make our state whole again.

I’m proud to say that over the past week LSU coaches and student-athletes have been very active in our community, helping those in need by cleaning out damaged houses and offering comforting words of encouragement to families affected by this catastrophic event.

Our department plays a very critical role in this time of instability and uncertainty for so many people. An athletic event on the LSU campus can have a healing effect upon a wounded society, so as the Tigers begin competing this fall, we look forward to putting smiles on the faces of those who are in the process of restoring their lives.

OLYMPIC GLORY
Congratulations to the 15 current and former LSU student-athletes that competed in the Olympic Games in Rio. These outstanding young men and women represented our university on the world’s biggest athletic stage, and they are to be commended for their exemplary efforts.

Four of our Tigers earned medals in Rio, including women’s basketball players Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles of the United States, who each claimed their third consecutive Olympic gold medal. Fitzroy Dunkley of Jamaica won a silver medal in the men’s 4 x 400 meter track and field relay, and Allysha Chapman of Canada captured a bronze medal in women’s soccer.

The Olympic triumphs of these LSU Tigers are a testament to their tremendous character, talent and discipline, and they have brought distinction to our university through their achievements.

GEAUX CLEAR
As you know, we’re less than two weeks away from the football season opener against Wisconsin in Green Bay, and LSU will play its home opener on September 10 in Tiger Stadium versus Jacksonville State.

As you prepare for the September 10 home game, please be aware that LSU has implemented a new clear bag policy for all of our athletic venues. Our university is committed to providing a safe environment on campus at all times, and the clear bag policy will promote stronger security and more efficiency in entering the stadium.

The new LSU policy is consistent with what the NFL and other professional organizations have done for the past several years. The policy is also in line with the procedures other SEC schools are employing this season.

I’m sure you have questions about the specifics of the policy, so for more information, I encourage you to visitwww.LSUsports.net/GeauxClear. There you will find the clear bag regulations and other Tiger Stadium information that may be helpful.

ON TO WISCONSIN
We’re looking forward to being in Green Bay next month to kick off the football season, and we hope to see many of you there as we celebrate the virtues of college athletics in a grand setting.  The Tigers, ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the Coaches’ Poll, will have the chance to make an early impression upon the national gridiron landscape with a very tough test against the Wisconsin Badgers.

We hope the game in Green Bay creates the momentum for what will be a superb 2016-17 LSU athletic season! Again, thank you for your remarkable support and for allowing our student-athletes and coaches to compete at an elite level.

Continued best wishes to all engaged in the recovery from the flooding. Your strength and compassion are inspirations to everyone, and please know that LSU will remain vigilant in its mission to serve the people of Louisiana.

As always, we welcome your comments at athletics@lsu.edu. Unfortunately we cannot answer every e-mail we receive, but please be assured they are all read.

Geaux Tigers!

Joe Alleva
Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics