Jeff Hundley had stood at attention for many national anthems in years prior and always felt pride when the bands played and the song was sung. But the 2025 Allstate Sugar Bowl was different. Much different.
 
It was Jan. 2, 2025, in the afternoon. Georgia and Notre Dame were about to square off in the 91st edition of the Sugar Bowl Classic in a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal contest.
 
But outside in the shadow of the Caesars Superdome there was still the memory – the eeriness – of what had taken place a day earlier. Tragedy struck New Orleans early New Year's Day around 3 a.m. when a terrorist went on a driving rampage on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring many more before being killed himself by law enforcement.
 
This was the backdrop of the Sugar Bowl, which was delayed a day because of the event that occurred just blocks away. Hundley, the Sugar Bowl Chief Executive Officer, took it in before the national anthem began with a heavy heart and tired eyelids.
 
But the time had come for kickoff. And Hundley, who, along with the Sugar Bowl Committee and staff and many others, was working on virtually no sleep in the last 40 hours. As he was on the field for the national anthem, however, he felt something he hadn't before in previous Sugar Bowl national anthems. It stirred him emotionally to tears; tears of pride for his country and the job done by all involved to get the game played, tears of sadness for the families of the victims killed and those injured in the attack, goose bumps as he heard the anthem played.
 
"The atmosphere in the stadium in the pregame was unlike anything I've ever been involved with," Hundley said. "You could feel the energy in the building. We had the moment of silence followed by a great national anthem. The entire stadium, Georgia fans and Notre Dame fans and neutral fans all chanting USA, USA.
 
"It made me feel good that we had done the right thing in waiting but that also it was fine to go on. The people there were ready for a football game. There was a unification of spirit in there that was just fabulous."
 
In the moments leading up to the national anthem and pregame activities, Sugar Bowl President Walter Becker, Jr. told his field committee this was a special time, as important as kickoff.
 
"It was an opportunity for us to show and remember the people killed and injured and to honor them," Becker said. "But it was also an opportunity to show them how resilient the Sugar Bowl is and how resilient New Orleans is. And it was an opportunity for us to maybe get our city out of this sadness. To help us turn the page."
 
When dawn arrived on New Year's Day 2025, many were waking up to news of the brutal attack. It hit Hundley hard. He was in his New Orleans hotel room, just coming out of the shower at about 4:45 a.m. when his wife alerted him to what had happened. He watched in horror the televised reports from the French Quarter. Then he quickly made his way to his Superdome office.
 
Between 6-6:30 a.m., he received a call from a Baton Rouge area number he didn't recognize. But he thought it was one he should take. It was Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.
 
"When I answered the caller asked, 'Jeff?'" Hundley said. "I said yes. He said, 'Jeff Landry.' He asked if I was in the office. Told me he'd be there in five minutes. He came in with his security staff and laid out what they knew at the time."
 
So began a day like no other in New Orleans' and the Sugar Bowl's history. Much was unknown at the time. Some IEDs had been found in other parts of the French Quarter. Were there more? Did the attacker have accomplices that were still at large? Were people safe?
 
Fairly early in the morning, Hundley and others realized the game would have to be postponed. Yes, for the anxiety of the unknown and because of law enforcement being stretched thin. But also, for the memory of those killed and injured.
 
Hundley said difficult decisions had to be made. But he got wise counsel from many people. Becker, a former federal prosecutor, had dealt for many years with law enforcement, the FBI, NOPD and others. He spoke the language which helped in crafting a solution.
 
"To make that decision, we knew that if we got more time that we could put the game on
safely and so we had those discussions," Landry said. "ESPN was great, the Sugar Bowl Committee was great, all of our partners, our federal partners, the FBI, everyone else was great.
 
"I think the one thing we have to remember is that we're Americans, we don't say no and we don't quit, and we don't give up. So instead of trying to find a way to get to 'no,' we tried to find a way to get to 'yes' and we found it."
 
Getting to yes was difficult. The dilemma was both teams wanted to play as soon as they could. This was the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff and the winner would meet Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9 in the semifinals. Penn State, however, had played on New Year's Eve, giving the team a two-day head start on preparation over the Sugar Bowl winner.
 
Hundley spent the morning talking with CFP Executive Director Rich Clark, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, the athletic directors of Georgia and Notre Dame, and others.
 
"As you can imagine, with the group that size there were varying opinions on whether or not to delay," Hundley said. "If we did delay, how long? It took a while for that to come together.
 
"We did the press conference early that afternoon announcing the delay. We had some back and forth on times when we would reschedule the game. We were trying to play it as soon as possible while still being safe. We were waiting for reinforcements on the law enforcement side that were coming in from out of town and out of state. We wanted to make sure to have a plan in place."
 
Finally, the decision was reached to play the game at 3 p.m. on Jan. 2. But the work certainly didn't end there. In fact, it got harder. And that's when the Sugar Bowl Committee and staff stepped up in a big way, Hundley said.
 
"I pulled the whole staff together in our board room and went around the horn to ask what the issues were, what had to happen to get people focused and crystalized on what we needed to take place to pull this off," Hundley said. "I closed the meeting with a quote from an old coach of mine who used to say sometimes you have to stand up and be counted. This is one of those times. To their credit, every member of the staff charged forward."
 
The Sugar Bowl Committee and staff had a laundry list of items to get through. Would the hotels be able to keep the teams another night? What logistical problems would be presented for the Superdome as it had another event scheduled to move in on Jan. 2? Would there be enough personnel in the Superdome to play the game? Many of those working in the Superdome have day jobs and were scheduled to be back to work on Jan. 2.
 
"The Dome staff – Doug Thornton, Evan Holmes and that group – did a great job of rallying their troops to make sure we had enough people here to pull off a first-rate playoff game," Hundley said. "Always in the back of our minds, we were very sad and empathetic for the victims and their families. But I'm also thinking about the Sugar Bowl's future and we needed to pull this off. We didn't want to show cracks in the armor."
 
Pull it off they did. Sugar Bowl officials were complimented by media, team participants, fans and others about how well the game came off. Notre Dame defeated Georgia then beat Penn State on Jan. 9 to move into the CFP National Championship.
 
"I think we handled it in extraordinary fashion," Becker said. "This is one of the biggest challenges the Sugar Bowl has faced in its 91-year history. It's the most unexpected challenge we've faced in 91 years. Katrina was a huge thing. But there were months to prepare an alternative plan. But in this one we had a 24-hour turnaround after a terrorist attack. The amount of stress and the challenge we faced was unparalleled in Sugar Bowl history."
 
President Joe Biden weighed in, commending New Orleans and the first responders.
 
"We're grateful to those brave first-responders who raced to save lives," Biden said. "I'm glad the (Sugar Bowl) game is back on but I'm not surprised, because the spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down. That's also true of the spirit of America. We just have to remember who we are – we're the United States of America and there's nothing, nothing, beyond our capacity when we do it together. God bless New Orleans and God protect our troops."
 
New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl have shown resiliency time and again. As Becker said, one of those times was during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm devastated New Orleans and the metro area and forced the Sugar Bowl game to be moved to Atlanta that season.
 
But the city and Sugar Bowl persevered. The Sugar Bowl remained in the college football hierarchy despite the challenges from Katrina and still does.
 
"We take what we do very seriously, and you want to do things right so you don't in any way jeopardize the organization's position in the college football hierarchy," Hundley said. "What happened this year on all levels from the state, the city, the Superdome, the Sugar Bowl Committee and staff, everybody in the game pulled it off and in so doing proved why New Orleans is the best major event city in the country."
 
Story by Trey Iles for www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.