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Northwestern State’s Sept. 25 Southland Conference football game at Southeastern has been moved because of damage from Hurricane Ida.

The Demons now will travel to Hammond to face the Lions on Nov. 13 as both schools announced Wednesday.

“The NSU family is empathetic to its sister University of Louisiana System institutions and fellow Southland Conference members (Southeastern Louisiana, Nicholls, and University of New Orleans) that have been severely impacted by Hurricane Ida,” NSU Director of Athletics Greg Burke said. “In addition to relief efforts to assist those universities which are already in motion on our campus, the opportunity for our athletic program to adjust its football schedule and accommodate Southeastern Louisiana during its recovery period is something we are glad to do.”

Added head coach Brad Laird: “Rearranging our football schedule is minor in contrast to what so many in South Louisiana are experiencing in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Both Greg and I have friends on the Southeastern staff and in the Southeastern athletic department, which makes our ability to make this change happen even more meaningful.”

The field at Strawberry Stadium suffered enough damage from Ida, a category 4 hurricane, to render it unplayable for the originally scheduled date. The teams both had Nov. 13 as an open date and made the decision to shift the game to that date.

Northwestern State now will have Sept. 25 as its open date and will finish the season with eight games in as many weeks.

The teams also will meet in Natchitoches on Oct. 23 for Northwestern State’s homecoming game.