Syracuse and Louisiana State have finalized an agreement for a home-and-home series, SU head coach Scott Shafer announced at Destiny USA on Wednesday.

The Tigers of the Southeastern Conference will come to the Carrier Dome on Sept. 26, 2015, and the Orange will travel to Tiger Stadium on Sept. 9, 2017.

“We talk to our kids about always stepping up to the plate and taking challenges,” Shafer said, “and the opportunity to see an (Atlantic Coast Conference) school take on an SEC opponent in the Dome in 2015 is what it’s all about.

“Life being short, bring it on.”

Syracuse has played elite programs at MetLife Stadium in each of the last two seasons, and Deputy Athletics Director Herman Frazier said that exposure helped lead to the LSU series. Frazier said discussions began more than a year ago, and an official contract has now been signed by both sides.

“I thought it was very, very important — and all of us did — to have the first game in the Dome,” Frazier said.

Syracuse and LSU have played twice before, both in postseason bowl games. The Tigers defeated the Orangemen 13-10 in the 1965 Sugar Bowl before it took the rematch 23-10 in 1989 the Hall of Fame Bowl.

SU quarterback Terrel Hunt said he learned the news of the series just before the current players were shown SU’s new uniforms Wednesday.

“That’s amazing,” Hunt said. “I was actually reading it right before I came down here. I was like, ‘That’s real.’”

The first meeting may only be two years away, but the hype for Syracuse-LSU begins now. And hopefully, Shafer said, it leads to more premier programs coming to the Dome.

Said Shafer: “I want our community to be excited about the fact that we’re not only playing the best of the best in our conference, but every couple years in the Dome we’re also going to play some of the best teams in the country.”

Published on April 16, 2014 at 5:46 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1