Saints on the move yet again

~ The NCAA women's volleyball tournament will keep the team out of the Alamodome.

SAN ANTONIO -- The one place the New Orleans Saints could call home during this hurricane-displaced season was the Alamodome.

And now that's about to change -- the NCAA takes over the Alamodome next week for its women's volleyball tournament.

The football team's locker room will move to a high school baseball field. The weight room will go into a tent on the field's parking lot. The front-office personnel will relocate to a city water works building.

"We've been doing this -- moving around -- all year," offensive guard Kendyl Jacox said. "So, at this point, nothing surprises me.

"This would be acceptable if I was in high school. As far as a professional team, no, it's not."

Saints officials knew this was coming when the team agreed to move its headquarters to San Antonio after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans three months ago. The NCAA event has been scheduled for more than a year, and it requires almost all the space in the Alamodome.

This is not the first time the Saints have had to shuffle because of another event in the Alamodome. A home builders exposition took over much of the dome for a week in October. A large house and other buildings were erected, and later torn down, inside the stadium.

But the players, who have frequently practiced at a high school field near the Alamodome, still could dress in the locker room, receive treatment in the trainer's room and lift weights in a large room across the hall.

Most of the moving will happen Monday. The Saints can't move back into the Alamodome until about two weeks before the end of the season. The NCAA has the dome for a week a half starting Dec. 8. The Saints have one more game in the Alamodome this season -- Dec. 24 against Detroit.

The Saints (3-8) will bus to their other practice site at the San Antonio School District Spring Sports Complex.

"NFL standards, huh?" kicker John Carney said. "We just know we're operating on a different playing field than our opponents. It's a challenge for us to overcome it."