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Clouds pass over Tiger Stadium on March 20, 2023, on Louisiana State Universitys campus in Baton Rouge.
(Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) LSU President Wade Rousse and Gov.
Jeff Landry are co-hosting an event for LSU athletics top donors at the governors mansion next month on the financial future of the athletic department.
The event will occur the first week of August and is not a fundraiser, according to an email to the donors from Tiger Athletic Foundation leader Matt Borman.
Attendees will get a first look at an alternative revenue generating opportunity for LSU athletics that is first of its kind nationally and could quite possibly change the future of college sports in America, according to the email.
Landry spokeswoman Kate Kelly declined to comment Thursday.
Landry has been heavily involved in LSU and its athletics department, including playing a key role in the hiring of Rousse, football coach Lane Kiffin and mens basketball coach Will Wade.
Bormans email said that the LSU athletics budget currently looks unsustainable.
A report earlier this year from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor revealed LSU athletics profit margin for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2025 was just $28,604.
In the previous budget cycle, it lost more than $800,000.
LSU sports is barely in the black, with uncertain financial times ahead In a recent interview , Rousse said he planned for LSU athletics to not only become profitable, but to be profitable enough it could resume giving money back to the academic side of the university.
For several years, LSU athletics did contribute financially to academic programming, but former athletics director Scott Woodward ended that practice when he was hired in 2019.
Landry helped push Woodard out of his job last year.
The fiscal year ending June 30 was the first under new revenue-sharing rules.
The NCAA now requires Division I schools to distribute up to 22% of their sports income to their student athletes annually, which comes to about $20.5 million for top-earning programs like LSUs.
The financial reports for the most recent financial year have not yet been released, but adding a $20.5 million expense on top increased spending on coaches could exacerbate LSUs already difficult budget situation in athletics.
The meager surplus for LSU sports last year came as every other department on campus has gotten used to lean budgets.
Last fall, the university mandated a 2% reduction campuswide, but athletics was not subject to the new money-saving measures.
LSU also recently laid off a slew of employees , including its chief financial officer, in what was described as a cost-saving measure.
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