LSU concludes informational meetings with top donors about a proposed sports funding plan

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU completed a series of two meetings with top donors on Wednesday night to outline what university President Wade Rousse has billed as a “first of its kind” revenue-generating proposal for athletics.

The meetings hosted by Gov. Jeff Landry at the governor's mansion outlined the potential creation of an LSU-controlled limited liability corporation that could generate sustained revenues through targeted investments, a person familiar with the matter said.

The person spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public and is still being refined, as well as being reviewed by legal and tax analysts.

The plan attempts to address the growing costs of sponsoring Division I sports in the wake of a 2025 settlement that paved the way for colleges to pay athletes directly. Currently, major Division I college athletics programs can share up to $21.3 million in sports-related revenues with their athletes.

A meeting attendee who spoke on a Baton Rouge podcast said the meeting alleviated boosters' concerns that the university might be eying a deal with private equity firms to raise capital.

“It’s not private equity,” Southern Regional Medical Center president Charles Harvey, who attended Monday’s meeting, said on a Louisianasports.net podcast. “LSU will maintain control.

“Private equity eats everything up; they control everything,” Harvey added. “The governor comes in. The first thing he said was: ‘Private equity is not an option. … We’re not talking about private equity.’”

Harvey said one of the speakers at the meetings this week included Greg Williams, a top executive from Acrisure, a Michigan-based financial technology and insurance company that has been developing supplemental revenue proposals for major college athletic programs.

An invitation to the meetings, sent by Tiger Athletic Foundation President Matt Borman to about 40 of LSU's most generous donors, stated, “This is not an ask for money. It's not a fundraiser. It's informational. This is a conversation about the future of LSU athletics.”

“College athletics is at a financial crossroads,” the invitation said. “You know how unsustainable the budget of the athletic department looks.”

More than a dozen boosters notified the Republican governor of plans to attend the first meeting on Monday night; fewer committed to attending on Wednesday night.

LSU has taken on more than $180 million in spending commitments in the past year because of two coaching changes.

LSU fired football coach Brian Kelly with about $54 million remaining on his contract in late October and basketball coach Matt McMahon in late March, when the university still owed him nearly $8 million.

LSU then hired Lane Kiffin as Kelly's replacement, luring him away from Mississippi with a seven-year contract worth about $91 million, and followed that up by hiring basketball coach Will Wade, who accepted a seven-year deal worth up to $30 million.

Those moves and the 2025 firing of athletic director Scott Woodward were spearheaded by Landry-appointed members of LSU's Board of Supervisors. The board replaced Woodward with Verge Ausberry , who oversaw the hirings of Kiffin and Wade.

Wade returned to LSU after being fired by Woodward in 2022 because of NCAA penalties stemming from an investigation into recruiting violations.

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football