LSU, Money and Budgets – Where it Goes

Lincoln Parish News Online (LPNO) has reported extensively on the higher education situation in Louisiana. There’s lots of tax money involved and it’s a big part of the political debate in the state.

So this morning, there is this news story in The (Baton Rouge) Advocate.

LSU OKs sports raises

The same day LSU officials discussed gloom-and-doom budget and layoff scenarios, the LSU Board of Supervisors on Friday approved a bevy of pay raises, most within the athletic department.

The pay increases came amid talks on how to handle $133 million in possible systemwide cuts next year. They also signed off on increasing tuition by 10 percent on LSU campuses starting next month.

LSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Verge Ausberry got a 27 percent raise from $130,000 to $165,000 and fellow Senior Associate AD Mark Ewing went up from $155,000 to $172,000.

LSU Athletics is headed by the notorious Joe Alleva, infamous for his role in the Duke Lacrosse Frame.

From It’s Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives it Shattered, By Don Yaeger, Mike Pressler

On April 5, 2006, about 3 weeks after the alleged rape of a woman at a lacrosse team party, Duke’s athletic director, Joe Alleva, called Pressler into his office. The story was gaining momentum in the national media, and pressure was mounting on the university to do something, anything.

“We’re thinking about canceling the rest of the season,” Alleva informed him.

“Let’s wait for the truth to come out,” Pressler responded. The players’ DNA test results were imminent.

“It’s not about the truth anymore, Mike,” Alleva said. it’s about the integrity of the university, it’s about the faculty, the city, the NAACP, the protesters and the other interest groups.”