LSU only SEC school that raises more donations for athletics than for academics

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LSU is still trying to fix the leaks that flood the basement of Middleton Library during routine rainstorms. But it provides top-shelf maintenance to the world-class, $3 million live tiger habitat that it built on campus for the school mascot.

The university trimmed at least a half-dozen programs and lost a raft of star faculty members in recent years as the state cut support to its flagship school by more than half. And yet LSU is spending almost $10 million to buy out the contract and fire one of the most successful head football coaches in school history, a man who won 77 percent of his games.

The reason LSU can constantly tout new upgrades to Tiger Stadium while simultaneously struggling to provide enough dorm rooms for freshmen is that LSU is exceptional at fundraising for athletics and mediocre at raising dollars for academics.

In a typical year, LSU raises more money for athletic programs than it does for programs that benefit the classroom, according to tax filings reviewed by The Advocate.

One might expect that to be typical of all universities with major football programs. In fact, LSU is the outlier.

Of the nine schools in the Southeastern Conference with separate foundations for athletics and academics, LSU is the only one where athletic fundraising outpaces academic fundraising, according to the newspaper’s analysis of four years of tax documents.

"If you look at the buildings of LSU, all of the newest and most spectacular buildings belong to athletics," said Kevin Cope, president of the Faculty Senate. "Meanwhile, there are faculty, students and community members who work in buildings where the plumbing doesn't work, walls are falling down and the facilities are generally in a state of Third World disrepair."

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