So goes LSU, so goes LSU Football

Today the Chancellor of LSU, Alexander King, put to rest any inaccuracies being spread by those that accused Governor Edwards of using scare tactics to justify his request for revenue raising budgetary solutions.  Ever since Edwards referenced the possibility of LSU football being impacted if more revenue isn’t generated for this budget year, some state legislators, media columnists and even ESPN sport casters have asserted how absurd and ill-conceived such a threat was because the LSU football program is self-supporting.

However, Chancellor King reported that if the money is not found to close the budget gap for the remainder of this year and the universities and colleges are forced to absorb the proposed cuts, summer school classes at LSU will have to be cancelled.  According to King this would affect the eligibility of half of the LSU football team as defined by NCAA rules.

Many think that since LSU football generates enough revenue to pay for itself, budget cuts to the academic side could never damage the football program.  However, as I have repeatedly attempted to point out to the avid LSU sport fans who remain blasé concerning what’s taking place at LSU, beloved LSU football cannot exist if the university is financially impacted.  Chancellor Alexander summed it all up when he stated, “And yes, classes and sports go together.  They’re student-athletes; you can’t have one without the other.”

So far our esteemed legislators in the House have refused to bite the bullet and completely undo the fiscal mess which took them eight years to accomplish.  They have placed the tax burden on the residents of this state; but they need to pass some revenue raising legislation which is antagonistic to the LABI and the chemical, petroleum and gas industry lobbyists.  This is no longer simply Chicken Little proclaiming, “The sky is falling.”  The reality is even LSU football could be seriously impacted, and the naysayers need to stop misinforming the public otherwise.  And let’s not even talk about the further devastation to health care if revenue isn’t generated elsewhere.