The twists and turns at LSU keep coming.
On Thursday, Verge Ausberry addressed a letter to LSU fans saying new university president Wade Rousse had removed the interim tag and formalized his appointment as the school’s new athletic director. Rousse had claimed he would do this earlier in the week, then seemed to backtrack on Wednesday.
Ausberry’s appointment comes in the middle of the school’s search for its next football coach after firing Brian Kelly on October 26. After Kelly was let go, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry emphatically sidelined then-athletic director Scott Woodward, saying he wouldn’t conduct the search for the school’s next football coach. Woodward and LSU parted ways soon after.
Naming a full-time athletic director was Rousse’s first move since taking over as LSU’s president on Tuesday. He is being thrown into the fire by having to not only pick a new AD, but also trust him to find the school’s next football coach.
Now Ausberry is in the hot seat, and we’ll see what he can do.
Verge Ausberry has a long history at LSU
Ausberry is a former LSU football player who is in his 24th year as an employee at the university. He has been the administrator for the football, women’s basketball, and gymnastics teams, and has been the executive deputy director of athletics since 2019.
He’s now taking on his biggest job yet: finding the next football coach at LSU amid a market saturated with openings. Penn State, Florida, Auburn, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, and UCLA are all looking for their next head coach. Competition for top candidates will be fierce, and salaries are likely to skyrocket as a result.
Brian Kelly was fired after four seasons
After being hired away from Notre Dame in late 2021, much was expected of Kelly when he arrived in Baton Rouge. LSU handed him a 10-year, $95 million contract and invested tons of resources into his program, only to see him come up short.
Kelly was fired after a 5-3 start and losing three of four before the axe came down. Overall, in four seasons leading the Tigers, Kelly went 34-14 and 19-10 in the SEC. LSU went 10-4 in Kelly’s first season, then followed that up by going 10-3 in 2023. But 2024 saw a disappointing 9-4 finish, and poor results in 2025 sank his tenure.
The school now owes him a buyout of more than $53 million, though he does seem open to discussing a settlement. Kelly penned a letter to LSU fans on Thursday addressing his exit.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LSU Names Permanent Athletic Director After Days of Mixed Signals.
