Breaking News: LSU Star Department Reports $4 Million Deficit Despite Multiple National Championships

LSU’s sports program is experiencing financial challenges, as indicated by a recent financial report revealing a nearly $4 million deficit in the last academic year. The athletic department, which garnered approximately $200 million, with over half of it attributed to the football team, incurred expenses totaling around $204 million, resulting in a deficit of $3.87 million. Notably, football demonstrated a profit of $54 million, a significant increase of nearly $18.4 million from the previous season.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, LSU achieved national championships in women’s basketball and baseball, as well as individual championships in women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s track and field. Despite the success on the court, women’s basketball faced financial challenges, generating nearly $2.5 million but incurring expenses of about $10.3 million. The largest portion of these expenses, $4.4 million, went to Kim Mulkey and her coaching staff. This amount, though comparable to men’s basketball coaching salaries and benefits, was considerably less than the over $18 million allocated for the same category in football.

Men’s basketball saw a slight dip in profits, generating $1.3 million, a decrease from the previous year. The report consolidated the baseball team with all non-football and basketball teams, collectively resulting in a nearly $26 million deficit, similar to “non-program specific” finances.

Expenses across all sports were primarily attributed to staffing, while other contributors included travel, facilities, and game expenses. Interestingly, severance payments totaled approximately $5 million, almost equivalent to recruiting expenses.

LSU faced budget issues, including overpaying head football coach Brian Kelly by over $1 million, as revealed in the previous year’s report. Additionally, approximately $6.7 million in severance payments were misclassified.

The $4 million deficit represents a decline from the 2021-2022 period when the school generated about $2 million in profits. In the prior year, the athletic department incurred a $9.6 million deficit, largely attributed to decreased ticket sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.