LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward Resigns Amid Tensions Over Football Coach Search
A tumultuous period at Louisiana State University (LSU) came to a head Thursday night when athletic director Scott Woodward tendered his resignation, effective immediately. The move follows four days after the firing of football coach Brian Kelly and a day after Governor Jeff Landry publicly stated that he would not involve Woodward in the search for Kelly's replacement.
Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, had been at the helm of the athletic department since April 2019, leading the Tigers to national championships in football, baseball (twice), women's basketball, and gymnastics during his six-year tenure. His departure marks a significant shift in leadership for the program.
"We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director," said LSU Board of Supervisors chairman Scott Ballard. "He had a lot of success at LSU." However, with Woodward's exit, the university is now focused on moving forward and positioning itself to achieve its full potential.
On an interim basis, executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry will take over as the acting athletic director and lead the search for a new football coach. In an open letter to LSU fans, Woodward expressed his gratitude for the university's significance in his life, stating that he will always be connected to LSU.
However, not everyone is pleased with the circumstances surrounding Woodward's resignation. James Carville, a Democrat and a former teacher at LSU, voiced his outrage, describing Landry as having an "IQ equivalent to dishwater" and labeling the board of supervisors as "weak and pathetic." The controversy has sparked debate about the university's leadership and its reputation.
According to Woodward's contract, he is owed over $5 million through 2029. However, the financial terms of his separation agreement have not been made public yet. In a separate development, Landry previously assigned blame for Texas A&M's $77 million buyout of former coach Jimbo Fisher to Woodward, citing it as a pattern of behavior that needs to be avoided.
LSU does not currently have a president, with the current one leaving in July to become the president of Rutgers. The next president will be selected by the Board of Supervisors, which has been largely dominated by Landry's appointees since he took office in January 2024.
A tumultuous period at Louisiana State University (LSU) came to a head Thursday night when athletic director Scott Woodward tendered his resignation, effective immediately. The move follows four days after the firing of football coach Brian Kelly and a day after Governor Jeff Landry publicly stated that he would not involve Woodward in the search for Kelly's replacement.
Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, had been at the helm of the athletic department since April 2019, leading the Tigers to national championships in football, baseball (twice), women's basketball, and gymnastics during his six-year tenure. His departure marks a significant shift in leadership for the program.
"We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director," said LSU Board of Supervisors chairman Scott Ballard. "He had a lot of success at LSU." However, with Woodward's exit, the university is now focused on moving forward and positioning itself to achieve its full potential.
On an interim basis, executive deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry will take over as the acting athletic director and lead the search for a new football coach. In an open letter to LSU fans, Woodward expressed his gratitude for the university's significance in his life, stating that he will always be connected to LSU.
However, not everyone is pleased with the circumstances surrounding Woodward's resignation. James Carville, a Democrat and a former teacher at LSU, voiced his outrage, describing Landry as having an "IQ equivalent to dishwater" and labeling the board of supervisors as "weak and pathetic." The controversy has sparked debate about the university's leadership and its reputation.
According to Woodward's contract, he is owed over $5 million through 2029. However, the financial terms of his separation agreement have not been made public yet. In a separate development, Landry previously assigned blame for Texas A&M's $77 million buyout of former coach Jimbo Fisher to Woodward, citing it as a pattern of behavior that needs to be avoided.
LSU does not currently have a president, with the current one leaving in July to become the president of Rutgers. The next president will be selected by the Board of Supervisors, which has been largely dominated by Landry's appointees since he took office in January 2024.
they just lost their AD Scott Woodward and it's like a domino effect 
the guy was doing a great job too - won all those championships 
i feel bad for him tho, getting fired by gov Landry like that is pretty harsh 
but it's not all doom and gloom 
i guess it's an opportunity for LSU to get some new blood in there and try again 
verge ausberry taking over as acting AD is a good move 
It's all so weird with Governor Jeff Landry not wanting him involved in finding a new football coach 
. I guess they wanted to avoid drama, but now it's like, drama is all there's left 
. Anyway, I'm sad to see Woodward go because he was doing some awesome things for the university 
. Hopefully, Verge Ausberry can fill in the gap and get everything back on track 
. And yeah, that buyout of Jimbo Fisher is kinda shady 
...
I'm surprised Scott Woodward lasted as long as he did. I mean, four days is pretty short for a resignation, especially with the governor basically telling him to take a hike on the coach search. 
And what's up with James Carville getting all worked up about it? Does he have a vested interest in LSU or something? 
Woodward had some major accomplishments, I'll give him that - two baseball championships are no joke! 
and i gotta agree with james carville on that one... 5 million dollars just because landry says so? no way, man... lsu needs to figure out what went wrong before they start making decisions based on drama and politics 
! First, they fire Brian Kelly and then they make Scott Woodward resign 
? What's going on here? I think there's more to it than just a simple power struggle 
. Landry's been saying some shady things about Woodward, like that Texas A&M buyout thing 
. Mark my words, there's more to this story than we're being told 
.
Let's keep our fingers crossed for LSU that they get someone amazing to lead them forward 
!
at least scott woodward gets to leave with over $5 million 
. Guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out... 
.
. Maybe we should be having a deeper conversation about what that says about our priorities as a society?
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what's up with all these financial details tho? $5 million through 2029 is crazy 
but seriously can't we just focus on finding the new football coach instead of all this drama 
i feel bad for scott though, he built a reputation as an awesome AD and now he's getting screwed over by politics 
. like what's good with Woodward getting canned over coaching search controversy? did the board of supervisors do their due diligence or just wanna play it safe and stick with their buddies 
. guess they're gonna need to find someone who can navigate this drama-free zone 
. anyway, $5 million in separation pay? yikes that's a pretty penny 
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. It seems like they were never on the same page about what was best for LSU Athletics. But, I'm sad to see Woodward go - he did an amazing job as AD and brought so much success to the program