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In his latest column, Rolfe McCollister isn’t mincing words: LSU is back in the national headlines—and not for a championship.
A recent USA Today opinion piece by Blake Toppmeyer set the tone with the headline: “A scoundrel returns: Will Wade’s LSU comeback makes perfect sense.” Toppmeyer didn’t hold back: “Does LSU possess no scruples at all? Never mind, I know the answer to that question. LSU is a kingdom of rebels and renegades. Just win, baby.”
After seven decades in Louisiana, McCollister says it’s hard to argue with that characterization—and that the same could be said of the state’s politics. He points to the late Gov. Edwin Edwards and his infamous campaign slogan against David Duke: “Vote for the crook. It’s important.” Edwards, McCollister notes, was elected four times despite the damage he did to the state’s image—until he finally went to prison. “And oddly, the late ex-con still has fans who love him today.”
That history, he suggests, may explain the Will Wade rehiring. Many fans believe Wade is a cheater who damaged LSU’s reputation, drew NCAA sanctions and was fired—but, McCollister writes, the attitude seems to be: “Dammit, he’s our cheater … and he won. So let’s bring him back.”
McCollister questions where the integrity is in that decision, and what message it sends to LSU students, faculty, alumni and the nation. He directs those questions at Gov. Jeff Landry and LSU board chair Lee Mallet, whom he says have been working to rehire Wade since last year—ultimately pushing out then-athletic director Scott Woodward, who refused. He also points to LSU President Wade Rousse, handpicked by Landry and Mallet, who hired Wade as his basketball coach.
McCollister says he has previously written about Landry and Mallet’s interference in the presidential search—a process he describes as “well-orchestrated, behind-closed-doors” and monthslong. “Their strong support for an ‘ends justify the means’ and ‘win at all costs’ mentality,” he writes, “is no way to run Louisiana’s flagship university or build a national reputation that alumni and others respect. Wade might win more games, but you can’t put lipstick on a pig.”
As an LSU graduate, father of a graduate, fan and former chair of the LSU Board of Supervisors, McCollister says he loves the purple and gold—but calls the rehiring “a shameful step backward for LSU.” He writes that while sports are like a religion in Louisiana, “we should repent for this decision. Ultimately, they will reap what they have sown.”
McCollister also praises the BREC Commission for what he calls long-overdue moves: selling surplus land, improving security and reforming retirement benefits. He says the next major tests—hiring a new superintendent and developing a master plan for City-Brooks Park—will be critical to Baton Rouge’s future and its ability to attract and retain young talent. East Baton Rouge Parish residents can take the BREC survey to share their views about the future of City-Brooks Park here.
