During times of steep cuts at LSU, Miles may get 9% pay raise

The LSU Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on—and likely approve—a pay raise of more than 9% for head football coach Les Miles, one of its members tells The Times-Picayune. And that offers a new slant on an age-old debate: Does a high salary for a football coach send the wrong message about an institution whose mission is education and which is currently facing significant fiscal challenges? Stanley Jacobs, a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors and former president of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the team’s primary booster organization, says that he expects Miles’ salary to approach $4.2 million after negotiations are complete—and Miles is worth the money, he adds. But this pay hike is set against a backdrop of severe budget cuts for the state’s flagship university, which has resulted in faculty layoffs and a reduction in some services. “It’s unfortunate it’s coming along at this moment,” Kevin Cope, LSU faculty senate president, says of Miles’ new contract, which came on the heels of an overture from Arkansas to Miles to take over their football program. “Faculty members have not gotten a raise,” Cope notes. The debate ultimately will be settled by the Board of Supervisors, which must approve both a contract extension and pay raise. LSU officials say since the contract is still being negotiated, complete details have not been released. Cope, who’s a frequent critic of the LSU Board of Supervisors, says the raise and contract extension of Miles emanates from an “imaginary” market. Read the full story here.