Under new leadership, the LSU athletic department is reexamining the amount of surplus dollars it can afford to transfer to the academic side of the university, Athletic Director Scott Woodward tells Tiger Rag magazine in a July 29 interview.
Between 2012 and 2017, the fund-transfer policy resulted in contributions of nearly $50 million to LSU’s academic institution, despite initial expectations the guaranteed contribution would be around $36 million.
“While I will always support the university in some form or fashion, we cannot sustain what we’re currently doing,” Woodward told the weekly publication.
He added: “It’s something that’s very dangerous, when universities rely on recurring money, especially from an auxiliary like the athletic department.”
In a statement Monday, LSU confirmed the fund-transfer policy was being reevaluated, but remains unchanged for this year.
Woodward’s comments come a week after social media erupted into controversy over the $28 million renovation of the football operations center, funded by private donors.
