During the recent Thanksgiving holiday, Europe was still reeling from the Paris bombings, Turkey was shooting Russian planes out of the sky and the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination “was continuing to make a mockery of the electoral process by lying about Sept. 11 and ridiculing a disabled journalist,” writes Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel in her latest column.
“Here in south Louisiana, however, we had more pressing matters to deal with: the future of LSU football coach Les Miles,” Riegel writes.
For a few drama-filled days in late November, Tiger fans—and even those who typically don’t give much thought to such matters—pored over reports from the local media, social media and a disdainful national media about the fate of Miles.
“Never let it be said that we don’t know what’s important down here in this swampiest outpost of the Southeastern Conference. Never mind that turnout in the October gubernatorial primary was just 39%. When the job of the LSU football coach was on the line, everyone took an interest—and a side,” Riegel writes. “This was something we could wrap our heads around.”
But now that the matter is behind us and Miles’ future in Death Valley is settled—at least until next season—Riegel says it’s instrumental to step back and ponder what just played out, because it shows how misplaced our priorities really are.
“Miles makes $4.3 million a year, nearly $12,000 a day, and his contract has a $15 million buyout clause, plus another $2 million for his assistant coaches,” Riegel notes. “It’s a staggering sum, even by SEC standards. Nevertheless, a group of boosters—presumably well-heeled members of the Tiger Athletic Foundation—were prepared to pick up the tab to send the coach on his way.”
Meanwhile, Riegel notes, the state’s annual per capita income is $20,000, 33% lower than in the highest-ranked state and one-tenth of 1% of Miles’ $15 million buyout clause. The unemployment rate is 7.3%, twice that of the state with the lowest unemployment rate, and the percentage of residents living below the poverty level is more than one in five—twice that of the wealthiest state.
Since 2008, LSU’s Baton Rouge campus has seen more than $102 million—or 44%—of its budget cut, Riegel also points out.
“None of which is to suggest the state wouldn’t be poor or that higher ed wouldn’t be underfunded if we didn’t pay the LSU football coach so generously. There’s not a direct correlation per se,” Riegel writes. “And if people want to donate money to LSU athletics, that’s all well and good.”
But the bigger issue here, Riegel says, is the paradox in the way we allocate our resources, both public and private, and the fundamental disconnect between the problems in our state and where we focus our attention and energies.
Read the full column. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
