New LSU president Wade Rousse has decided to name interim Athletic Director Verge Ausberry the permanent replacement for his recently ousted predecessor, Scott Woodward, a person familiar with the decision said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement hadn’t been made.
Ausberry has been serving as the leader of LSU’s athletic department since Thursday night, when Woodward resigned under pressure, four days after the firing of football coach Brian Kelly.
Gov. Jeff Landry had been sharply critical of Woodward in the wake of Kelly’s firing, which came in the fourth year of the coach’s 10-year contract worth nearly $100 million, and a day after a 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M dropped LSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC) to its third loss in four games.
LSU still owes Kelly about $54 million through 2031, although that amount could be subject to further negotiation.
LSU’s Board of Supervisors had announced Friday that Ausberry had full authority to lead the athletic department and that he would lead a search committee for LSU’s next football coach.
The selection of a new president of the LSU system and the removal of Ausberry’s interim title is expected to provide more certainty to coaching candidates about the chain of command at the institution.
Rousse’s candidacy was supported by Board of Supervisors vice chairman Lee Mallett, who was appointed to the board by Landry and is among the governor’s premier financial backers.
Ausberry, a New Iberia, Louisiana, native and former linebacker at LSU, is a longtime senior administrator at the university. He began working in LSU’s athletic department in 1991 as an intern.
During the three-plus decades since, his roles have included fundraising, corporate relations, marketing, game management, sport administration, sports medicine and performance, equipment and alumni relations.
In 2019, the year Woodward was hired, Ausberry was named executive deputy athletic director, as well as executive director of external relations. In the latter role, he assisted the office of the president in external and governmental relations.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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