Verge Ausberry’s promotion to athletic director made permanent by new LSU president, AP source says
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
New LSU president Wade Rousse has decided to name interim Athletic Director Verge Ausberry the permanent replacement for his recently ousted successor, 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 committed 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 candidate 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.
___
Associated Press writer Jack Brook in New Orleans contributed to this report.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football