LSU president confirms decision to remove interim tag from Verge Ausberry: 'He's the acting AD'

Hours after becoming LSU’s next president, news broke that Wade Rousse would remove the interim tag from athletics director Verge Ausberry. Rousse confirmed that move Wednesday, and the comments came after he stated he would later “assess the situation.”

The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon confirmed the plan was Ausberry would become LSU’s permanent AD. He took over in the interim following Scott Woodward’s departure last week, and the university said Ausberry would take the lead during the football coaching search to replace Brian Kelly.

During an interview with Louisiana Illuminator’s Piper Hutchinson, though, Rousse questioned the difference between removing the interim tag and naming Ausberry the permanent AD. Speaking with WWL-Am on Wednesday, Rousse confirmed the interim tag was gone as the focus shifts to the coaching search.

“I’m getting to know Verge very well,” Rousse said on Sports Talk. “I just removed the interim tag. He’s the acting AD. Been in some early conversations with him, about 48 hours on this job.

“Verge bleeds Purple and Gold. He has my full authority to go find us a coach at, I think, for the best coaching job in America. … I couldn’t be more pleased to have Verge [and] remove the interim title off of him.”

When asked by Louisiana Illuminator about the decision to name Ausberry the permanent athletics director, Rousse told Hutchinson he would further evaluate things after taking the interim label away. He pointed out the short amount of time he has been LSU’s president.

“I’ll remove the interim [title] and then we’ll assess the situation,” Rousse said. “I can’t make a very good decision after being on that on the job for eight hours…”

More on Verge Ausberry

Verge Ausberry has been at LSU since 1991, starting out as an intern in the compliance office. He then worked his way up the ladder and, in 2019, became the school’s executive deputy athletics director. He also served as the executive director of external relations, working closely with the president’s office on governmental relations – both internal and external.

“Verge Ausberry is a native son of Louisiana and LSU, who has spent all of his adult life working to better this athletic department and this state,” said LSU Board Athletics Committee chair John Carmouche in an Oct. 30 statement upon Ausberry’s elevation to interim AD.

From the time he arrived on campus as a football student-athlete, he’s been associated with championship excellence and will continue to uphold that standard in his role as interim athletic director. He’s the ideal person to lead this department with full authority at this time, and together we show the country that LSU continues to be an elite destination for student-athletes, coaches and staff.”