BREAKING: LSU officially parts ways with AD Scott Woodward

LSU Athletics and Director of Athletics Scott Woodward have agreed to part ways effective immediately, the department announced Thursday.

Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU alumnus, began his tenure as Director of Athletics at his alma mater in April 2019.

“We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,” said Scott Ballard, Board of Supervisors Chair. “He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential.”

Executive Deputy Athletic Director Verge Ausberry will serve as Interim Director of Athletics, effective immediately, and will lead all facets of the athletic department, including the search for the next head football coach. The New Iberia native is a longtime senior administrator at the university, as well as a multi-time LSU alumnus and former standout linebacker for the football program.

Ausberry earned his Bachelor of Science in Education in 1990. He later earned his Master of Education in 1992 and Specialist in Higher Education Administration in 2004. As a player, he was a four-year letterwinner, a two-year captain on defense and a member of two SEC Championship games. He played in four bowl games.

Ausberry joined the LSU athletic department in 1991 as an intern in the compliance office. Over the course of his 30-plus year career, he served the Tigers in areas including academics, fundraising, corporate relations, marketing, game management, sport administration, life skills, sports medicine and performance, equipment and alumni relations.

In 2019, he was promoted to the role of Executive Deputy Athletic Director, as well as Executive Director of External Relations. In the latter role, he assists the Office of the President in external and governmental relations.

“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 John Carmouche, Board Athletics Committee Chair. “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.”

“I’m honored for the Board of Supervisors and university leadership to put their trust in me to serve the university in this role,” Ausberry said. “I arrived at LSU as a freshman student-athlete in 1985, and from that point forward, this institution has impacted my life and my family in ways I never could have imagined. It’s my responsibility to move this athletic department forward, including hiring the best football coach in America to lead our program. Our coaches and staff will continue to work every day to give our student-athletes the best experience possible and set a championship-level standard.”

Ausberry has been married to the former Cheri Morial of New Orleans for 24 years. They have two sons, Austin and Jaiden, who are both Division I football student-athletes. Austin is a redshirt junior safety at LSU.

State of the Program 

LSU fired Brian Kelly on Sunday and since then has begun to put together the wheels in motion to start on the new coaching search and it became clear that Landry did not want Woodward involved.

“We are not going down a failed path,” Landry said. “This is a pattern. The guy that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M 70 something million dollars. We’ve got a 53 million dollar liability. We are not doing that again. I believe we’re going to find a great coach — maybe we’ll let President Trump pick it, he loves winners — I’m not gonna be picking the next coach, but I can promise you we’re going to pick a coach and make sure he’s successful. We’re going to make sure he’s compensated properly and we’re going to put metrics on it because I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country, then leaving the tax payers to foot the bill.”

With the coaching search hardly even in the beginning stages, LSU is still without a president and is now looking for an AD before any progress is made with a new head football coach. There are several moving pieces throughout the state right now in the aftermath of firing Kelly, but one thing that Landry has made perfectly clear is that LSU’s current athletic director Scott Woodward will not be in charge of making the final decision.