Louisiana is facing a budget shortfall of nearly $1 billion just for this year, and its new governor, John Bel Edwards, said on Thursday that the crisis puts college sports – including LSU's football program – in danger.
The state's public universities are already taking hits, and student financial aid payments have already been interrupted. Absent a budget agreement to alleviate the deficit, Edwards is warning that incomplete grades could put sports in future semesters in danger.
"Student athletes across the state would be ineligible to play next semester," Edwards said, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "I don't say this to scare you. But I am going to be honest with you."
"If you are a student attending one of these universities, it means that you will receive a grade of incomplete, many students will not be able to graduate, and student-athletes across the state at those schools will be ineligible to play next semester," Edwards added, according to WWLTV. "That means you can say farewell to college football next fall."
Edwards, a Democrat, was inaugurated last month, succeeding Republican Bobby Jindal.
It's hard to imagine the state actually moves forward with not playing LSU football games, and a politician like Edwards surely knows this. It's also worth noting LSU's athletic department says it passes an average of $8.7 million along to the university per year and that the Tigers don't require student athletics fees. In 2015, they were one of seven public NCAA members listed as taking no athletic subsidy money.
That Edwards is even floating the idea in such a football-hungry state underscores the seriousness of Louisiana's current situation, but it'll be more than a little surprising if Les Miles' season is actually affected.
