College football and Wall Street have more in common than just the hoards of money at stake these days.
Both are chaotic institutions susceptible to rapid changes in fortune, and the power players in each arena are under a persistently stressful spotlight.
While the stock market is mostly controlled by governments and CEOs, the fate of college football powerhouses ultimately rests in the actions of the talented but often immature 18- to 22-year-olds.
After years of relatively few scandals, the LSU football program recently learned that lesson in a big way, as everything from conference realignment talks to self-reported NCAA issues swirled around coach Les Miles and company throughout the summer.
But the off-field issues have remained just that — off the field. However, the Shady’s Bar brawl and Russell Shepard’s suspension will finally affect the Tigers between the lines with senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson and Shepard out indefinitely.
Two national titles and five 10+ win seasons in the last eight years have put LSU football squarely among the nation’s elite.
But with a summer of controversy surrounding the Tigers, where does that leave LSU’s current stock as one of the program’s prime-time moments — a season-opening showdown against Oregon in Dallas — quickly approaches?
Barrett Sallee, SEC columnist for College Football News, said LSU is too entrenched among college football’s best for a bar fight or minor NCAA violations to hurt the program’s stock permanently.
“They’re a top team in the SEC, which by virtue makes them a top-tier program in the country,” Sallee said. “I don’t think a bad year here or there, even if they falter this year, knocks them from that now.”
While Sallee said he agrees with adjusting expectations for this season, he still sees LSU as one of college football’s premier teams for the next several years.
“Overall, LSU is a perennial top-10 program and always in the national discussion,” Sallee said. “The expectations for LSU is that they need to win a national championship in the next five years. I think that’s reasonable and will LSU.”
Ponamsky said an SEC team in Texas would help LSU by expanding the school’s brand with the yearly crops of talented recruits in the Lone Star State.
But the stock of LSU under Les Miles has never been more in flux as the uncertainty around Shepard and the quarterback position combined with a tough 2011 schedule could put the ultimate bottom line — wins and losses — in jeopardy.
 
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]