In Oct. 2016, The Advocate reported the University is the only Southeastern Conference school to raise more in donations for athletics than for academics. It shows. Construction just finished on upgrades to the University’s football indoor practice facility while classroom buildings like Lockett Hall are in desperate need of repair or demolition. Some buildings on campus still aren’t up to Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.
One would think the popularity of our football team would translate to a large amount of donations to the University, but this is not necessarily the case. The University is the only school in the SEC with two separate foundations, the LSU Foundation for academic support and the Tiger Athletic Foundation for athletic support. Since the TAF raises an adequate amount of money on its own, the University is one of the only schools in the nation who do not have to financially support the athletic department.
As the flagship university of the state of Louisiana, the University traditionally received most of its funding from the state government. However, facing a tremendous budget crisis, the Louisiana State Legislature has cut the school’s budget 16 times in the past nine years.
We have entered an era where the state is no longer able to support the University, so donations are more vital than ever. According to The Advocate, TAF donates roughly $300,000 a year to the University for scholarships and teaching awards. Supporters of TAF should follow suit. The University is in desperate need of funding, and if forced to choose between one or the other, donors should keep in mind that without the University, LSU Athletics would not exist. People need to donate to the LSU Foundation over TAF.
Ideally, people wouldn’t have to make the choice. If peer institutions manage to maintain high levels of athletic donations while simultaneously maintaining high levels of academic donations, the University can too.
On average, SEC schools bring in a median of $32.4 million in athletic foundation donations and $61.2 million in academic foundation donations annually. Donations to the University from 2010-2014 resulted in a notably above average median of $45.1 million in TAF donations and a significantly below average median of $36.8 million in LSU Foundation donations.
Last spring, TAF was hard at work on the construction in the south end zone of Tiger Stadium and adding the new Skyline Club. Meanwhile, thousands of students were left with less than half of their promised TOPS funding. In the past decade, the University has lost hundreds of qualified faculty members to peer institutions. Without proper funding, the University will continue to lose faculty, and top students may decide to take their talents elsewhere.
As of Sept. 2017, University graduates have the highest mid-career earnings of any public university in Louisiana, fourth highest in the SEC and 18th highest of all flagship universities in the United States. Alumni who want to give back to the University that made this possible for them should donate to the LSU Foundation to make that dream possible for current students.
Nothing is better than a Saturday night in Death Valley, but Monday morning in Middleton Library is just as important.
Donations to the University can be made at lsufoundation.org.
Anna Coleman is a 19-year-old mass communication junior from Kennesaw, Georgia.