Maybe everyone needs to lower their expectations a little.

Geaux play in the street. Kelly has had plenty of fricking time.

Holy frick what a post of lame arse excuses

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jlbeat

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How much is LSU paying you to post here? Seriously? There is no other explanation for shite like this!

[img]Kelly is still figuring out how to best recruit & retain players in this NIL environment. He's got to compete with schools that have bigger budgets[/img]

Someone posted earlier that LSU has an NIL budget in the top five. So your argument doesn’t hold water.

What’s with the excuses with Kelly? I don’t recall people saying these excuses when it came to Miles and Orgeron.

Kelly said 3 years. Welp? And don't talk to me about hypothetical recruiting classes

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nt. He's got to compete with schools that have bigger budgets so it's hard to have a championship team

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Really? Last I saw when it comes to NIL money , LSU was in the top 7.

There is a big difference in collective money and total money from all sources. Here is where LSU is at


7. LSU TIGERS ($618 MILLION)

(Photo: Getty)
LSU's donor contingent is a collective effort. Even third-year head coach Brian Kelly is in on the giving. His recent pledge of $1 million to the construction of an improved training room for athletes was a program record for a sitting coach. The Tiger Athletic Foundation is one of the most respected in the SEC. LSU's overall giving from 2005-22 was fourth-best in the SEC and second in the West (Texas A&M).

"Investing in the health and well-being of student-athletes is among the most important commitments a coach can make, and my family and I are honored and privileged to contribute to the expansion of our athletic training room and recovery suite," Kelly said in a university release two years ago. "The commitment from TAF, LSU Athletics, and our partners in the community to provide the best sports medicine and comprehensive care to generations of Tigers is unwavering and unmatched, and we are grateful to be able to give back to all of our student-athletes."

6. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS ($670 MILLION)

(Photo: Steven Branscombe, USA TODAY Sports)
Prior to the 2023 season, Oklahoma State received a $120 million gift from the T. Boone Pickens Foundation. Pickens, posthumously, is the Cowboys' wealthiest benefactor. Most of those funds go toward scholarships along with a wellness and health center for students. Pickens, an alumnus, was a "transformative philanthropist whose giving to Oklahoma State now approaches $650 million", according to a release. The T. Boone Pickens Foundation was established in 2006, one year prior to the beginning of this USA Today and Knight Commission study of donor giving.

5. GEORGIA BULLDOGS ($716 MILLION)

(Photo: Getty)
No program in college football spends more money on football recruiting than the Bulldogs and they earned a handsome return on investment. Athletic department expenses surpass revenue at most schools and according to USA Today, the average salary for a college football head coach pre-pandemic in 2019 was $3.5 million per season. Thanks to unrivaled success and consecutive national championships, Georgia's Kirby Smart makes nearly four times that number as one of college football's elite coaches. The Bulldogs' brand, in 2024, has never been more recognizable and Georgia is once again college football's preseason No. 1.

4. FLORIDA GATORS ($763 MILLION)

(Photo: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images, Getty)
University of Florida graduate Gary Condron, CEO and founder of The Conlan Company (construction firm), is said to be the largest donor in athletic department history in Gainesville. A 2021 release revealed that Condron has given more than $22.5 million to the Gators over the years and the football program's indoor practice facility bears his name. Condron played baseball for the Gators. In 2018, he served as honorary head coach at Florida for the spring football game. Like other high-end boosters nationally, when Condron speaks at Florida, people listen.

3. TEXAS LONGHORNS ($766 MILLION)

(Photo: Jordan Scruggs, 247Sports)
Always one of the nation's top revenue producers, the Longhorns push closer to Ohio State for top billing if not surpass the Buckeyes during the 2024-25 fiscal year as an official SEC member and shares in sizable revenue distribution with the rest of the conference. Not exactly a sleeping giant in college football given this program's revenue numbers and resources devoted to winning, the Longhorns could hit supernova status in the new era if Steve Sarkisian can put this team in the playoff every season.

2. TEXAS A&M AGGIES ($849 MILLION)

(Photo: Getty)
The 12th Man Foundation generates gobs of money annually via donations. They are raising funds for the $120 million Centennial Campaign, which involves the construction of a new 140-yard indoor football practice facility, an indoor track and an updated academic and nutrition center for athletes. Texas A&M has been at the forefront of college football's new NIL era as well and in 2022, signed the highest-rated football recruiting class in history. Former Aggies athletic director Ross Bjork said last spring that Texas A&M athletes have signed NIL deals worth approximately $10 million. That number is now dwarfed by a $20 million estimation at his new school, Ohio State.

1. OREGON DUCKS ($969 MILLION)

(Photo: Getty)
Nike founder Phil Knight is the primary reason the Ducks have one of the nicest football facilities in the country and are lapping others in NIL resources. Knight, a university alumnus, has given more than $1 billion back to Oregon over the past two decades. In 2016, Knight donated $500 million to the University of Oregon's science program exclusively. He helped bankroll several state-of-the-art construction projects within athletics and is believed to be the singlemost influential donor across college athletics. When you're the brains behind the Swoosh, you hold that level of power.

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Sure, it’s completely crazy to think LSU is one of the best 12 teams in the country year in and year out.

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What makes you think otherwise?

I'm going to go back 20 seasons including this one - 2005.

LSU has finished top 12 seven times. Only twice in the last 12 seasons.

LSU fans are still riding on the 2001-2011 stretch, but those days are getting further and further away.

The reality is that this program is CURRENTLY a top 15-20 program, with an occasional top 10 appearance.

I’ll lower my expectations when they lower the price of tickets, parking and concessions