re: What does the nation outside of Louisiana say about LSU?

People in suburban Houston view LSU as a back-up school because of its academic reputation. It's frustrating to hear that, but in all honesty, LSU's academics are really not all that bad... Those who turn their heads to LSU won't even give the university a chance, especially since they know how bad of a state Louisiana can be. However, I believe LSU's academic reputation will get better and better due to the new business center, vastly expanded engineering college, and other projects going on around campus. Other than that, people mostly view LSU as a party/football school.