My theory on what's happening in LSU Athletics

Disclaimer: This has probably been discussed to some extent - I try not to read the rant too often for my sanity's sake. I don't care if it's repetitive.

I'll also try to keep this short and sweet, given that the attention span of the average person here is less than a fruit fly.

If you disagree with my post, then explain to me why we hired Coach O as our head football coach. If you can give me a good explanation, which doesn't play into my theory, then I'll give you a million dollars.

KEY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED:

WHY DO WE HIRE A DL COACH AS HEAD COACH WITH A HORRIBLE HC RECORD???

WHY DO WE STRUCTURE HIS CONTRACT WHERE WE LOSE A TON OF MONEY IF WE FIRE HIM WITHIN THE FIRST 4 YEARS?


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Short version if you hate reading:

- My theory is that there is a polar shift in priority being implemented by Joe Alleva, which has been sold to F. King. We are becoming a basketball school again, where football is second wheel. We have no intentions of winning championships in football while Saban is coaching Bama. Just look at the moves Will Wade is making in a short amount of time.

I DO NOT THINK BASKETBALL REVENUE WILL SURPASS FOOTBALL REVENUE.



Slightly longer version:

- Alleva, being former Duke AD, convinces F.King that LSU can compete at a high level in basketball, given its rich history and his experience.

- Alleva feels that we can no longer compete with Bama, as we have been out recruited and out coached for several years under Saban's tenure. Thus, we reduce football funding, and shift focus to other sports, hiring Coach Orgeron. This clearly subpar hire puts us in cruise control, until we decide to seriously compete in football again. Coach O was the perfect hire for Alleva - local guy, cheap, and structure his contract so he's difficult to fire quickly - buying time for him to build his basketball empire. There's also a slight off chance he's somewhat successful based on talent alone, and maybe he can keep enough people interested to keep revenue numbers reasonably stable.

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To me, all of this is clearly a politics play by Alleva, and F.King is sold. Part of me is understanding of what they're doing - we have no chance to compete with Bama at this point. We're too far behind in recruiting and coaching. I do not see anything changing with our football program at this point - we're in full decline and it's better to just accept it. We're the new Texas.

21-0 broke us.

The bright side is - maybe we'll be good at basketball again, meaning March will be a bit more enjoyable for all of us.




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I'm not saying basketball revenue could ever replace football revenue - but look at what Louisville and other top schools bring in relative to top football programs.

You wouldn't take 20 million in additional revenue if football can maintain top 20 in revenue numbers and continue to make 50-60 million?

Granted, it would take some time for us to ever get to 20 million in basketball revenue, but it's possible.




Here's where we finished in revenue last fiscal year. You don't think it's possible Alleva believes he could double our basketball revenue, increasing profits through ticket sales, while keeping football revenue growth flat?