By TODD HORNE, Tiger Rag Executive Editor
BATON ROUGE – Six months after LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry warned about the long-term risks of private equity in an exclusive interview with Tiger Rag, reports now indicate LSU Athletics has entered into a private financing investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars involving LSU’s future media-rights revenue, largely regarding football.
Ausberry said in the interview that LSU faced unprecedented financial pressure and that every option—including private equity—was on the table. Over the next six months, Tiger Rag remained the only publication consistently reporting LSU’s projected $25–35 million deficit for 2026 before other media also reported on it recently.
The university has not publicly announced such a transaction or released supporting documents.
Veteran Louisiana business journalist JR Ball, who publishes the Red Eye newsletter (redeyebr.com), said Monday on Talk Louisiana with Tiger Rag president Jim Engster that LSU has already “closed” on what he described as a venture-capital investment fund.
LSU SPORTS VENTURES INTO NEW CAPITAL
According to Ball, the arrangement would provide LSU with more than $100 million in upfront capital in exchange for 10 percent of future media-rights revenue.
“LSU has closed a deal for 10 percent of LSU’s media rights – primarily tied to football – that will generate in excess of $100 million,” Ball said.
Ball said investors in the “six-figure donation range” would either receive a buyback from LSU after five years or continue participating in future growth tied to the next SEC television agreement, if LSU declines to repurchase the interest.
Tiger Rag has not independently confirmed those details.
If accurate, however, the reported transaction would represent one of the most significant financial restructurings in LSU Athletics history and place the university among a growing number of major athletic departments exploring outside institutional capital to finance the escalating costs of modern college athletics.
AUSBERRY WARNED ABOUT LOSING CONTROL
The reported private equity structure stands in sharp contrast to concerns Ausberry expressed during the exclusive February interview with Tiger Rag.
With LSU projecting its $25-to-$35 million deficit, Ausberry acknowledged that private equity had become part of the national conversation at the time.
“People talk about private equity firms,” Ausberry said last February. “And you really don’t want to go that way, but you’ve got to put everything on the table.”
Asked why he viewed private equity cautiously, Ausberry said, “Well, private equity is a different ballgame. They come in with a certain percentage long term. How does that look? When you sit down and talk about these things, how much is this going to cost us? You deal with private equity, they’re going to want some long term inventory. Once you get certain benchmarks, how long does that go. Short term or long term?”
The worst part of private equity deals, Ausberry said, was the question of who has the power.
“A lot of times with private equity, they come in and start controlling things,” he said. “You lose some control when you deal with private equity. But we’re going to make this work.”
Tiger Rag asked Ausberry on Monday if he still had the same opinions on private equity, considering the reported private equity deal. He did not respond as of late Monday.
MAJOR DONOR MEETINGS FUEL SPECULATION
The reports come as LSU convened meetings on Monday with approximately 40 of its largest athletic supporters at the Governor’s Mansion with LSU president Wade Rousse and Governor Jeff Landry, regarding the future financial direction of LSU Athletics.
Tiger Rag is continuing to seek confirmation of whether any agreement has been executed, who the investors are, what legal entity entered into the agreement, whether LSU retains complete operational control, whether the Board of Supervisors approved the arrangement, and whether the agreement will be released publicly.
Until LSU releases the underlying documents, significant questions remain regarding the structure, legal authority and long-term implications of the reported transaction.
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