LSU officials are embracing the prospect of a $400 million arena to replace the PMAC. Athletic Director Scott Woodward says the facility will open in 2029 despite ample concerns about the selection process.
It has been revealed the leader of the Oak View Group was culpable in bid rigging on another project, and there has been no bidding process for the rights to the most expensive construction project in LSU history. Nonetheless, the Oak View Group remains the vendor of choice.
The price tag is double what the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans would cost to be built today. It opened in 1999 at a price tag of $114 million.
A taxing district will be needed to fund the project, and there has been no assurance that student fees will not be used to foot the bill.
Information has been parsed on a paranoid basis as some players in the project stand to line their own pockets. The process is a breach of ethics at the highest order at a state university where transparency should be a necessity.
Most of the LSU officials involved in the project will be long gone when the arena opens. At its best, the venue could be a showcase for the university. Deliberations should be conducted in the open. And a plausible explanation for the arena is warranted with other buildings on campus having severe structural issues. There is a backlog of hundreds of millions of dollars in construction requirements at the Ole War Skule.
LSU is a world class university with a pathetic library. The PMAC is in much better shape than the former Middleton Library. In addition to the cost and secrecy enveloping the current plan, there is a legitimate concern about priorities.
LSU should strive to benefit its graduates and residents of the state with input from all sectors of the university and the community. Instead, decisions are being rendered in some cases by non-graduates of LSU. The environment appears to encourage contractors and lawyers salivating over their next big payday, not the people who will pay the freight.
Shaq for Senate?
The intersection of sports and politics is likely to become more prevalent with the ascension to power of the man from Gotham City. The cult of celebrity contributed to two national victories for Donald Trump as president. The former star of The Apprentice won the World Series of politics twice. Trump has paved the path for other famous rascals and rogues to win high office.
Trump is charismatic but is not practicing girth control. He is built like the keyboard cowards who congregate on Tiger Droppings. These bombastic blowhards talk tough and log their days in anonymity and take shots at men in the arena as they vainly attempt to retrieve their manhood. The most famous LSU graduate is Shaquille O’Neal. He was one of his generation’s greatest athletes and is primed to dominate the political ring if he chooses. There is a path for the Louisiana legend that could lead to the presidency.
Louisiana has a U.S. Senate primary in April of 2026 and none of the candidates appear to be fit enough to be make American great again. Incumbent Bill Cassidy and his challengers would be overwhelmed by a Shaq attack next year.
O’Neal is in fighting form and towers above the field. He could run either as a Republican or Democrat and likely win. O’Neal has received a doctoral degree, is a 15-time NBA All Star in a career highlighted with four league championships.
The Dale Brown pupil won the NBA MVP Award and has had his number retired by three teams, Orlando, Miami and the Lakers.
O’Neal is Herschel Walker with brains and personality. Shaq is one of the most famous people on the planet and could use the U.S. Senate seat as a springboard to the White House. He has the capacity to vanquish any rival on the debate stage and could become the first Black candidate to win a statewide election in Louisiana since Reconstruction.
Auburn’s Act of Blasphemy
Auburn is claiming the 1958 National Title in football 67 years later. The War Eagles were 9-0-1 in ’58 while the real champion was 11-0 and won the SEC over Auburn.
No rewriting of the history books can revise LSU’s 1958 unbeaten Tigers as the best team in the country that season. Auburn did not even go to a bowl game. Shug Jordan’s War Eagles are pretenders and should be sanctioned by the SEC for making such an audacious claim.
LSU could make similar reaches for outstanding teams in 1961, 1969 and 2011. But the Tigers were not as good in those years as Alabama in ’61 and ’11 and Texas in ’69.
There are times when lesser teams capture titles, but they generally do it on the field, not in a subjective fan world seven decades removed from the season.
Remember Max Johnson?
Former LSU Quarterback Max Johnson is a six-year senior at North Carolina. At 24, he has the distinction of playing for three national champion coaches in Ed Orgeron, Jimbo Fisher and Mack Brown. Johnson is now playing for six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick.
Johnson’s career is even more remarkable when it is noted that there are only three current college coaches who have won national championships, Dabo Swinney, Ryan Day and Kirby Smart.
Salute to Kent Lowe
This writer has known LSU Sports Information Superstar Kent Lowe for 45 years. Unlike most publicists, Kent has vast experience as a real journalist. Therefore, he is aware of the craft of journalism with its frequent deadlines and occasional friction with people we cover.
For more than 35 years, Kent Lowe, who is the basketball SID, has run the press box at Tiger Stadium without fanfare. His job is to accommodate the media who report on the Tigers. He has accomplished that task without seeking fanfare from his colleagues or basking in facetime on the sidelines.
Clayton Kent Lowe is a true professional, and he has been at the top of his game since his work at The Reveille in 1980. Like his former radio sidekick, Lowe is a survivor and has lots of gas left in the tank.
Kent has surrendered acclaim for integrity. He inspires those of us who have been in his orbit with his work ethic and commitment to excellence.
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