LSU Athletics Subject Of “Tigerland,” A Book In The Works By Jeff Duncan, Who Discusses On Tiger Rag Radio

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU really is just different, as LSU football coach Lane Kiffin so eloquently said at his introductory press conference on Dec. 1 in Tiger Stadium, starting a hashtag for the ages – or at least for his first season.

Well, the braintrust of the Harper Collins publishing giant based in London and New York City sure believes so. And it has just agreed to a book deal for “Tigerland” with NOLA.com/Baton Rouge Advocate columnist and author Jeff Duncan. He will tell the story of “the high-stakes pressure, colorful characters and wild politics in college sports as seen through the lens of LSU’s athletic program,” a release about the book said Wednesday.

“This is hot news,” Duncan said on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night. “I was just able to sign that contract last week.”

Listen to the entire interview with Duncan by clicking the link below:

Duncan previously published “From Bags To Riches” about Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Saints, “A Life Impossible” about former Saint Steve Gleason’s battle with ALS, and “Payton And Brees,” the story of how the offenses of Saints’ coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees dominated the NFL for more than a decade. He was also part of Pulitzer Prize winning teams at the former Times Picayune for its coverage of Katrina.

“This is a dynamic time in college athletics, really an unprecedented transformative period,” Duncan told Tiger Rag Radio. “And LSU is probably at the epicenter of this transformation. What we’ve seen happen in the last six months at LSU – the turnover in the athletic department, the all-in approach that the University is taking – is fascinating. And it’s one of the more compelling stories that I’ve come across in my 30 years of covering sports in Louisiana.”

And that includes Katrina in 2005 and the Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV in the 2009 season.

“With the characters involved – Lane Kiffin, Will Wade now in the mix, Verge Ausberry taking over as athletic director – there are just so many fascinating threads in this story,” Duncan said. “What LSU is doing in many ways is at the forefront of this changing landscape of college athletics. And Harper Collins reached out to me and basically said, ‘Hey, we think there’s a great story in Louisiana and LSU.’ It’s going to be fascinating. I’m going to basically follow the athletic programs for the next year and write about this changing prism of the landscape of college athletics through LSU.”

“Tigerland” is expected to be out before the 2027 football season.

JEFF DUNCAN COLUMN: College Athletics Should Emulate The NFL

Duncan also spoke on Tiger Rag Radio about how college football needs to govern itself more in unison as the NFL does and why he believes a 16-team College Football Playoff is the best bet.