By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU’s million dollar summit at the Governor’s Mansion with approximately 40 major donors this week is expected to culminate with a new $100 million package for athletics.
LSU associate athletic director and chief financial officer Matthew LaBorde spoke about the meetings in general terms on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night. Hit the white arrow in the red box below to listen to LaBorde’s appearance in full.
“Everybody’s highly interested in what’s going on,” he said. “But there’s a time and place to discuss that further. In reality, there have been discussions for the last several years on this, because the financial landscape has changed. So, it’s our duty to listen to everything that’s out there – the creative financial options, the different ideas that will put us into position to be successful.”
That included having private equity expert Greg Williams at the meetings. Williams is the chairman and CEO of the Acrisure financial technology company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“We look at LSU as one of the premier brands in the country,” LaBorde said. “We don’t want to be second. For us, it’s about how do we elevate our brand across all the sports in addition to football. We try to have success across the board.”
That is one reason why LSU hired men’s basketball coach Will Wade away from North Carolina State after the Tigers’ second consecutive 3-15 season in Southeastern Conference play and second straight losing season at 14-18 and 15-17. Wade was swiftly successful as LSU’s coach previously beginning in the 2017-18 season, and LaBorde worked with his program at the time.
After an opening season of 18-15 and 8-10, Wade won the SEC regular season title in his second season in 2018-19 at 25-5 and 15-2 and reached the NCAA Tournament. He was suspended by LSU, however, when he failed to cooperate with LSU officials in an investigation of major recruiting violations. Wade followed that with a 21-10 and 12-6 season in 2019-20, but the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19. He then went 19-10 and 11-6 in the 2020-21 season and won a game in the NCAA Tournament. His last team in 2021-22 was 22-11 and 9-9 and reached the NCAA Tournament, but he was fired before the postseason because of major recruiting violations found by the NCAA.
Wade resurfaced as McNeese State’s coach for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before coaching at North Carolina State in the 2025-26 season.
“When Will got here (the first time), you could tell right away that this wasn’t your normal coach,” LaBorde said. “He was going to put us in position to be successfull right out the gate. One of the things he said when he got here and recently is we’re not trying to be second to anyone. He challenged me as a young administrator (in 2017). He said, “What are our competitive edges?’ He was always pushing and wanted LSU to be considered a blue blood of college basketball. He had it in 2017, and he still has it today.”
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