Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
As LSU collapsed in the second half of a blowout home loss to Texas A&M and fans poured out of Tiger Stadium last weekend, longtime athletic official Verge Ausberry looked at the sideline and into the stands. Not much time had passed since LSU held a halftime lead, and now the stadium was being taken over by opposing fans. “I saw empty seats, empty suites,” Ausberry said. “I saw our stadium, Tiger Stadium, halfway empty. That’s not a good thing. Woody Hayes always said the worst word in the dictionary is apathy. This program cannot have apathy in no way or means. We have to win. We have to be successful.” That responsibility now appears to fall largely on Ausberry, a former LSU linebacker who has worked in the department for 24 years. LSU board of supervisors member John Carmouche, the chair of its athletic committee, said at a news conference Friday morning that Ausberry has “full authority” as the interim athletic director. “That includes leading the search for our next head coach and hiring our next head coach,” Carmouche said. There are expected to be multiple people involved, however, and Ausberry said he has formed a committee. It includes Carmouche, LSU board chair Scott Ballard, Our Lady of the Lake CEO EJ Kuiper, former LSU offensive lineman and major donor Ben Bordelon and another unnamed person. LSU’s next full-time president, who will be elected Tuesday, could also have a say. “We’re not slowing down for that,” Ballard said. “Verge is going to move forward and knows what he needs to do. But depending on how that works out and when the new president starts, the new president will absolutely have input." Ausberry, a native of New Iberia, deflected a question about his interest in the full-time job, saying his concern is on hiring the next football coach and stablizing the athletic department. Ballard added there is “not a timeline” on hiring Woodward's replacement. For LSU, the priority is the football coach. “The full concentration is to find a coach, find the best coach,” Ballard said. “Period. That process has already started, as Verge said, with the team, the athletic department. It truly is not something we’re even going to address until we get that done.” Ausberry tried to project confidence Friday after the events of the week caught the attention of the entire college sports industry, and not necessarily in a good way. LSU now has an interim president, an interim athletic director and an interim coach, and Landry has been involved in certain parts of the decision-making process. “I want our fan base to know one thing: LSU is not broken,” Ausberry said. “LSU’s athletic department is not broken. I think we have the best athletic department in the country.” In Landry's remarks this week, he also described what he wants to see in the next coach’s contract. He took issue with Woodward over the nearly $54 million buyout that LSU owes Kelly, pending negotiations or mitigation, and he expressed that he would prefer a deal that includes more performance incentives than guaranteed money. It’s unclear if that will happen. “Our job, I was told, is to get the best football coach there is and don’t worry about that at all,” Ausberry said. “Whatever it takes to get that person here, we will do.” Ausberry set an expectation for the next coach, saying “LSU has to be in the playoffs every year in football.” Kelly did not come close during his four seasons. As LSU looks for a replacement, Ausberry said his phone has continued to ring with interest in the job, even after all the upheaval. “A lot of people still want to come to LSU,” Ausberry said. “It’s one of the best jobs in the country. It is the best job in the country at this time. We’re going to find the right person, and I don’t see any problems getting the right person to be the head coach at LSU.”
