The future of college sports, even at public universities, is a secret.
Or rather, an ever-growing collection of secrets.
That’s the way things are headed these days, judging by recent events at Louisiana’s flagship university in Baton Rouge.
On Dec. 11, LSU and footwear giant Nike jointly announced a 10-year extension of their long-running partnership. The new deal will run through 2036 and include a Name, Image, Likeness component that will see money going directly to athletes under a program Nike terms “Blue Ribbon Elite.”
It also will keep LSU athletes adorned with the swoosh for the next decade.
Presumably, this new deal will be worth more than the several million per year Nike has been paying to LSU under the current arrangement.
I say presumably because we don’t know how much the deal is worth. LSU’s previous contracts with Nike have been considered public records and provided as part of records requests. They have also been published on the LSU Sports website.
But not this one. When this newspaper asked for a copy of the new deal, a reporter was told the university did not have it, and that the Tiger Athletic Foundation was the custodian of the records.
So, Nike’s new deal is not with LSU per se, but rather with TAF, which, of course, is a private entity that does not fall under the public records laws.
Never mind that the release announcing the deal described it as between “Tiger Athletics and Nike,” and included a statement attributed to Verge Ausberry, LSU’s athletic director. In other words, a public entity, LSU Athletics, announced by a public employee, Ausberry.
But it’s not public.
This is just the latest in what has been, for years now, an expansion of secrecy around how public university athletics work. The tail is wagging the, uh, Tiger.
And university officials are more than happy to be wagged, it appears.
In another example, check LSU’s new arena project, which seems to be picking up steam again after a long period of silence in the wake of the indictment of the developer’s founder. (He was pardoned this month by President Donald Trump.)
The entire evaluation of potential developers was handled by TAF, behind closed doors and in secret. The list was whittled down from at least six to two, whose names were released, including Oak View Group, the eventual winner.
All questions on that were directed to TAF, too.
Or look at the advertising on the field in Death Valley. That deal is with TAF, and not the school. TAF is literally renting space on public land with officials’ consent.
Or look at how revenue share funds, which are paid to athletes, are doled out. LSU is paying more than $20 million as part of the plan.
That money comes into a public university and is paid out by a public university to athletes. But LSU officials declined to reveal how much is going to individual players.
It’s worth noting that every other public university in the state also declined to say. And that schools like Tulane and Loyola are private, so not subject to the same public records laws. This is not just a Louisiana problem: Public universities in other states are also working to keep that information secret.
This is just the way things are done now. Secrecy and backroom deals are necessary, they tell us, for LSU to remain competitive for revenue, top coaches and players. The Alabamas, Ohio States and Clemsons are also in on this moneyed arms race.
Yet if LSU is such a strong brand and the business opportunities are so good, then why is transparency such an insurmountable hurdle?
The state has public bid laws and the like on the books for a reason: Public entities are owned by the taxpayers. And the taxpayers deserve to know how business is being conducted on their behalf.
All of this should enrage regular, taxpaying Louisiana residents. LSU is shifting more of its athletics business to a private entity to avoid public scrutiny. Because with scrutiny comes accountability, the type that should stretch farther than the results on the scoreboard.
I’m sure there are fans who disagree, and as long as the Tigers, Cajuns or Bulldogs win, they’re fine with the secrecy.
I’m not one of them. I believe in knowing what my government is doing. And running more and more dealings through foundations is nothing more than an end run around the good government rules the state has in place.
Because when it doesn’t go well on the field — as eventually will happen — the secrecy is going to ensure that those truly responsible escape public accountability.
Then, the real losers are us.