LSU football is the most important thing in the hearts of Louisiana sports fans. It’s more important than basketball and it’s even more important than New Orleans Saints football. So when the governor of Louisiana decided to threaten the football program’s existence for the 2016 season if a budget deficit wasn’t made up, it sent shockwaves throughout the entire nation. Here is a look at the important news and notes from around the college football world beginning with the biggest story from this past week.
Louisiana Governor Threatens LSU Football
In a statewide television address on Thursday, Louisiana’s governor John Bel Edwards threatened the possibility of shutting down the LSU football program in April in order to save money that would be put towards the state’s massive budget deficit. The state is currently facing a $940 million deficit that the governor wants to make a major cut in to by June, and the football program was his latest target as he looks to take drastic measures. It’s not the only state school that will be affected, but Edwards is lobbying a tax raise taxes to help close the gap on the deficit. The challenge is that this is a manageable problem this year but will be an incredibly larger problem next season.
According to the Times-Picayune, the Tigers’ college football program could survive this year and still face a similar problem next year when the state is set to face a $2 billion shortfall. The governor said he is also willing to cut vital health services and other spending in order to help make up the deficit moving forward, but that might not be enough.
Harbaugh Spends $136K Recruiting
There is no denying the impact that Jim Harbaugh made at Michigan in his first year as their college football head coach. Harbaugh clearly did his part to make sure that he lived up to expectations in his first season with the Wolverines and a new report illustrates just how determined he was from the outset. According to records obtained by USA Today Sports, Harbaugh racked up $136,000 in recruiting travel expenses over a 12-day period during the first month as the head coach at Michigan. Harbaugh and his staff averaged $10,000 per day in travel expenses during their recruiting tour, with the bulk of the expenses tied to a private jet that they used to make 18 trips. The results that Harbaugh and his staff helped produce should have made his bosses at Michigan that much more willing to spend big. It will be interesting to see what the numbers look like for this year’s recruiting trips, but as long as the numbers in the wins and losses column add up, nobody will care about this spending.
Alabama Crimson Tide Add Wide Receiver From Bowling Green
The defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide added another important piece this week when they brought in transfer Gehrig Dieter from Bowling Green. The wide receiver made the announcement on Twitter, saying that he will finish his college football career at Alabama after graduating from Bowling Green. Dieter has the potential to be a major addition for the Tide as a 6’3’’ wide receiver that caught 94 passes for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will be excited to get his hands on another receiving playmaker. Dieter will provide another big, fast vertical threat for the Alabama offense in yet another example of the rich getting richer again.
NCAA Approves Player Safety Rules
The NCAA Football Rules Committee approved multiple proposals related to player safety that will be implemented for the 2016 season. A release on NCAA.com provided information on some of the changes, which include rules related to low blocks, an increase in what makes a player considered defenseless and the addition of a penalty for deliberately tripping a ball carrier. There was also confirmation that officials will be allowed more replay use when ruling on targeting calls. The changes to that rule include that replay officials would be able to stop the game if the college football officials on the field missed anything involving targeting that wasn’t called on the field.
