It goes without saying LSU football not only is insanely important to the state of Louisiana, but also to the sport of college football as a whole.
Unfortunately, the team is in danger of being cut for the Fall 2016 semester according to Gov. John Bel Edwards. Thursday, the Louisiana governor stressed the need for tax increases in order to keep the football program alive. A $940 million deficit has Edwards worried about higher education funding.
Per The Times-Picayune:
“Student athletes across the state would be ineligible to play next semester,” Edwards said. “I don’t say this to scare you. But I am going to be honest with you. If you are a student attending one of these universities, it means that you will receive a grade of incomplete, many students will not be able to graduate, and student-athletes across the state at those schools will be ineligible to play next semester. That means you can say farewell to college football next fall.”
All of this seems unlikely, but Edwards swears he isn’t using scare tactics and is simply trying to point out a potential harsh reality. College football would be beyond strange without those purple and yellow uniforms taking the field every week, so we certainly hope Edwards is exaggerating this apparent crisis.