Scott Woodward has spent unprecedented money atop LSU athletics in an effort to give the Tigers high-visibility, proven coaches with chances to lead to success in their respective sports.
On behalf of LSU, Woodward pledged nearly $100 million to hire away Brian Kelly from Notre Dame, and he previously had pried away then-three-time national champion coach Kim Mulkey from Baylor to run Tigers women's basketball before the 2021-22 season.
But Woodward didn't only set up the coaches for financial windfalls; he tied part of his compensation to LSU's athletics success.
Now, days after Mulkey's squad trounced Iowa to win the NCAA Women's Tournament, Woodward is set to benefit in a major way.
As USA Today's Steve Berkowitz first noted, Woodward is now in line to collect an $500,000 bonus on the heels of LSU's first-ever women's basketball national title.
Woodward and LSU agreed to a long-term extension of his contract, which included escalated salary raises and incentive bonuses such as this one, last October.
With this incentive already secured, Woodward can still be eligible for another half-million extra payout beginning in July 2025; the terms are the same: any team ncaa national championship, a collective of three SEC championships or any single appearance during that time by Kelly's LSU Tigers in the College Football Playoffs' semifinals round. Though as Berkowitz deftly noted, Woodward's contract has a glaring typo in its terminology for the football bonus, referring to the CFP instead by the long-defunct BCS (Bowl Championship Series) moniker.
Kelly's Tigers made a surprising run to the SEC Western Division title last fall in his first season on the Bayou, and they open 2023 on the road at Florida State in a season already brimming with expectations.
LSU's baseball team, having spent much of this season ranked No. 1, also could be in position to help Woodward stack championships. The Tigers are frontrunners to win both the SEC title and make a run to the College World Series in Omaha.