As first reported by the Baton Rouge Business Report, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has stepped down.
Alleva has led the LSU athletic department for over a decade, and recently reinstated men's basketball coach Will Wade following a controversial suspension that dragged into the team's Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, which drew some widespread criticism from the fan base and dominated the national conversation for weeks. Alleva recently reinstated Wade.
Alleva's contract was set to expire in July of 2020.
The report adds that "details of Alleva’s expected departure remain murky, sources say a deal is in the works to replace him with a nationally recognized leader in university athletics," and that an announcement on that is also expected in the next few days.
Alleva started the LSU job back in July of 2008 after being the athletic director at Duke, where he was responsible for hiring David Cutcliffe before departing for the job with the Tigers athletic department in Baton Rouge. He originally received a three-year contract extension back in 2014 taking him to 2019, and received another contract extension a year later taking him through July of 2020 a year later in 2015. The LSU athletic department just finished historically strong in football, men's basketball, as well as a number of other sports, but Alleva has been the focus of criticism dating back for a few years now for a variety of reasons. Head here to read the full report.
Update>>USA Today adds that the candidate being targeted to replace Alleva is Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward, who is a Baton Rouge alum and LSU graduate. Woodward was responsible for luring Jimbo Fisher away from Florida State with the richest contract in college football history - $7.5 million over 10 years...fully guaranteed.
Wednesday evening update>> Woodward is indeed leaving College Station to return to Baton Rouge, according to TexAgs' Billy Liucci.