LSU parts ways with AD Woodward

LSU and athletic director Scott Woodward agreed to part ways, the school announced Thursday - one day after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry criticized the administrator in the wake of Brian Kelly's dismissal.

Kelly was fired Sunday in his fourth season with LSU, and Woodward came under fire for the $53-million buyout the school owed. Landry took Woodward to task in the press, declaring Wednesday that the embattled AD would have no role in selecting the football program's next head coach.

Longtime athletic administrator Verge Ausberry will serve as the interim AD. LSU will owe Woodward nearly $6.4 million in a buyout, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

"We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director," board of supervisors chair Scott Ballard said in a statement. "He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential."

Woodward had served as LSU's AD since 2019 after coming over from Texas A&M. He made several high-profile hires, including bringing on Kim Mulkey as the women's basketball coach and Jay Johnson to oversee the baseball team. Both have won national championships with the Tigers.

Kelly was Woodward's most notable hire. LSU lured him away from Notre Dame after the 2021 season on a 10-year, $100-million contract. Kelly, however, never got the Tigers to the College Football Playoff and had posted a disappointing 5-3 mark so far this season.

"Others can recap or opine on my tenure and on my decisions over the last six years as director of athletics, but I will not," Woodward wrote in a letter to LSU fans, according to Dellenger. "Rather, I will focus on the absolute joy that LSU athletics brings to our state's residents and to the Baton Rouge community. I will cherish the incredible relationships I have built within the university community and beyond our campus borders. And I will fondly remember the national and SEC championships for the joy that they brought to our student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus community, and our incredible fans."