LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who has made a name for himself by hiring high-profile coaches, is set to receive a four-year contract extension that would pay him $1.85 million per year.
LSU’s board of supervisors is scheduled to vote on the extension Friday afternoon.
Woodward’s new contract would run through April 30, 2029, and includes academic incentives that could boost his pay by as much as $250,000 per year. Should he meet certain benchmarks, he could earn $500,000 bonuses in fiscal year 2025 and 2029.
Also included in the contract is a “milestone performance payment” of $500,000 should any varsity sport team win a national championship or three teams win SEC championships.
Woodward returned to his hometown and alma mater in 2019 after stints as athletic director at Texas A&M (2016-19) and Washington (2007-16). He helped make former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher an Aggie in December 2017, signing him to an unprecedented fully guaranteed contract of 10 years and $75 million.
Woodward’s first big move at LSU was hiring Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey from Baylor in the spring of 2021.
In October, Woodward fired football coach Ed Orgeron, who had led the Tigers to a national championship during the 2019 season but struggled to .500 seasons in 2020 and 2021.
Woodward made yet another splashy move when he replaced Orgeron with Notre Dame‘s Brian Kelly, the winningest active coach in college football and a three-time Coach of the Year winner. Woodward signed Kelly to a 10-year, $95 million contract in December.
LSU football has experienced ups and downs during the first part of Kelly’s inaugural season, losing the season opener to Florida State in New Orleans before bouncing back to win four straight games.
The Tigers lost 40-13 at home to Tennessee two weeks ago but recovered to beat Florida on the road on Oct. 15. They host No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday.
