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TULANE FALLS TO TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO 48-26 1C
N O L A.C O M
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F r i d ay, O c t O b e r 31, 2025
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Woodward out as LSU athletic director
Move comes after critical comments from governor BY KOKI RILEY and WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writers
LSU and athletic director Scott Woodward are finalizing his separation from the school, one day after Gov. Jeff Landry said Woodward would not be the one to hire the replacement for coach Brian Kelly. LSU confirmed in an announce-
ment Thursday that Woodward and the school agreed to part ways effective immediately. Longtime LSU athletic official Verge Ausberry will serve as the interim athletic director as the school nears the end of its search for a new president and looks for a new head football coach. With four years left on his contract, Woodward is owed a buyout of roughly $6.7 million. LSU is ex-
pected to comply with the terms of his deal, according to Yahoo Sports. Woodward’s buyout would be paid out into 2029 and could be offset by the salary at his next job. According to the contract, Woodward has a duty to find another athletic director job or a similar position. “We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,” Scott Ballard, the chair of the
LSU Board of Supervisors, 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 Woodward to achieve its full potential.” The decision had been expected, especially after Landry criticized
River District deal collapses Developer abruptly withdraws from negotiations
Woodward for what he described as a “pattern” of bad coaching contracts. Landry claimed Woodward was to blame for the nearly $77 million buyout that Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher, and LSU owes Kelly a nearly $54 million buyout that is still being negotiated. Woodward hired Fisher at Texas A&M to a 10-year, $75 million contract in 2017. Two years after Woodward left for LSU, then-Texas A&M athletics director Ross
ä See WOODWARD, page 8A
City eyes rainy day fund amid budget woes Council would have to OK use of money
BY BLAKE PATERSON and SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writers
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
The proposed River District project is envisioned as a new neighborhood of residences, hotels, shops and entertainment venues across 47 acres of land along the Mississippi River. BY ANTHONY MCAULEY Staff writer
New Orleans’ long-delayed River District project was thrown into turmoil Thursday after the consortium leading the development abruptly withdrew from negotiations with the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center just hours before the Convention Center’s oversight board was to vote on sweeping changes to the project. The Convention Center’s new CEO Jim Cook told the board at Thursday’s meeting that he was ready to move forward but that River District Neighborhood Investors — the consortium led by local developer Louis Lauricella — had informed him earlier in the day that they no longer wanted to. He told Board Chair Russel Allen he had no further information. The consortium’s withdrawal effectively collapses a tentative agreement that had been set for approval Thursday, which would have stripped RDNI of control over several key parcels of riverfront land
WEATHER HIGH 70 LOW 53 PAGE 8B
New Orleans leaders are eyeing tapping a rainy day fund to cover city payroll through the end of the year after the city abandoned its push for a $125 million loan amid threats of a state takeover of the city’s finances. The city’s rainy day fund — otherwise known as the Savings Fund — holds around $37 million, and can only be used with a two-thirds vote of the City Council in certain circumstances under the city charter. At least five of the council’s seven members — Lesli Harris, Joe Giarrusso, Eugene Green, JP Morrell and Oliver Thomas — said in Thursday interviews that they’d be willing to dip into the fund to alleviate the current cash flow crisis, though some said they’d be more in favor of going down other avenues first. Officials and economic experts have long
ä See BUDGET, page 10A
IMAGE PROVIDED By ESKEW DUMEZ RIPPLE
The New Orleans Music and Heritage Experience building is seen in a rendering at the planned River District development in New Orleans. after repeated payment and performance delays. The move caps months of growing frustration inside the Convention Center, whose leadership had signaled that patience with the developer had run out. RDNI had missed multiple rent deadlines and failed to meet construction milestones since
N.O. police chief rejects freeze on overtime BY MISSY WILKINSON and JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writers
winning the “master developer” role in 2021. A spokesperson for the Convention Center and its board chair said they had no comment Thursday morning. An RDNI spokesperson declined to comment.
In response to the City Council’s call for a pause on all overtime amid a major cash crunch, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick warned that ending overtime could compromise public safety and that she will not scale back in a way that puts officers at risk. “When it comes to your safety, it isn’t about
ä See RIVER, page 13A
ä See CHIEF, page 14A
Business ...................12A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................8D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-7D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 80