LSU AD Verge Ausberry Has Interim Tag Removed After Scott Woodward Exit

LSU president Wade Rousse has made Verge Ausberry the school's permanent athletic director, but his future remains in question.

Rousse explained the situation Wednesday:

Ausberry had been serving as interim athletic director following Scott Woodward's exit. Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger then reported Rousse's plan to make Ausberry's role permanent, but it's clear the school still has long-term decisions to make.

LSU and Woodward parted ways last week following head coach Brian Kelly's firing days before. Woodward had been in Baton Rouge since 2019.

"We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director," Scott Ballard, Board of Supervisors Chair, 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."

Before Woodward's exit, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Woodward would not have the final say in naming the Tigers' next head coach, pointing out his past decisions to hire Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Kelly at LSU.

With Woodward's somewhat messy exit behind LSU, the Tigers will now move onto Ausberry, who has been with the athletic department for more than two decades. He has most recently served as the department's executive deputy director of athletics and executive director of external relations since 2019.

In a press conference introducing Ausberry, LSU board member John Carmouche granted Ausberry "full authority" in the Tigers' coaching search.

"Verge is the ideal person to lead this department through this change, and I want to be very clear, he has the full authority to do so," Carmouche told reporters. "That includes leading the search for our next head coach and hiring our next head coach."

As for what kind of coach Ausberry is targeting, he said Tuesday that the Tigers' search includes coaches who will be a part of the College Football Playoff, even if it prolongs the search.

With LSU's athletic department facing major changes over the last week, Ausberry assured fans that the Tigers will be back on top soon.

"We're LSU," Ausberry told reporters last week. "This place is not broken. The athletic department is not broken. We win."