LSU has struck a new deal with athletic director Verge Ausberry

LSU and athletic director Verge Ausberry have agreed to a new contract. Ausberry was promoted to the position last fall following the ouster of Scott Woodward.

Ausberry’s new deal takes him through 2030 and pays him $6.3 million over the next four years. He will make $1.5 million for two years, then his compensation increases by $100,000 annually over the final two years of the deal.

The terms were included in a meeting agenda for LSU’s board of supervisors, which is set to approve the contract Thursday. Ausberry, a former LSU linebacker and longtime athletic official, was named the full-time athletic director less than a week after Woodward was ousted amid public criticism from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. In his first months as the athletic director, Ausberry hired Lane Kiffin and Will Wade.

Ausberry can also receive bonuses based on postseason performance, academic metrics and NACDA Director’s Cup Rankings. For example, he would receive $210,000 if the football team won the SEC championship and the College Football Playoff in the same year and $60,000 if one of the basketball teams goes to the Final Four.

If LSU fired him without cause, Ausberry would be owed 80% of his remaining compensation. His contract includes a duty to mitigate clause that would require him to look for a similar job, potentially offsetting the payments.

Woodward’s departure came with four-plus years remaining on a contract that paid him $1.85 million per year. According to their separation agreement, LSU agreed to pay Woodward $6.475 million. The payments could be offset if Woodward accepts another job as an athletic director or an “other comparable employment position,” the agreement said.

With an opening in the athletic department, LSU hired McNeese State athletic director Heath Schroyer as its new senior deputy athletic director and executive director for external relations last month, a move that helped with the hiring of Wade. Schroyer, Wade and new LSU system president Wade Rousse worked together at McNeese.

Schroyer agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth $400,000 per year, according to a copy of his term sheet included in the meeting agenda.