UL System president Rick Gallot says higher-ed officials will need to make tough decisions regarding the deficits university athletics departments face. Kace Kieschnick has more…
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Tonight the Saints host the Falcons and the game will be used to remember rebirth of New Orleans. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Despite boasting the best cuisine on the planet, Louisiana is actually slimming down. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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College football fans across the state were sent into a frenzy last week after a Louisiana Regent suggested that the UL System should consider moving ULL, ULM and Louisiana Tech down from the FBS to the FCS. UL System president Rick Gallot says that comment was not a directive, but the system will have to consider all cost-cutting measures as it looks to correct athletics deficits.
Cut 4 (09) “…its expenses.”
Gallot said universities around the country are experiencing the same budget concerns.
Each university’s athletics department is 10s of millions of dollars in the red. Gallot says the system commissioned a report from Deloitte to evaluate its athletics departments and develop a path to sustainability. He says that report is expected by the end of the year and will be used to inform his recommendation.
Cut 5 (13) “…have to make.”
While Gallot wants to remain data-driven, that does not mean the UL System will be ignoring the opinions of its universities. He says the system plans to solicit input from each of their campus communities.
Cut 6 (11) “…tough decisions.”
Gallot was not surprised by public backlash to the idea but says it is important to remember their primary mission is the education of students. He says that does not mean athletics and education cannot coexist.
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Tonight, the Saints host the Falcons, but this game is about more than the regular-season rivalry. It’s also a night to remember one of the most emotional moments in New Orleans sports history — the Saints’ return to the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. The Saints’ radio voice, Mike Hoss, was a fan in the stands when Steve Gleason famously blocked Michael Koenen’s punt, setting off an eruption of emotion inside the Superdome…
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The Saints went on to win 23-to-3, but Hoss says Gleason’s blocked punt became a defining moment in the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina…
Cut 8 (13) “…pivotal moment.”
Gleason, who has been living with A-L-S for years, will be at tonight’s game as an honorary captain and will lead the “Who Dat” chant before kickoff. Hoss says part of what made Gleason’s block so powerful was that nobody saw it coming…
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U-S Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has designated LSU as a Distinguished Military College. U-S Air Force Colonel Joseph Musacchia, who is the commandment of the LSU Corps of Cadet says Hegseth’s order gives LSU Corps of Cadets and ROTC graduates a better chance at starting their military career in the officer ranks…
Cut 10 (11) “…from the pack.”
Musacchia says these military programs teach leadership skills that would help any student regardless of their career path. He says LSU was founded in 1860 as the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, so the school has a long military tradition…
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Musacchia says the cadet crop program currently has about 350 students, which this designation, he expects it will double in size in the next four years…
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It appears that Louisianans are slimming down. According to the State of Obesity 2026 report, Louisiana is only one of two states which showed a significant decline in adult obesity rate, falling from 39.2-percent to 35.6-percent. That helped Louisiana move from number-three down to number-19 in the state rankings for obesity rates. Dr. Oren Rom, the assistant vice chancellor for research at LSU Health Shreveport, says you can thank Ozempic and Mounjaro for that.
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Dr. Rom says the benefits of the GLP-1 drugs, which are becoming more and more popular for weight loss, outweigh the side effects.
Cut 14 (10) “…in body weight.”
Rom says the one side effect of using the GLP-1 drugs, loss of skeletal muscle mass, is easily treatable.
Cut 15 (08) “…don’t do that.”
The only other state to show a significant decline in adult obesity rate is West Virginia.
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The Saints host the Falcons in a 20th anniversary game of the team’s historic return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. Quarterback Tyler Shough was just three days away from his seventh birthday in Arizona when Steve Gleason blocked the punt, but he says he was emotional nonetheless when Kellen Moore showed the team a video about the post-Katrina rebirth.
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If New Orleans wants it to be another positive memory, the Saints will have to stop Falcons running back Bijon Robinson. The All-Pro is the NFL’s second-leading rusher and ran for 194 yards against the Packers last week. Defensive end Cam Jordan says all you can do is hope to slow him down.
Cut 17 (19) “…than positives.”
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It was a win that LSU had in the bag simply by arriving safely at Tiger Stadium. In easily the most predictable game on the schedule, LSU scored on its first possession and went into cruise control from there, annihilating an overmatched McNeese, 63-14. After the game, Head Coach Lane Kiffin said one of his biggest objectives going into the game was getting his backups as much playing time as possible.
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The biggest question going into Saturday night’s game was how much quarterback Sam Leavitt would play, if at all. While nursing a hamstring injury, Leavitt ended up playing nearly the entire first half – minus a few plays here and there – going 18 for 23 for 176 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. On his decision to play Leavitt, Kiffin said he was going to be cautious with his play-calling.
Cut 19 (18) “…they were running.”
It was a game for the ages for defensive tackle Deuce Geralds. He recorded a full sack and scored an offensive touchdown, becoming the first LSU player ever to accomplish that feat. The freshman from Suwanee, Georgia, says he routinely did it in high school, but not at this level.
Cut 20 (14) “…of my life.”