In a rare televised statewide address, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that if state legislators were not able to agree on and pass his set of tax hikes, universities across the state would be forced to shut down before the semester ends and athletics, including high-revenue producing programs like LSU football, would be put on hold,
according to The Times-Picayune.
The threat to athletic programs comes as a direct result of the possibility of Louisiana colleges and universities being forced to close early for the spring semester due to a lack of funds. As a result, athletes enrolled at these schools would be ineligible to compete in the fall semester per NCAA guidelines. At the current rate, Edwards said schools could close as early as April.
“If the legislature fails to act and we are forced to proceed with these cuts … student-athletes across the state at those schools will be ineligible to play next semester,” Edwards said Thursday. “That means you can say farewell to college football next fall.”
The governor’s planned tax hikes—which, as they currently exist, would be the largest tax hike in state history—would go toward lessening the state budget’s current $940 million deficit, though, per The Times-Picayune, the same issue is likely to arise in July—the beginning of the following fiscal year, which will start out with a $2 billion budget shortfall.
