LSU Tigers: Joe Alleva
BATON ROUGE, La. -- All told, it seems most around LSU feel pleased to go the Chick-fil-A bowl.
Now, it's about getting the fans excited too.
LSU coach Les Miles said during a Wednesday news conference that the Chick-fil-A bowl game -- between his No. 8 Tigers and No. 14 Clemson in a matchup of 10-2 teams -- is one of the better bowl pairings of the season. He added that with several players from the area, Atlanta is a place where his guys "love to play" and that Clemson is an opponent they can embrace.
And both Miles and athletic director Joe Alleva seemed to endorse Chick-fil-A Bowl CEO Gary Stokan's claims that their bowl is "BCS without the letters" and is consistently rated as one of the top three or four bowls in terms of how it's run -- regardless of where it is in the bowl pecking order.
Stokan seemed to find the talk of possible fan apathy quite obscure.
He said they are expecting their 17th straight Chick-fil-A Bowl sellout, the second longest streak of bowl sellouts behind the Rose Bowl. He said the bowl could sell out by Dec. 17. The New Year's Eve game has little competition for sports TV audience and he said LSU's 2005 win over Miami is one of the highest rated games in ESPN television history.
If there's dissatisfaction with LSU's bowl placement, you didn't see it Wednesday. Alleva and Miles seemed pleased enough and the big winner is the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which managed to land a 10-game winner from the SEC despite being sixth in the pecking order. One late touchdown by Alabama was all that kept LSU from winning the SEC West, playing for the SEC championship and possibly for the national championship.
"We are ecstatic to have LSU," Stokan said.
If he has his way, Atlanta will become a frequent home of national title contenders.
The city is making a bid to host semifinal and national championship games starting in 2014 when college football goes to a four-team playoff. Atlanta is close to getting a new stadium to replace the Georgia Dome, a 20-year-old former Olympic Games venue in good condition but already the 10th-oldest in the NFL. With its facilities, its city and its ambition, The Chick-fil-A bowl already doesn't feel like a bowl that would only get the No. 5 or No. 6 team in the SEC.
Now, it's about getting the fans excited too.
LSU coach Les Miles said during a Wednesday news conference that the Chick-fil-A bowl game -- between his No. 8 Tigers and No. 14 Clemson in a matchup of 10-2 teams -- is one of the better bowl pairings of the season. He added that with several players from the area, Atlanta is a place where his guys "love to play" and that Clemson is an opponent they can embrace.
And both Miles and athletic director Joe Alleva seemed to endorse Chick-fil-A Bowl CEO Gary Stokan's claims that their bowl is "BCS without the letters" and is consistently rated as one of the top three or four bowls in terms of how it's run -- regardless of where it is in the bowl pecking order.
Stokan seemed to find the talk of possible fan apathy quite obscure.
He said they are expecting their 17th straight Chick-fil-A Bowl sellout, the second longest streak of bowl sellouts behind the Rose Bowl. He said the bowl could sell out by Dec. 17. The New Year's Eve game has little competition for sports TV audience and he said LSU's 2005 win over Miami is one of the highest rated games in ESPN television history.
If there's dissatisfaction with LSU's bowl placement, you didn't see it Wednesday. Alleva and Miles seemed pleased enough and the big winner is the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which managed to land a 10-game winner from the SEC despite being sixth in the pecking order. One late touchdown by Alabama was all that kept LSU from winning the SEC West, playing for the SEC championship and possibly for the national championship.
"We are ecstatic to have LSU," Stokan said.
If he has his way, Atlanta will become a frequent home of national title contenders.
The city is making a bid to host semifinal and national championship games starting in 2014 when college football goes to a four-team playoff. Atlanta is close to getting a new stadium to replace the Georgia Dome, a 20-year-old former Olympic Games venue in good condition but already the 10th-oldest in the NFL. With its facilities, its city and its ambition, The Chick-fil-A bowl already doesn't feel like a bowl that would only get the No. 5 or No. 6 team in the SEC.
Mailbag: Was Miles serious? Probably not 
November, 30, 2012
11/30/12
8:30
AM ET
By
Gary Laney | ESPN.com
Taking your questions on LSU football and recruiting:
Do you think the talks with Arkansas were ever serious for Les Miles? Did Miles use it as leverage for more money?
Miles used the word "sincere" to describe his dialogue with Arkansas over its job opening. That's probably a good word choice because it reflects that Miles took it seriously and listened, but falls short of any suggestion that Miles was ever anywhere near leaving Baton Rouge.
Do you think the talks with Arkansas were ever serious for Les Miles? Did Miles use it as leverage for more money?
Miles used the word "sincere" to describe his dialogue with Arkansas over its job opening. That's probably a good word choice because it reflects that Miles took it seriously and listened, but falls short of any suggestion that Miles was ever anywhere near leaving Baton Rouge.
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU's Tiger Stadium got its start as a 12,000-seat venue in 1924, but by 1931, iconic Louisiana governor Huey P. Long wanted a football power at the state's flagship school, so he wanted the stadium expanded.
LSU's president, however, wanted new dormitories. So Long, ever the deal-maker, had a compromise: Build the dorms as part of the stadium expansion. So Tiger Stadium was expanded by 10,000 seats to 22,000 and housing for 1,500 students was added within the walls of the stadium, creating an exterior to the stadium that looked like a stadium-shaped dormitory.
Eighty years and numerous stadium expansions later, Tiger Stadium currently seats 92,542 and will expand to close to 100,000 seats with construction due to start this fall on the stadium's south side -- the old dorms were no longer used, but sat in disrepair, as did many of the older parts of the stadium.
LSU's president, however, wanted new dormitories. So Long, ever the deal-maker, had a compromise: Build the dorms as part of the stadium expansion. So Tiger Stadium was expanded by 10,000 seats to 22,000 and housing for 1,500 students was added within the walls of the stadium, creating an exterior to the stadium that looked like a stadium-shaped dormitory.
Eighty years and numerous stadium expansions later, Tiger Stadium currently seats 92,542 and will expand to close to 100,000 seats with construction due to start this fall on the stadium's south side -- the old dorms were no longer used, but sat in disrepair, as did many of the older parts of the stadium.
Joe Alleva's base salary as LSU's director of athletics is $525,000 a year, according to various reports.
It's times like these when he earns it.
He's caught in a search for a men's basketball coach where a local candidate has emerged in Johnny Jones. But the North Texas coach isn't universally the local favorite. And that will make for an interesting and difficult dynamic for Alleva to navigate.
It's times like these when he earns it.
He's caught in a search for a men's basketball coach where a local candidate has emerged in Johnny Jones. But the North Texas coach isn't universally the local favorite. And that will make for an interesting and difficult dynamic for Alleva to navigate.
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Johnny Jones' candidacy for the vacant LSU head basketball coach position has picked up a trio of notable endorsements.
After Collis Temple Jr., one of the school's more prominent ex-players, opined that the North Texas coach and former LSU point guard and assistant coach should get the LSU job on Friday, outgoing coach Trent Johnson echoed those sentiments to a Baton Rouge magazine on Saturday. And Dale Brown, the winningest and most prominent former LSU coach, also gave Jones a ringing endorsement Monday.
"I read (athletic director) Joe Alleva's comments in the paper today describing what the next coach needed to be - integrity, discipline - and what he was describing was Coach Johnny Jones," Brown said.
After Collis Temple Jr., one of the school's more prominent ex-players, opined that the North Texas coach and former LSU point guard and assistant coach should get the LSU job on Friday, outgoing coach Trent Johnson echoed those sentiments to a Baton Rouge magazine on Saturday. And Dale Brown, the winningest and most prominent former LSU coach, also gave Jones a ringing endorsement Monday.
"I read (athletic director) Joe Alleva's comments in the paper today describing what the next coach needed to be - integrity, discipline - and what he was describing was Coach Johnny Jones," Brown said.
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ABOUT GEAUX TIGER NATION
Gary Laney
Gary Laney joined ESPN.com in 2012 after spending a year and a half as online sports editor of the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate. Before that, he covered LSU sports for the Advocate. He has also been the sports editor at the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise and covered McNeese State athletics for the Lake Charles (La.) American Press. Laney currently lives in Baton Rouge. Email him at glaneyespn@gmail.com