No political leader is more closely identified with Louisiana State
University than the flamboyant governor and U.S. senator Huey P.
Long, who devoted his last years to turning a small,
undistinguished state school into an academic and football
powerhouse. From 1931, when Long declared himself the "official
thief" for LSU, to his death in 1935, the school's budget
mushroomed, its physical plant burgeoned, its faculty flourished,
and its enrollment tripled. Along with improving LSU's academic
reputation, Long believed the school's football program and band
were crucial to its success. Taking an intense interest in the
team, Long delivered pregame and halftime pep talks, devised plays,
stalked the sidelines during games, and fired two coaches. He
poured money into a larger, flashier band, supervised the hiring of
two directors, and, with the second one, wrote a new fight song,
"Touchdown for LSU." While he rarely meddled in academic affairs,
Long insisted that no faculty member criticize him publicly. When
students or faculty from "his school" opposed him, retribution was
swift. Long's support for LSU did not come without consequences.
His unrelenting involvement almost cost the university its
accreditation. And after his death, several of his allies-including
his handpicked university president-went to prison in a scandal
that almost destroyed LSU. Rollicking and revealing, Robert Mann's
Kingfish U is the definitive story of Long's embrace of LSU.
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