GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
That was a huge win for LSU men’s basketball coach Matt McMahon Saturday night at Oklahoma that snapped a seven-game losing streak in a lost season – 13-12 overall and 2-10 in the Southeastern Conference.
LSU PULLS OFF MIRACLE WIN AT OKLAHOMA
But LSU athletic director Scott Woodward and other powers that be did not just decide to keep him for his fourth season next year or more on the strength of that. They have been working behind the scenes for several weeks, according to sources, on a plan to increase LSU’s Name, Image & Likeness funding for the program, which has been near the bottom in NIL money since NIL payments to student-athletes began in the summer of 2021.
Shea Dixon of On3.com broke a story Monday saying that LSU is expected to keep McMahon and improve his program’s standing as one of the smallest NIL spenders in the SEC.
New: LSU is backing Matt McMahon with a focus on building basketball's NIL budget, sources tell me.
— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) February 17, 2025
LSU + South Carolina had the least NIL money in the offseason. Both are at the bottom of the SEC standings.
My story on LSU's approach + what's next:➡️ https://t.co/KLVJVBwauP pic.twitter.com/NUMrkCMrSp
Last Monday on the heels of McMahon’s worst loss as LSU’s coach – 72-70 at home to Ole Miss after leading 70-59 with 3:15 to play – Tiger Rag said in a column that it would be best not to fire McMahon here:
“Do not assume he will be fired. McMahon is on a seven-year contract at $2.8 million a year through 2029. Considering Woodward likes to delve into voodoo economics, and the women’s basketball program lost $8.5 million last year, he may not be able to withstand paying McMahon about $11 million not to coach the next four years.
“If Woodward does fire McMahon after this season and chalks it up as a bridge hire, he would have to make a blockbuster hire as in football that could attract more NIL money. Woodward would have to enter the $4-to-$5-million range for a new coach. Now, the price to swap out McMahon is getting close to $20 million when you count the buyouts of the assistants and hiring new assistants.
“And would Woodward want to do that if he is possibly looking for a new football coach in a year or two should Brian Kelly stumble toward mediocrity again as he did last season? And all the while with women’s basketball a spending pit regardless of how much it wins. Woodward’s best bet may be to swallow his hiring ego for a year or two and hope McMahon can get some better players via NIL through the new revenue sharing.”
The new NCAA revenue sharing plan that is estimated to be about $13 million per school could kick in a million or two to McMahon’s NIL budget, depending on what the other programs get, particularly football. But apparently LSU has significantly bigger plans than that.
Among the other penny pinchers in SEC men’s basketball reportedly are Oklahoma and South Carolina. The current 16-team SEC standings have Oklahoma (16-9, 3-9) in 14th, LSU (13-12, 2-10) in 15th and South Carolina (10-15, 0-12) in 16th. The Tigers will try to win two in a row for the first time since December when they host league-winless South Carolina on Tuesday (8 p.m., SEC Network).
“I haven’t looked long term future, been just so dialed in to how do we help our players navigate some of these challenging times that we’ve been in,” McMahon said at a regularly scheduled press conference Monday when asked about LSU’s new NIL plan for his program.
“How do we keep getting better as a team and how do we find ways to win games, but I’ve always been incredibly appreciative of the support that I’ve received here,” he said. “It’s an absolute honor and privilege to get to coach at a place like LSU with the tradition, the history, the star power over the years in all sports.”
McMahon, 46, came to LSU after the 2021-22 season to replace Will Wade, who was fired after the NCAA ruled his involvement in several major recruiting violations. McMahon previously coached at Murray State, which he took to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2018 through 2021 with no NCAA Tournament in 2020 due to COVID. He also won three Ohio Valley Conference titles. Murray State was 26-6 and 16-2 in 2017-18, 28-5 and 16-2 in 2018-19, 23-9 and 15-3 in 2019-20, and 31-3 and 18-0 in 2021-22.
McMahon was 14-19 and 2-16 in his first season at LSU in 2022-23 after a mass exodus of players to the portal after Wade’s dismissal. He went 17-16 and 9-9 last year and reached the NIT. LSU lost 6-foot-10 junior forward Jalen Reed, who was its top returning player for 2024-25, for the season in early December to a knee injury.
Also last December, McMahon signed the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation in the early period.
“And, so, we’re going to continue to fight every day and keep working to get better,” McMahon said. “I love the recruiting class we were able to sign in the early period. And we all know the importance of the transfer portal as you look at college athletics here in 2025.”
Suddenly, LSU is also realizing the importance of NIL money and the portal in football last December after a disappointing season and now with men’s basketball.
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