Sports have been a major focus of Jeff Landry’s two-year tenure as Louisiana governor. During that time, he’s helped lure major sporting events to the state, signed a long-term lease agreement with the New Orleans Saints and orchestrated an overhaul of the LSU athletic department.
He conducted an exclusive 25-minute phone interview Thursday with Times-Picayune columnist Jeff Duncan in which Landry touched on a variety of sports-related topics, including LSU’s recent hire of men’s basketball coach Will Wade, New Orleans’ bid to host the 2031 Super Bowl, the Pelicans’ plans to renovate the Smoothie King Center and the upcoming Hondo Rodeo Fest and LIV Golf tournament in New Orleans.
Here’s their conversation:
Q: Let’s start with the big event in town this weekend. Jay Cicero (CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation) credits you for luring the Hondo Rodeo Fest to New Orleans. Why was it so important to you?
A: It’s extremely important. Cause when you look at the number of NFR (National Finals Rodeo) champions that come out of Louisiana, we have as many NFR champions as, say, Wyoming, which most people would think of as a big rodeo state. Those cowboys and cowgirls, in, say, Wyoming or Texas or Colorado, often get an opportunity to compete on their own home turf. Plenty of times, Wyoming has Frontier Day (Rodeo) in Cheyenne. Colorado has their rodeo, Houston at the (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) and Fort Worth, Texas (Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo). There's tons of them. In Louisiana, our athletes don't get an opportunity to compete at a national level in their own hometown on your own home turf. And so I thought it was extremely important. Look, I grew up around horses and rodeoing and cattle. It's just a great tradition, and those athletes, I believe, deserved an opportunity to compete for big money right here in Louisiana.
Q: And this event has more things going on than just the rodeo competition, right?
A: I'm hoping that people take an opportunity to come see what's out there. It's a family event, family-focused. We've got some outdoor events. They've got mutton busting outside. We've got free entertainment in Champions Square. We've got some big-name entertainers that are coming in (Jason Aldean and Lynyrd Skynyrd). And we get to see a bunch of great cowboys and cowgirls compete for a lot of money.
Q: And as I understand it, this is an opportunity to tie in the state's agriculture industry with the event?
A: We looked long and hard to see where we could actually put this (event). There’s really only one city in the whole country that can entertain people better than anyone else, and that's New Orleans. Some people say, why didn't you do this in Shreveport? Why didn't you do it in Monroe or Alexandria or Lake Charles? And I was like, we wanted to put a world-class event on, and there's only one city that has the number of hotels in relationship to the (Superdome), and that’s New Orleans. And so yes, we get an opportunity to tie in all of our agriculture. We’ve got the LSU veterinarian school, the LSU and Southern (Agriculture Centers). We're trying to time all in and on top of that. The first lady (wife Sharon Landry) joined with (Love One Louisiana Foundation) to donate 35,000 pounds of ground beef to the food banks throughout the state, so this is just one of these great opportunities to showcase world-class athletes, have some fun and do it in a family-style atmosphere in New Orleans.
Q: Could this be something that goes beyond just one year?
A: Oh, this is just the beginning. We want to make Louisiana a permanent stop on the professional rodeo circuit. And this is just the beginning. This is not the end. This is not a one-off. … This (event) has an opportunity to showcase rural Louisiana and the great things that go on are around rural Louisiana. Whether it's rodeoing. Whether it's cattle. Whether it's horse racing, either at the thoroughbred level or the quarter horse level. Whether it's equestrian sports such as hunters and jumpers, which seem to be starting to pick up, especially on the North Shore (of Lake Pontchartrain). Again, when you wrap those things around our agriculture and mechanical schools like Southern and LSU, and then you tie in the LSU vet school.
Q: Let me ask you about another event coming up, that you were involved in landing here in New Orleans: the LIV Golf New Orleans tournament (June 25-28) at City Park. Why were you so committed to bringing that tournament here?
A: The thing that really attracted me to that event was sitting down with Greg Norman after he had an opportunity to look at City Park, and he said that he believes that City Park is the only place in the entire country where you can play golf and walk to a hotel and (nightlife) entertainment. Again, it goes to show you the structure that New Orleans has. And, of course, you know LIV is a hot-ticket item. They do things a little different. They're a little bit unconventional in the way that they run a golf tournament, and I'm a little bit of an unconventional fella. So I said, OK, this might be fine.
Q: And how would you answer critics who wonder why you and state officials dipped into the state’s major event fund to lure an event like that to New Orleans?
A: It’s kind of like this: Entertainment is to business what fertilizer is to agriculture. They both increase the yield. And, so, if you want to increase sales tax and tourism dollars and fill our hotels up … Look to (get) LIV Golf tournament just to come to New Orleans at a time when the city's begging to do something, which is in the slow summer months, and you if you really want to blow the tourism horn, then you want to get big events like that. And the common thread between the (Hondo) rodeo and the LIV Golf tournament is they're both family-type events.
Q: In January, you went up with (Saints-Pelicans owner) Gayle Benson to meet with (NFL commissioner) Roger Goodell and (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver. One of the things that came out of that was New Orleans’ bid for a future Super Bowl. What are our chances of getting the 2031 game?
A: Well, I’m betting on it.
Q: Why? What makes you so confident?
A: Well, because No. 1, when you go around and you ask NFL fans, what is the best place you've ever enjoyed a Super Bowl, time and time again, it comes back to New Orleans. I mean, it just is. The city's built for entertaining. You know what I mean? And when we recognize that, and when we utilize that, and when we leverage that, then the city is prosperous. I think that the things that we've done by making the city safer, by working to bring more people into the city, which of course increases revenues, which, again, helps to fill the city and the state. It’s all good stuff.
Q: Reportedly, the NFL would like to see upgrades with Louis Armstrong Airport and increase some of the high-end hotel inventory in the city before we get around to our next Super Bowl. How important is that to helping us lure future events like the Super Bowl and Final Fours and other major events?
A: It’s a must. It’s one of the things that Roger (Goodell) talked to me about when we were there. He said, Jeff, it's hard for us to really point to a whole of things to critique (New Orleans) about, (but) the Super Bowl (LIX) we just put on, he said there is an issue with ramp space in the airport, and they'd like to see us fix that. That’s an easy fix, and I think we’re doing that. Certainly, he mentioned the high-end hotels. The Omni is really the anchor to proving that we can do that. When you bring the Omni hotel in, it will only enhance the events that we're already bringing in like the rodeo, LIV Golf, and all the other things. I’d love to see the Final Four back in the Superdome. The Superdome was built in the late ’60s and ’70s. That stadium has endured and continues to be a go-back-to stadium, more than any other in the entire country. When NFL went through all these big stadium buildups (and constructions) in recent years, the Superdome just kept rocking along. We did a big upgrade to it for the Super Bowl. And guess what, it shined. That building is a magnificent place to entertain people.
Q: Along those lines, another big economic development plan was unveiled recently around the dome. The major renovation of the Smoothie King Center and the surrounding campus. Where do you stand on that project?
A: Let me tell you something. I think that Gayle Benson is one of the best female philanthropists and businesswomen in that city, and she cares deeply about that city. She's completely loyal to that city and the laws in Louisiana, as well. We are working through, in a partnership way, to make some of those things happen. I certainly would like to see it happen. We just have to make sure that it's good for the state and the taxpayers and it's good for the Pelicans and the Saints. And we're gonna get there.
Q: She’s said that she wants you and her to hammer out the deal.
A: We absolutely are. In fact, we’re going to Mass with her soon. Sharon and I go to the cathedral with her in New Orleans once a month, or once every couple of months or so. We'll be back over there on Sunday.
Q: Let me switch gears with you. Let’s talk LSU. What are your thoughts on Will Wade coming back as men’s basketball coach?
A: Oh, my God. I love it. I love it. Like I said (in a social media post), where there’s a will, there’s a Wade! Look, right now. LSU is probably holding the best group of coaches in the country. We have got the biggest powerhouse from Kim Mulkey to Will Wade. Our track and field and gymnastics coaches (Dennis Shaver and Jay Clark). (Baseball coach) Jay Johnson. I mean, the list just goes on and on. And we're gonna build championship teams with that group of coaches.
Q: How involved were you in trying to get Will Wade back?
A: Well, let me just say, I helped wherever I could. Will and I are very close. I was sad that we didn't pick him up last year (in 2025). It was something that irritated me. LSU missed an opportunity. It’s why there was a big change in leadership over there (in the athletic department). Think about this, Will Wade left LSU, went to McNeese and took them to the NCAA tournament. He left McNeese, and his old team at McNeese made the tournament and his new team at NC State made the tournament. And LSU, I mean, they couldn't even find the tournament.
Q: Why is the success of the LSU athletic program so important to you as governor?
A: Because when the LSU athletic program is successful, it is like a high tide that raises all the boats. I think it improves the university athletic programs throughout all of Louisiana's universities. I care about all of those universities. We're working hard at a time when a university a week is closing in this country. And colleges and universities are going through a huge transition. But what I do know is that having an unbelievable athletic program at the flagship (LSU) is something that benefits all of the athletic programs around the state.
Q: In a recent social media post, you praised President Trump’s signing of an executive order to fix what you called “the broken college sports system.” Why do you think it’s broken?
A: Listen, that's not just my opinion. That's, like, 90% of college fans' opinion. Let's just talk about college football. College football fans are frustrated. The amount of money that's being thrown around is so unsustainable that it's breaking athletic programs around the country. Those are all facts. It's destroying other Division I sports and women's sports and Olympic sports. And there are no guardrails. These agents don't have any caps, but the NFL agents have caps. We don't have any guardrails for (players) transferring in the portal. And if you look at the number of kids that are going into the portal and the number of kids that aren’t being accepted, every one of those kids that go in and are not accepted means they’re losing their scholarships. They’re out. College athletics was supposed to be a supporter, a gateway to get you an education, so that you can go back and become a very productive citizen in this country. In fact, I think like 70-75% of Fortune 100 CEOs were Division I athletes and most of them, like, 90% of them, are not football players. It’s interesting.
Q: You wrote that op-ed piece on RealClearPolicy.org in December, addressing the issue and saying let’s fix college sports. One of the things you said in there was, “don’t hate the player, hate the game. We did what we had to do.” What did you mean by that?
A: Listen, it certainly was not fun. To have to go out there and poach a coach before he had an opportunity to coach a group of kids that he brought over there, who I know absolutely loved him and loved the program over at Ole Miss, and not allow him to finish the season out. You know what? Those are the kind of guardrails we need. It doesn't happen in the NFL because of exactly that. Right now, the only focus in college sports is a loyalty to Benjamin Franklin on $100 bill, rather than the loyalty to the teammates and to the coaches and to the programs. But I didn't get to write those rules — I had to play by those particular rules. And the only way to get Lane Kiffin was to do what we did. I didn't like it. I don't think it was fair to his players. It wasn't fair to him, but hell… Again, Congress needs to get off their tail and fix this thing.
Q: What are your thoughts about Lane Kiffin so far, the excitement he's created in Baton Rouge?
A: Oh, I love it. Listen, I tell you, Lane and I trade texts when we can. I know he's in the middle of spring training. I do not bother him. When the portal class had opened up, I do not bother him. Look, I want them all to go out there and do their jobs and get those kids in tip-top shape so we can go win some championships.
Q: And you were even available to entertain one of their top recruits (left tackle Jordan Seaton) at the Governor’s Mansion, right?
A: That's right. If Lane Kiffin or Jay Johnson or Will Wade or Kim Mulkey call me and I can do anything to help them, you can better believe I will.