UPDATED 4:02 PM
LSU has released a statement saying that Joe Alleva is stepping down from his current role to a new role as special assistant to the president for donor relations. Alleva will continue to serve in his current role until a new athletics director is named.
“We are grateful to Joe for his years of service and dedication to LSU,” LSU President F. King Alexander said in the aforementioned statement.
Original story:
Joe Alleva’s time in charge of the LSU Athletic Department appears to be coming to an end.
According to a report by Baton Rouge Business Report on Wednesday morning, the longtime athletic director is expected to step down as soon as Wednesday.
The 65-year-old Alleva arrived at LSU in 2008 to replace Skip Bertman as athletic director. Alleva previously served in the same capacity at Duke University.
Alleva though has become a target of criticism by LSU fans starting with the attempted firing of former head football coach Les Miles in 2015, to woo then-Florida State and current Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Alleva retained Miles only to fire him during the following season.
Alleva then drew the ire for suspending men’s basketball coach Will Wade on March 8, after it was reported that Wade was caught on an FBI wiretap talking to Christian Dawkins about recruiting. In October of 2018, Dawkins was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for funneling illegal payments to families of recruits.
After being suspended for the regular season finale, the Southeastern Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament, Wade was reinstated on Sunday as LSU’s head men’s basketball coach.