Deal Is Step Toward Future For MSU

By Jim Gazzolo

McNeese continues to surge into the future when it comes to finances and college athletics. 

Last week the school’s athletic department signed a strategic corporate partnership with Lake Charles Memorial Health System worth $2.5 million over three years.

It is one of the largest partnerships in the McNeese Athletic Department's history. The naming rights for the Legacy Center was also a $2.5 million deal.

“This was big for us,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “There is more to come.”

It was the first big move for Schroyer in his newly elevated role as head of the McNeese Athletic Foundation. Schroyer was named to that post after Dr. Wade Rousse, who led MAF from its start, became the University's new President on July 1.

“Heath will take on the responsibilities of fulfillment and budget executions,” Rousse said. “I will still be making some of the asking for money.

“We have analyzed the entire structure of MAF and have redistributed some of the work. Heath will take over the operations. We have raised a lot of money together.”

Schroyer has said he is looking forward to the new role, which could include a title change soon. But this is nothing new for what he and Rousse have done since 2021. 

And it could be just the latest in a wave of more partnerships and sponsorships to come.

“We have to continue to find ways to raise revenues if we are going to become what we want to become as an athletic department and a school,” Schroyer said. 

“Times have changed and we have to keep up with those changes, you have to find creative and new ways to raise revenues.”

This is a continuation of what former president Dr. Daryl Burckel said back in 2021 when he stated the school and its sports programs have to become a bigger part of the community. 

Since then, McNeese coaches and players have been much more visible in the area. It has worked.

“As the area's largest and most comprehensive healthcare system, we look forward to continuing our tradition of providing quality healthcare close to home, and there's nothing that feels more like home to SWLA than McNeese State University,” Devon Hyde, President & CEO of Lake Charles Memorial Health System said.

“This exclusive agreement and partnership gives us the opportunity to create a positive, healthy, athletic experience for the student-athletes while promoting health and wellness for all.”

This shows that McNeese is finding ways of moving forward. There is still plenty around campus to sell as well. 

The press box and stadium naming rights will be big and will move the needle even more.

So, this latest deal with Memorial Health is just the next step up the ladder for McNeese.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese athletics. He is the host of Poke Nation on CBS-Lake Charles