Brian Kelly’s salary drew criticism from La’s Civil Service Commissioner.

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BATON ROUGE – Civil Service Commissioner Foster Campbell talks about the big salary LSU’s new football coach is getting.

“It’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy for a poor state like Louisiana to have the distinction of having the highest paid coach in America,” said Campbell.

Head Coach Brian Kelly has signed a 10-year contract and will earn $ 9 million in the first year; $ 9.2 million over the next two years and the annual salary increases every two years until he earns $ 10 million in his final year.

Longtime tiger fan Jerred Bellina from Prairieville says it takes the best dollar to attend a conference like the SEC.

“Bring in the talent, bring in the coaches, bring the kids to LSU. We pay for that talent,” Bellina said.

Campbell also points out that Kelly is paid more than many NFL coaches.

“We’re going to pay more for a coach than the New Orleans Saints, three times as much as the Dallas Cowboys,” Campbell said.

“Hey, you’re in the SEC, bigger than the NFL,” Tiger fan Philip Prescott said of Ascension Parish.

Even though Prescott supports the hiring of Kelly, he still says the coach has to prove himself.

“I don’t have a problem with what they pay him. Let’s see if he can earn it.” said Prescott.

Even though private donors, not the university, pay the vast majority of the new coach’s salary, Campbell says it’s still not fair for wealthy donors to put sport above education.

“They have bad priorities here. They put LSU football above LSU academics,” Campbell said.

Campbell says he would much prefer donors to raise millions of dollars to attract the best teachers in the county, not just to create sports programs.

“Get some of the best college professors in America and pay for the ones you have,” Campbell said.

The commissioner also said that it was not just about LSU, but that many universities were putting sport ahead of academics when it came to donor funding.

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