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# Can a Tiger catch a Husky?
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/can-a-tiger-catch-a-husky/
- Published: 2026-04-06T21:20:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-06T21:43:15.000Z
- Description: LSU has dreams of competing on the court with programs like UConn, but doing so will mean additional investment.
- Author: JR Ball

As LSU signals a willingness to build a nationally competitive men's basketball program under Will Wade, a comparison with UConn—the gold standard in combined basketball investment—reveals how far the Tigers have to go.

**Money madness:** UConn spent [$34 million](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7165839/2026/04/02/uconn-women-men-march-madness-financial-nil-comparison/?ref=redeyebr.com) on men's and women's basketball combined in the 2025 fiscal year. **LSU spent roughly $22–23** **million**—an $11–12 million gap annually.

- The Huskies have reached the **Final Four with both programs in the same season six times**—the only school to do it more than once.
- UConn is the only program to win national titles in both sports in the same season, doing it in 2004 and 2014.

**The breakdown:**

- LSU women's basketball: \~$12M in expenses, $4.2M in revenue—a $7.9M deficit absorbed largely by football's $66.8M surplus
- LSU men's basketball: \~$10.8M in expenses, $13.3M in revenue—actually turned a $2.5M profit, mostly on the strength of the SEC's TV deal

**Priority points:** UConn's $34 million basketball investment represents nearly a third of its entire athletic budget. LSU's combined basketball spend is roughly 10 cents of every athletic dollar.

- UConn's all-in athletic budget was $109.7M in FY2025, roughly half of LSU's $219.6M. However, skewing LSU's figure is the cash—and expense—cow that is football. Even removing football, LSU spends more operating its other sports ($168.9M) than UConn's entire athletic budget.
- The Huskies spend more on basketball than **LSU does on basketball and baseball combined** (\~$32.9–$33.4M).

**The real world:** These figures reflect only direct athletic department spending. The actual combined investment for both schools is significantly higher once third-party NIL collectives and revenue-sharing commitments are factored in.

**The bottom line:** LSU's women are already playing at a national level. The men aren't yet, and closing the gap with programs like UConn means spending more than a program that went 14–18 last year has earned. Wade's mandate is real. So is the price tag.