The state of Louisiana has been facing a budget crisis for the past month that has threatened to shutdown the schools within the state's university system. This notably came to light when it was reported that the student-athletes at all of the universities in the state could lose their eligibility if the schools shutdown before the end of the spring session.
Well, those athletes received some good news on Monday, as The Advocate out of Baton Rouge is reporting that all of the state's universities are currently scheduled to stay open through at least the end of 2016.
Schools submitted their plans on Monday to the Board of Regents for the updated budget scenario, which still include dire setbacks, including layoffs, furloughs and eliminating some summer programs.
But, according to the documents, schools within the three university systems — LSU, Southern University and University of Louisiana — will, at a minimum, stay open through the year, allowing students to finish or graduate.
While it is not completely confirmed, this most likely means that no student-athletes will face eligibility problems for 2016 because of this crisis. Considering that most news at this point had been negative about the situation, this is a good indication that the athletes won't face consequences from an issue that they did not cause.
