Signature: Joseph Alleva

He had this rap of being only a basketball guy and not knowing what he was getting into. But Joe Alleva knew. That’s why he left Duke University after 32 years and joined LSU to replace Skip Bertman as athletic director at the end of the 2008 school year.

“But I was most surprised at the passion of the fans and how much they love LSU,” says the New York native, who played quarterback and was team captain at Lehigh University, where he also played baseball. “I knew it was good, but I didn’t know it was anywhere near the level that it is.”

He spent a few decades at Duke, including 11 years as athletic director. His three children (two sons and a daughter) were grown when the LSU opportunity arose, so when the job was offered, Alleva and wife Annie headed to Baton Rouge.

“I wouldn’t have left Duke for just any job, but this job was too good to turn down.”

Alleva is tall and fit, his once-dark hair is now almost completely gray. He plays a little golf—they live at University Club—and he’d love to fish more. But he spends most of his time on the job, meeting and greeting and trying to keep up with the 20 teams LSU fields.

“I inherited a really good group of people. I’ve got a really good coaching staff. We have some of the best facilities in the country, and we have some of the worst facilities in the country,” he says.

Hometown: Suffern, N.Y.

Occupation: Athletic Director, LSU

Age: 56

Accordingly, Alleva doesn’t plan to stand pat or accept mediocrity.

“I was surprised at the condition of the PMAC. I was surprised we didn’t have indoor tennis courts. I’m surprised our track teams don’t have locker rooms. But all those things are fixable.”

But making them happen won’t be easy in today’s economy.

“We do not, contrary to popular belief, have all the money in the world. And we’re going to suffer from budget cuts just like everyone else on campus and all across the state.”

Nonetheless, in the past six years LSU can boast two national football championships, five consecutive trips to the women’s Final Four, another by the men’s team and four appearances in the baseball College World Series, including this season’s National Championship in Omaha. LSU contends for a Southeastern Conference title in virtually every sport in which it competes.

“This is a school that can be tremendous in anything we put our mind to, but we’re really good in football and baseball—two sports I really love—and I think we can be really good in men’s basketball. We’ve been really good in women’s basketball and will be again.”

But the appetite is never satiated, and Alleva knows that.

“I’ve learned that I really like this place and I love coming to work. It’s really fun,” he says. “I’ve also learned that we’re good, but we can be better. And that’s what really excites me. We can do some things that can even make us better than we are.”

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