Good morning, Tigers. LSU men's basketball lost a beloved figure with the passing of longtime assistant Ron Abernathy, who died earlier this week at age 75. Abernathy joined Coach Dale Brown's staff in 1976 as the program's first African-American coach and became a cornerstone of LSU's rise to national prominence, helping build a run that included 11 straight postseason appearances, nine NCAA Tournament berths, three SEC titles and two Final Fours.

Brown called him the unsung hero of LSU's emergence as a premier program. Abernathy was also instrumental in recruiting Rudy Macklin and helped wrap up the recruitment of Shaquille O'Neal before departing for a head coaching role at Tennessee State. After leaving LSU, he continued coaching at every level for decades, earning Tennessee Boys Basketball Coach of the Year honors in 2019. He is survived by his wife Sharon, son Ron Jr. and daughter Charity.

What else is mixed into today’s Bayou Brew?

🏀 Exclusive Sitdown
⛳ On Par
🐯 And so much more!

🔼 Exclusive Sitdown. Hear from LSU head basketball coach Will Wade in an exclusive, unfiltered sit-down with Voice of the Tigers Chris Blair. Use code BootUp for 25% off your subscription, then watch the interview here.

🔼 Tickets Are Here. For the first time in program history, LSU soccer is offering season tickets, and with the Tigers coming off a Sweet 16 run and a No. 16 national ranking, there's never been a better time to grab a seat at LSU Soccer Stadium.

General admission season tickets are available now for $60, with reserved chairback tickets at $100, covering all nine home matches during the 2026 campaign. The home slate includes three SEC Friday Night Lights contests and matchups against UCF, Baylor, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi State. Fans can sign up by the July 31 priority deadline at LSUTix.net.

🔼 SEC Slate. The matchups are official! LSU basketball now knows its home-and-away opponents for the 2026-27 season, with conference play tipping off Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027. The Tigers will face permanent rivals Arkansas and Texas A&M home and away, with Auburn drawing the rotating home-and-away assignment this year. The PMAC will host Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Vanderbilt, while the Tigers hit the road against Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and Oklahoma. It all builds toward the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, March 10-14.

🔼 On Par. Congratulations to LSU women’s golf’s Ryleigh Knaub, who qualified for the US Women’s Amateur in August. She’ll join fellow Tiger, incoming freshman Raegan Denton.

🔼 Moving On. LSU men’s tennis’ Daniil Ostapenkov is moving on at the ITF M25 Porto! He defeated ATP No. 328 Tiago Pereira in straight sets to advance out of the Round of 16.

🤔 TIGER TRIVIA

In what two seasons did Ron Abernathy help lead the Tigers to the Final Four?

Think you got it?

Scroll to the bottom of this email for the answer!

🐯 ONE BIG THING

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📅 THE SCHEDULE AHEAD

*All times are in CT

Wednesday, August 5
⚽ Soccer vs. Alabama (Exhibition) @ 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 8
⚽ Soccer @ UNC Wilmington (Exhibition) @ 5 p.m.

Wednesday, August 12
⚽ Soccer @ Wake Forest @ 6 p.m. (Winston-Salem, N.C.)

Sunday, August 16
⚽ Soccer vs. Northwestern State @ 6 p.m.

Thursday, August 20
⚽ Soccer vs. UCF @ 7 p.m.

Saturday, August 22
🏐 Volleyball vs. UL-Lafayette (Exhibition) @ 1 p.m.

Sunday, August 23
⚽ Soccer vs. Florida Gulf Coast @ 1 p.m.

Thursday, August 27
⚽ Soccer vs. Arizona State @ 9 p.m. (Tempe, Ariz.) 

Friday, August 28
🏐 Volleyball vs. Wake Forest @ 6 p.m.

Saturday, August 29
🏐 Volleyball vs. Incarnate Word @ 6 p.m.

Tuesday, September 1
🏐 Volleyball @ Michigan (Ann Arbor, Mich.) - TBA

Wednesday, September 2
🏐 Volleyball vs. Michigan State (Ann Arbor, Mich.) - TBA

Saturday, September 5
🏈 Football vs. Clemson @ 6:30 p.m. | ESPN College GameDay | Watch: ABC

🐅 GO HERE FOR LSU’S ALL SPORTS CALENDAR

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 1981 and 1986.

🐯 Have a great weekend, Tigers!