We don’t like to dabble in Oregon State University news. The Barometer has a huge base of young, hungry, and forward-thinking journalists. They cover OSU-oriented happenings extremely well.
But when a large cat walks onto our radar, it’s too enticing not to post a write-up, especially if it’s something that might go uncovered.
This one was covered recently, but by publications in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Oregon State University Provost Roy Haggerty went to a recent hearing about women’s basketball players unionizing and ended up making news in Louisiana about a tiger.
First, what’s a provost? It’s one of the top jobs at the university: the chief academic officer, typically second in command to the president. He’s not running the pride, but if the king gets eaten, he’s close in line to the throne.
Haggerty, who served as LSU’s provost before returning to Corvallis last year, testified on September 15th before the Oregon Employment Relations Board. While explaining how he viewed the role of athletics at the two universities, he described a dispute over Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s push to put a live tiger on the field for the 2024 LSU–Alabama football game.
If you’re not a sports fan… it’s a big game.
According to WBRZ’s report on his testimony, Haggerty said LSU President William Tate told cabinet members that Landry had “ordered” the university’s tiger mascot, Mike VII, onto the field. Haggerty objected. He said the license governing Mike’s care was his responsibility and that he threatened to resign if he was made to carry out the plan.
Mike VII is not a student sworn to secrecy inside a mascot costume. Mike VII is, well, here’s a photo of Mike VII.
(Photo: Mike VII/ www.mikethetiger.com)
“I let it be known to the president that this was inappropriate, illegal, and immoral, and a number of other objections,” Haggerty said, according to WBRZ.
The Louisiana state governor did end up getting a tiger onto the field, but it was not Mike VII. An 18-month-old tiger named Omar Bradley was brought in from Florida for the game.
Haggerty told the Oregon hearing that the confrontation went as far as a meeting in the governor’s office. He said he came away believing his refusal to go along with the plan had damaged his future at LSU.
“I knew that because of the governor’s involvement in, and other powerful individuals’ involvement in, athletics at LSU, and my refusal to allow the governor to do what he wanted with athletics at LSU, that I would not survive another calendar year at the university,” he said, according to WBRZ. “And I chose to seek employment elsewhere.”
That is Haggerty’s account of the dispute and his decision to leave. The hearing testimony, as reported by WBRZ, does not establish that the tiger was the sole reason for his departure. OSU announced his appointment in May 2025, bringing him back to a university where he had previously worked for 26 years.
Why did a tiger come up at an Oregon labor hearing?
Haggerty called the LSU episode a contrast between an athletics program running a university and a provost running one, according to WBRZ.
At OSU, the question before the labor board is whether women’s basketball players qualify as employees who can unionize. The university opposes the petition, arguing that playing basketball is part of the students’ educational experience. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that Haggerty testified in support of that view.
It’s fair to say the “Beaver Dam” will be built on the field this year, but not by an actual beaver. It’ll be built by the athletes, and maybe by one of the top five receivers and quarterbacks in the country.
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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