The current LSU main campus was dedicated in 1926 and consists of more than 250 buildings constructed in the style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, occupying a 650-acre (260 ha) plateau on the banks of the Mississippi River.

[19] On April 30, 1926, the present LSU campus was formally dedicated, following the school's history at the federal garrison grounds (now the site of the state capitol) where it had been since 1886.

After years of enrollment fluctuation, student numbers began a steady increase, new programs were added, curricula and faculty expanded, and a true state university emerged.

Two committed suicide as the scandal enveloped Governor Richard W. Leche, who received a 10-year federal prison sentence as a result of a kickback scheme.

[20] Paul M. Hebert, Dean of LSU's law school at the time, then assumed interim presidency in Smith's place.

The Pete Maravich Assembly Center was converted into a fully functional field hospital, with approximately 3,000 student volunteers.

[36][37][38] In February 2021, the US Department of Education announced a formal, federal investigation will be conducted on the university's reported mishandling of sexual misconduct cases; specifically on possible violations of the Clery Act.

[39] In April 2021, the Department of Education announced the opening of a second federal investigation where LSU's handling of student complaints of sexual assault and harassment from the 2018–2019 academic year to the present will be analyzed.

[40] Two months later, seven women filed a federal class-action lawsuit against LSU and its leadership based on their inability to report their incidents to the university's Title IX office.

An April 2024 investigative report co-published in The Guardian and The Lens, a non-profit newsroom in New Orleans, found that LSU gave corporations robust powers to review and influence academic research and coursework at the university in exchange for donations.

[50][51] The university also offered "strategic partner"-level privileges, which included voting rights on research activities at the Institute, in exchange for at least a $1.25 million investment, with ExxonMobil becoming the Institute's first "strategic partner"-level donor and at least eight other companies having discussed similar deals with LSU, according to a "Partnership Update" that LSU sent to ExxonMobil in August 2023.

[50][51] Former LSU journalism professor Robert Mann labeled the ability of oil companies to vote on research agendas "an egregious violation of academic freedom," and Jane Patton, an LSU alumna and US Fossil Economy Campaign Manager at the Center for International Environmental Law, referred to the practice as "a gross misuse of the public trust.”[50][51] In response, Brad Ives, the director of LSU Institute for Energy Innovation, defended the partnerships, characterizing the claim that "having corporate funding for research damages the integrity of that research" as being "a little far-fetched," and arguing that what the Institute is doing is no different from similar institutes across the US.

[63] LSU owns and operates the J. Bennett Johnston Sr. Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD), which is a 1.3 GeV synchrotron radiation facility.

Today five acres of the original Hill Farm remain and used primarily as an agriculture teaching facility and community garden.

[89] Its collections of rare books, dating back to the fifteenth century, number more than 80,000 volumes and include the E. A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection, which contains many important works in the history of ornithological and botanical illustration, including John James Audubon's Birds of America, Margaret Stones's Flora of Louisiana, and books by Edward Lear, John Gould, Mark Catesby, and Sir Joseph Banks.

[92] Lecturers included Martha Boaz, Ching-chih Chen, John Y. Cole, Richard M. Dougherty, Edward G. Holley, Judith Krug, Clifford Lynch, James G. Neal, Carl Howard Pforzheimer Jr, Benjamin E. Powell and Robert Wedgeworth.

In June 2020, the LSU Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to remove Troy H. Middleton's name from the university's main library.

The decision came amid student protests concerning the racist past of former LSU President Troy H. Middleton, after whom the Library was named.

The library's upper floors collections are covered with a plastic tarp to prevent ceiling leaks from damaging books and the basement is prone to flooding.

[104] The Society of Professional Journalists named the Reveille "Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper" in its 2012 Mark of Excellence awards.

[106] Broadcasting on campus cable channel 75, Tiger TV is a student-run television show, sharing its production equipment and facilities with the Manship School of Mass Communication.

[108] LSU fields teams in 21 varsity sports (9 men's, 12 women's), and is a member of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the Southeastern Conference.

9 ranked Florida Gators, the noise level registered at 122 decibels when the Tigers made a come-from-behind win in the final minutes of the game.

LSU won 7–6 when quarterback Tommy Hodson completed a game-winning touchdown pass to running back Eddie Fuller in the waning seconds of the game.

The game was played the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1992, and every year between 1996 and 2013, except 2009, but starting in 2014, the SEC separated LSU and Arkansas on the final weekend of the regular season.

LSU and in-state rival Tulane Green Wave battle for the "Tiger Rag", a flag divided evenly between the colors of the two schools.

Its amenities include lush plantings, a waterfall, a flowing stream that empties into a wading pond, and rocky plateaus.

"Pistol" Pete Maravich played basketball for LSU and was a three-time consensus first-team All-American and 1970 National 'Player of the Year'.

[120] Professional golfer Johnny Pott, five-time winner on the PGA Tour, was a member of the 1955 NCAA winning golf team.

Queer romance author Casey McQuiston, best known for their best selling novel Red, White & Royal Blue, graduated from LSU with a degree in journalism.