Supplier Diversity - January Update

The LSU Athletics supplier diversity volunteers have been hard at work the past month! The group recently met with each sport and department’s Directors of Operations and department head to discuss the importance of supplier diversity and how they can help LSU Athletics reach its goals.

During the meeting, Associate Athletic Director Matthew LaBorde discussed the resources available to athletics employees for improving supplier diversity. Sharing this information with the Directors of Operations and department heads is crucial because these are the “boots on the ground” in charge of most of the day-to-day purchasing decisions. These key stakeholders are committed to evaluating their purchasing habits and being more intentional by including more diverse suppliers in their ultimate decisions.

As previously mentioned, our goal is to have 10% of our controllable spend come with diverse suppliers. Below, you will find our Diverse Spend Report which shows our progress toward this goal. As of January 31, 2021, 1.09% of our controllable spend has been with diverse suppliers. Although our percentage has not increased, the amount of diverse spend has increased by over $60,000, and we have utilized five more diverse vendors.

In the graph below, you can find our Top 5 sub-departments with the highest percentage of diverse spend. Although our Men’s Tennis and Women’s Tennis teams have held on to the top two spots, Track and Field has pole vaulted into the number three position, with Facilities and Grounds in fourth and Volleyball in fifth. Which department will run up the score and find themselves in the Top 5 next? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

We are beyond excited that we have continued to improve our supplier diversity and look forward to advancing with the help of the entire department!