BATON ROUGE - Two LSU billboards titled "Love Purple, Live Gold" have been erected near the Georgia Dome in Atlanta where LSU will open the 2010 football season next Saturday night against North Carolina.

The billboards depict LSU's excellence in both athletics and academics and follow a theme developed to promote undergraduate recruiting at the university.  One billboard features a celebration photo of LSU football players after a touchdown last season and the other features a recent graduate of LSU.  The athletics billboard features the theme "Where Passion Becomes Glory" and the academic billboard features the theme "Where Passion Becomes Genius."

The LSU school colors of purple and gold represent the passion and excellence of Louisiana's flagship university.  Purple signifies the collective school spirit common to all students, alumni, faculty and staff.  Gold represents LSU's unyielding dedication to greatness and prestige at all levels.  Through a perfect balance of passion and achievement, the LSU colors of purple and gold embody an unconditional love for the university and a way of life that will ensure continued excellence for generations to come.

The billboards were made available to LSU at no cost through the athletic department's multi-media rights agreement with CBS Collegiate Sports Properties which owns the billboards.