This week, Louisiana State University unveiled its $28 million renovated football locker room.

The news went viral and elicited anger and criticism from people who said they wanted to see that money go toward academics rather than sports.

Top-tier college sports programs have drawn criticism for expensive facilities, lavishly paid head coaches, and refusals to pay players.

Those in support of the locker room, including LSU football players, rebutted the criticism by pointing out that the funding came from private donations.

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How much does a locker-room renovation at university cost? In Louisiana State University's case, just north of $28 million.

The school said the hefty sum went toward offices, a training room, a players' lounge, and a cafeteria.

The locker room, which also includes purple plush chairs that recline into sleeping pods, was described by LSU's athletic department as "a cross between first class cabin on an airplane and a space station from a science fiction film."

One player, JaCoby Stevens, told LSU Athletics' media reporter Cody Worsham that the locker room would be his new base. "There's no point in going home," Stevens said, adding, "I got everything I need right here."

College sports have been criticized as benefiting from mammoth revenue (the NCAA made over $1 billion last year) while refusing to pay players and failing to ensure they receive a quality education.

Often, in many states, the highest-paid public employee is a university's head football coach. Ed Orgeron, LSU's head coach, was estimated to have made $3.5 million last year, $3.4 million more than Louisiana's governor.

Not everyone was thrilled with the locker-room update.

Cat Mckinney, a rising senior at LSU, tweeted a photo of the school's waterlogged library alongside the gleaming new sports space.

In an email, LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard III explained that funds for the new locker room did not pull from student tuition.

"It's important to note that no student tuition dollars or fees and no state dollars were used to pay for the LSU Football Operations and Performance Nutrition Center," he said.

Ballard confirmed that the building in the photos was indeed the school's library and said the school has been dealing with "water intrusion" issues, but has since stopped water from entering the library.

The locker-room reveal garnered more that 1,500 responses, many of them critical. One person complimented the facility but said the funds could be better used elsewhere.

—catch this fade (@KnowOmTomBout_) July 22, 2019

Eric Reid, a Carolina Panthers safety who played for LSU, made a point about schools for not paying their players.

Robert Mann, a communications professor at LSU, also criticized the athletic spending, saying his office wasn't up to par with the new locker room.

Many came to the program's defense, though, noting that funding for the locker room came from private donations.

According to 24/7 Sports, the LSU quarterback, Joe Burrow, replied to Mann in a since-deleted tweet, saying, "Why, professor, do you feel entitled to the fruits of our labor?"

Let's hope Burrow never ends up in one of Prof. Mann's classes.