Leaders of the Southeastern Conference will meet Thursday to discuss whether to take the extraordinary step of kicking LSU out of the league over a bitter dispute involving coach Lane Kiffin's abandoned effort to field former NFL players.
The SEC amended its federal lawsuit against LSU on Tuesday, asking a judge to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the school from interfering with Thursday's scheduled meeting of SEC university presidents and chancellors. A vote of at least two-thirds of the conference's top leaders would be needed to expel LSU, which was a founding member of the nearly century-old conference in 1933.
Commissioner Greg Sankey's declaration included with the legal filing suggests the meeting represents more than posturing. Sankey noted that school presidents already met to discuss LSU last Friday, a day after a marathon court hearing where Sankey testified that the league has the right to enforce its own rules.
"The consensus ... was and continues to be that LSU's continued membership in the conference would be inconsistent with the publicly stated values and principles of the conference and its remaining member institutions," Sankey said in the filing, adding this would be true even if LSU doesn't put the former NFL players on its roster.
The Eligibility Dispute
The conflict centers on LSU's attempt to add former NFL players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris to its roster. Both players had signed contracts with NFL teams as undrafted rookies last spring but were seeking to return to college football under new NCAA eligibility policies.
A Louisiana judge granted a preliminary injunction clearing the way for Wright and Harris to play, defying SEC rules that prohibit former professional players from competing. However, LSU ultimately decided not to add the two ex-NFL players to its final 105-man roster, according to an ESPN report confirmed by CBS Sports.
Instead, LSU added sophomore cornerback Aidan Anding and junior defensive end Gabriel Reliford as the final two players on its roster, which is now locked for the 2026 season. The decision may have been an attempt to de-escalate the situation after the SEC threatened expulsion.
High Stakes for Both Sides
The potential expulsion of LSU would be unprecedented in modern college athletics. LSU has won three of the SEC's 25 AP national championships in football and fields powerhouse athletics programs across multiple sports. The Tigers' removal would significantly alter the conference landscape.
Multiple sources told CBS Sports last week that the league had the necessary votes to expel LSU if the Tigers refused to back down from their position on the former NFL players.
The SEC's legal action represents an escalation in the ongoing battle between conferences and individual schools over player eligibility rules. The dispute highlights tensions between new NCAA policies allowing greater player mobility and established conference regulations.
While Kiffin's decision to leave Wright and Harris off the official roster may have defused the immediate crisis, Sankey's comments suggest the SEC remains concerned about LSU's willingness to challenge conference authority. The commissioner's declaration indicates that even LSU's compliance with roster rules may not be enough to prevent further action.
Thursday's meeting will determine whether the SEC follows through on its threat to remove one of its founding members, a decision that would send shockwaves through college athletics and potentially reshape the conference realignment landscape that has already seen dramatic changes in recent years.
