The SEC has taken LSU and Lane Kiffin to court in a fast-moving fight over whether former professional players can be added to college football rosters, filing a lawsuit in the Northern District of Alabama even as commissioner Greg Sankey was reportedly on the witness stand in Baton Rouge.
The conference’s suit names the LSU Board of Supervisors, LSU president Wade Rousse, LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry and Kiffin as defendants. In it, the SEC asks the court to “enter a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from violating the Conference’s First Amendment rights by compelling the Conference to associate with conduct that is contrary to the Conference’s purpose and mission.”
At the center of the dispute is LSU’s push to add players from the class of 2022 who were granted a fifth season of eligibility in a Colorado court ruling tied to the NCAA’s new “five-for-five” rule. That ruling said players who had signed NFL contracts, among other restrictions, could not return to college football, which set off a broader legal challenge involving 43 athletes.
Two of those athletes have direct LSU ties. Former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright has already been practicing with LSU, while former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris has also been linked to a move to Baton Rouge. Both played for Kiffin at Ole Miss before signing NFL contracts.
LSU’s interest in the pair is no secret. Kiffin said at his press conference on Monday that he wanted to add the players and was looking to improve his roster in any legal way. The SEC says LSU has gone well beyond interest and has “waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season, including players who had signed NFL contracts.”
The conference also alleges LSU has “continued their campaign to engage in willful efforts to recruit and soon roster professional athletes in direct defiance of the Professionalism Rules. This conduct is detrimental to the Conference and contrary to its core purpose.”
Those professionalism rules are at the heart of the broader fight. LSU is not part of the Baton Rouge hearing taking place today, which was brought by players and is being handled by West Baton Rouge District Attorney Tony Clayton. That case challenges the SEC’s new rule and could provide a clearer answer on whether former pros are legally eligible.
In its filing, the SEC says LSU’s actions have already caused damage and could create more if they are not stopped. The suit states, “Defendants' conduct has already harmed the Conference and threatens to cause further substantial harm if not curbed. Through their actions, Defendants have compelled the SEC and each of its member institutions to associate with conduct that every member institution including, until recently, LSU- has expressly and unanimously repudiated.”
The conference argues that this amounts to a violation of its First Amendment rights.
For LSU, the timing could hardly be more intense. If Wright and Harris are ruled eligible, the school could still pursue adding them to its final 105-man roster, due 24 hours before kickoff against Clemson on Saturday night. But the threat of SEC sanctions, along with possible action from the College Football Playoff Committee, could change that equation quickly.
For now, LSU is waiting on the Baton Rouge court proceedings. And with the legal and conference fallout still unresolved, the next 48 hours are set to tell the story.
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