The Southeastern Conference is moving aggressively in its fight with LSU, now asking for the authority to expel the school from the league.
In an amended lawsuit filed against LSU, the SEC says conference CEOs are set to meet Thursday to decide whether LSU should be terminated as a member institution. Along with that request, the conference also sought a temporary restraining order aimed at stopping LSU from doing anything that could prevent the meeting from happening.
The new filing lays out the expulsion process in the league’s federal case against LSU, underscoring just how serious the conference is about the dispute.
The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in northern Alabama, names LSU president Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry and football coach Lane Kiffin. At the center of the case is LSU’s recruitment of returning fifth-year players who had signed NFL training camp contracts. On Thursday in Baton Rouge, those players received a preliminary injunction granting them a fifth season of eligibility and barring the SEC from imposing punitive damages on the players or the school for rostering them.
According to the complaint, LSU’s pursuit of former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, along with others who had short training camp stints, runs against the conference’s beliefs and missions. The SEC says the Baton Rouge injunction, combined with the effort to bring those players back despite conference rules that prohibit former pros from being signed by member schools, violates the league’s First Amendment right to govern itself.
The amended complaint also adds Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill as a defendant. Murrill, who is scheduled to join Tiger Rag Radio tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT, filed an amicus brief in the Baton Rouge eligibility case that described the NCAA’s eligibility rules as “a bait-and-switch” and backed the athletes’ effort to return.
Even with the injunction in place, LSU did not roster Wright and Harris for Saturday’s opener against Clemson. Kiffin said that decision was made in the best interest of the team and program, noting the SEC is likely to seek a stay of the injunction and that LSU could face later punishment if it puts the players on the field now. The school left two roster spots open so the pair could be added later in the season.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Had Tiger Stadium Tailgate Chaos Everyone Will Be Talking About
The night around Tiger Stadium had plenty going on before LSU even kicked off against Clemson, but one ugly moment at a tailgate ended up overshadowing part of the pregame scene. Kick creator Snarp was punched in the face by an LSU fan during the chaos, and the incident reportedly left him with a broken jaw, turning what should have been a spirited season-opener atmosphere into something far more troubling.
Once the game started, the Tigers gave their supporters plenty to cheer about with a 51-10 rout of Clemson, piling up more than 600 yards while the defense held Clemson to 145. Still, the lopsided win did not erase the uneasy conversation that came out of the parking lots and tailgate spaces around the stadium, where the focus had already shifted from football to how quickly a festive scene can turn into a mess. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Fight Just Turned Into A Threat Tigers Cant Ignore
The SECs latest federal filing has pushed LSU into a spot no program wants to occupy, turning an eligibility fight into a full-blown conference threat. The league is now seeking legal authority to expel the Tigers over alleged violations of SEC rules that bar professional athletes from returning to college sports, and the update points directly to the ongoing effort to roster players the conference classifies as former pros.
At the center of the dispute are LSU players DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris, whose eligibility has become the flashpoint as the conference continues to press its case. The filing also references a special league meeting in which potential termination was discussed, a sign that this is no longer just an administrative issue but a matter with real stakes for LSUs place in the SEC structure. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffins Leaked Clemson Speech Has LSU Fans Debating Everything
A video purporting to show LSU football coach Lane Kiffin delivering a profane halftime speech during the Tigers' game against Clemson has been making the rounds online, and it has quickly become the kind of clip that can dominate a fan base's group chats long after the final whistle. The footage has been met with a split reaction, with some viewers convinced it is authentic and others arguing it could be an imitation, which has only added to the noise around a team already under intense scrutiny.
A source familiar with Kiffin says the speech is real and may even have been leaked on purpose, a detail that has only deepened the debate over why it surfaced now and what it says about the situation behind the scenes. For LSU fans, the bigger issue is less the clip itself than the uncertainty around it, because the conversation has moved well beyond a viral video and into questions about trust, timing and who wanted this version of events to become public. [Read more 🡒]