LSU backs down from SEC legal standoff over player eligibility
The Tigers omitted two former NFL players from their roster to avoid potential expulsion from the conference, ending a high-stakes dispute over the NCAA’s new eligibility rules.
LSU has effectively ended a contentious legal battle with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) by choosing not to roster two former professional football players, despite a favourable court ruling. The decision to leave Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris off the Tigers’ 105-man squad was made to avoid severe penalties from the conference, which had threatened to expel the university from the league.
The dispute centred on the NCAA’s new “five-for-five” rule, which allows athletes to play five seasons within a five-year period. A Louisiana state court granted a preliminary injunction on 3 September, allowing Wright and Harris to pursue a fifth year of eligibility. However, the SEC argued that the players had exhausted their eligibility under previous rules and filed a federal lawsuit in Alabama on the same day its commissioner, Greg Sankey, was testifying in state court in Baton Rouge.
The SEC’s amended complaint revealed that it had scheduled a vote among member university presidents to consider expelling LSU, a move requiring a two-thirds majority. Potential sanctions for rostering the players included a fine equal to 50 per cent of the sport’s annual operating budget and a half-season suspension for head coach Lane Kiffin. The conflict highlighted broader tensions between the SEC’s desire for self-governance and the NCAA’s rulemaking authority.
The legal strategy employed by LSU has drawn scrutiny, with attorney Tom Mars revealing that Kiffin frequently relied on screenshots from ChatGPT to support the university’s position. Mars, who is not Kiffin’s official counsel, described the AI-generated legal opinions as “almost always wrong” and suggested that a coach with a $91 million contract should have relied on more traditional legal advice.
Judge William Jorden’s decision to grant the injunction was influenced by an ambiguity in the NCAA’s 2026-27 rules manual. The manual did not explicitly state that players who had exhausted eligibility under old rules were ineligible under the new framework. Jorden noted that the NCAA’s poor planning and errors in rulemaking should not punish the athletes, describing the SEC’s threat of heavy penalties as “too cute, by far.”
LSU ultimately decided the risk was not worth the reward, adding two injured players to its roster on the same day the SEC filed its amended lawsuit. This move eliminated the possibility of adding Wright and Harris for the current season. The resolution comes as Kiffin prepares to return to Ole Miss, the school he left for LSU, in a highly anticipated matchup scheduled for Saturday night.
