This is getting ugly.
Ahead of week 1 of college football kicking off this weekend, the SEC is taking one of their member schools – and its coach – to court.
The conference today filed a lawsuit against LSU, president Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry and head coach Lane Kiffin over the school’s recruitment of former professional athletes, including two players who have previously appeared on NFL rosters who are fighting to be allowed to play for the Tigers in the upcoming season.
It’s a long and winding story, but here’s the quick breakdown: The whole mess started in June 2026 when the NCAA implemented their “5 in 5” rule, which allows a player 5 years to compete in 5 full seasons of athletics. However, players who started their careers in 2022 had already exhausted their eligibility under previous NCAA rules, which gave players 5 years to complete 4 years of competition.
The new rule was implemented after these players had exhausted their eligibility and been forced to declare for the pros, which would otherwise make them ineligible to return to college. But several players have filed lawsuits seeking a fifth year of eligibility, and courts in both Louisiana and Colorado have issued temporary restraining orders allowing these players to return to college, despite several of them having already been signed to NFL teams.
The LSU case centers around two football players specifically: Former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent back in May. He was later waived by the Eagles, and claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns, but was ultimately waived by the Browns last week. And former Ole Miss defensive tackle Zxavian Harris, who was ranked by ESPN as the best player not selected in the NFL Draft, signed with the New Orleans Saints immediately after the draft before being waived back on August 8.
Both players have since decided to return to college, and signed with LSU for the 2026 season. The NCAA and the SEC, meanwhile, have both attempted to implement rules that would keep teams from signing former NFL players. At league meetings last week, school presidents voted to prohibit players who have signed an NFL contract or been listed on an NFL roster from returning to college, but as of right now the court has cleared the way for these players to suit up for the Tigers this weekend – despite being in the NFL earlier this month.
The players were back in court today, asking a judge to grant a permanent injunction to allow them to play this season. But now, the SEC is fighting back with their own lawsuit.
As first reported by On3, the conference has filed a lawsuit against LSU in federal court for the Northern District of Alabama, asking the court to issue an injunction prohibiting the school from recruiting professional athletes.
“Despite the SEC’s longstanding rules prohibiting professional athletes from returning to college athletics, Defendants saw this as an opportunity to be exploited. They began an orchestrated campaign to recruit professional athletes to join LSU’s football roster for the 2026-27 season.”
And despite the LSU president voting for the SEC policy prohibiting professional athletes, Kiffin continues to recruit former NFL players and has announced his intention to allow them to play for the Tigers if allowed by the court.
In an interesting legal strategy, the league accuses LSU of violating its First Amendment rights by “compelling the Conference to associate with conduct that is contrary to the Conference’s purpose and mission.”
“Defendants have 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. Defendants’ conduct has already harmed the Conference and threatens to cause further substantial harm if not curbed.”
Basically, it all boils down to the SEC arguing that they should be able to enforce their own rules against their member schools.
LSU takes on the Clemson Tigers this weekend in Baton Rouge, so it’s hard to tell whether we’ll get an answer from the court before the team takes the field. But the lawsuit comes on the heels of reports that SEC member schools have also considered other drastic action against LSU, including boycotting games against them or even expelling the school from the SEC.
At some point, you’ve gotta wonder whether it’s even worth it for Lane Kiffin and the Tigers. I know it’s win at all costs, but the risk is always going to be that one of these injunctions gets overturned later on down the road, allowing the SEC to enforce severe penalties against LSU. Seems like the risk might not be worth the reward for two players who couldn’t make an NFL roster.
