The battles in college football take place more than just on the gridiron on Saturdays. Perhaps the biggest ones in the sport right now are going on in the courtroom. LSU versus the SEC could be the next matchup.
What started as an eligibility fight over former professional athletes returning to college has escalated into something much bigger for LSU.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Monday that executives from the SEC’s other 15 schools are discussing several potential responses to LSU’s plans to add former professional players, including a competition boycott, probation, a federal lawsuit and even the unprecedented possibility of expelling the Tigers from the conference.
The conversations are still in their early stages and are described as membership-led rather than driven by the league office. No formal decision is expected before a Thursday hearing in Baton Rouge over the Louisiana eligibility case.
Still, one league stakeholder made the frustration clear.
“Enough is enough. This is ridiculous.”
SEC Leaders Discuss Unprecedented LSU Punishment
The dispute stems from a Louisiana state court ruling that granted more than 40 athletes another season of eligibility, including players who signed professional contracts and participated with NFL teams this summer.
A judge later blocked the SEC from enforcing its own rules against those players. The conference said it would comply with the court order while continuing to contest the case.
LSU has been the most aggressive SEC program in taking advantage of the ruling. At least three players who signed NFL contracts have committed to the Tigers, including former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris.
That has created enough frustration among the other member schools that some are considering refusing to compete against LSU if the Tigers roster players they believe are ineligible under conference rules.
“We can’t make anyone play them,” one person with knowledge of the talks told Dellenger.
Dellenger later reported on X that one SEC school official took the threat even further, saying, “There are plenty of other schools who will take their place.”
That would create a monumental shift for a program that has been a member of the SEC since the conference was formed in 1932.
LSU Expulsion Would Be SEC’s Nuclear Option
Actually removing LSU, however, appears considerably more complicated than discussing it.
Dellenger noted that expulsion is not specifically mentioned in a year-old version of the SEC’s 48-page bylaws. Conference presidents and chancellors do have broad authority to place a school on probation, bar it from league competition or championships and impose other penalties they consider appropriate.
Then there is the obvious business side.
LSU is one of the SEC’s most recognizable brands. The Tigers have won four national championships in football since 1958, including three since 2003.
Removing a program with that type of history and value from the league would be considered an extreme step, especially when less drastic punishments remain available.
That doesn’t make the threat meaningless.
“The risk is enormous for LSU,” another school official told Dellenger.
The more realistic pressure may come from sanctions, a federal lawsuit or other SEC schools refusing to play LSU. Any of those would create a major problem for the Tigers without requiring the conference to take the unprecedented step of removing one of its flagship programs.
For now, everything hinges on Thursday’s hearing.
Two days later, LSU hosts Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s first game as Tigers coach.
Before that game kicks off, LSU may have a much bigger opponent to deal with.