The Southeastern Conference says it has ongoing concerns about “a complete lack of institutional control” at LSU. The league levied the allegation In its latest federal court filing in a case that stemmed from LSU’s since-abandoned effort to field football players who had tryouts or signed contracts with NFL clubs. Former Alabama assistant coach Lane Kiffin, now head coach with the Tigers, was considered the “face” of the alleged effort. A memorandum of opposition filed in U.S. District Court in Alabama on Tuesday came in response to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's motion to dismiss the case.
The SEC asserts that the dispute remains unresolved because of LSU's "ongoing defiance of the Conference’s Professionalism Rules, and the very real threat -- reiterated in Defendants’ briefing -- that Defendants will interfere with any effort to terminate LSU’s membership in the Conference.”
Although LSU's football roster never included players who'd spent parts of the past offseason with NFL clubs, basketball coach Will Wade has not yet committed to ending his effort to add RJ Luis, who spent part of 2025 NBA offseason and preseason with the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics, to his roster.
The SEC noted that LSU has “openly recruited” Luis and "allowed him to practice with LSU’s men’s basketball team, and has refused to publicly and definitively state that he will not be included on LSU’s basketball roster," which is not due until the day before the Tigers' first regular-season game on Nov. 3.
The memorandum goes on to assert that “LSU has also recruited international professional basketball players whose eligibility remains in question. LSU’s head men’s basketball coach has been candid about LSU’s strategy: ‘We’re going to be unapologetic about it. This is who we are. This is what we’re doing. This is the path that we charted. We’re going to go down it, and that’s fine.’”
However, Wade did state during a press conference on Tuesday that he planned to follow "all SEC protocols” in regard to Luis.
Murrill responded to the SEC's latest arguments on social media, stating that the league's latest court filing proves that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey “was never acting in good faith.”
“LSU has broken no rules, and the case is moot,” Murrill said. “The lawsuit was garbage from the start and should be dismissed.”
The legal dispute arose when two of LSU football coach Lane Kiffin's former players at Mississippi — tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris — arrived in Baton Rouge and began participating in team activities after being released by NFL clubs.
The two players were plaintiffs in a lawsuit initially filed against the NCAA by athletes who'd exhausted their eligibility at the end of the 2025-26 academic year, but argued they should receive one more year under newly adopted NCAA rules that went into effect last summer. Those rules allow all current college athletes to compete for five seasons in a five-year period.
Because of various injunctions issued against the NCAA in state courts around the country, a number of athletes in a number of sports have rejoined college teams and played this fall. But the SEC's own rules forbid football or basketball programs from having players who have joined NFL, NBA or WNBA teams. Those rules also include athletes who entered drafts for those leagues and never “properly” withdrew.
According to SEC policies, the league can oust members if the leaders of two-thirds of its member institutions vote to do so. While the league has yet to vote on LSU's membership, the memorandum stated that it “reserves the right” to do so, “if and when necessary.”
