SEC keeps its lawsuit against LSU alive

The Southeastern Conference withdrew its request for an emergency court order against LSU in a brief filed Tuesday in Birmingham. Read more: SEC LSU lawsuit

The conference pulled the motion because no vote on removing LSU from the league is currently scheduled. It told the court it "expressly reserves the right" to ask again if one gets set.

That did not mean the SEC was backing off. In the same filing, the conference also urged a federal judge to reject LSU's motion to dismiss the case outright.

"Defendants seek to dismiss a lawsuit the Southeastern Conference did not file," the conference wrote. Its filing describes what it calls "a broader dispute" over LSU's lack of institutional control over its athletic department, reaching beyond the two football players at the center of the case.

The brief also points to LSU basketball, citing comments from coach Will Wade about guard RJ Luis Jr., as evidence of a wider pattern.

How the case began

The case traces back to Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, two former Ole Miss players who signed with Kiffin's program over the summer. Wright had signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and was later waived by the Cleveland Browns. Harris had signed with the New Orleans Saints before his release.

Both returned to college sports under a Louisiana state court ruling that granted a group of former college athletes an extra year of eligibility, reviving eligibility that had lapsed once they turned pro.

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The SEC's Professionalism Rules bar any athlete who has signed a pro contract from playing college sports again. The conference sued LSU and Kiffin on September 3 in federal court in Alabama, arguing the rule protects its right to set and enforce conference standards. Five days later, it amended the complaint to add 20 Louisiana officials, including LSU president Wade Rousse and Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Roster filled without them

LSU closed its Week 1 roster without Wright or Harris, and has said neither player has a path to play for the Tigers in 2026. That defused, for the moment, talk of kicking LSU out of the conference. SEC presidents met September 10 to discuss it. LSU did not attend. No vote was taken.

The state court fight kept going. A Louisiana appeals court upheld the injunction protecting the athletes, in a ruling reported September 15. On October 5, lawyers for at least 48 athletes asked a Baton Rouge judge to hold the SEC, commissioner Greg Sankey and LSU in contempt, saying they violated that injunction in cases including a soccer player, Jazmin Ferguson.

LSU's motion to dismiss, filed September 25, argues the federal case is moot now that the two players are off the roster. The SEC also disputes LSU's arguments on venue and sovereign immunity, saying the case still belongs in Alabama. Judge Axon has not ruled on any of it.

For now, there's no vote on LSU's membership to fight over. The SEC made clear in Tuesday's filing that it isn't finished. It will come back for emergency relief, it wrote, "if and when necessary."