SEC Not Expected to Actually Expel LSU Despite New Court Filing
BATON ROUGE, La. — The SEC’s Tuesday filing asking a federal judge to confirm its authority to expel LSU from the conference comes with a caveat that’s drawing as much attention as the filing itself: the league isn’t expected to actually use that power.
That assessment comes from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who broke the news of the amended complaint and reported the SEC has no real intention of removing LSU from the league, even as it presses to establish the legal right to do so.
What the Filing Actually Says
The amended complaint asks the court to affirm that the conference’s presidents and chancellors have the authority under Section 3.1.5 of the SEC Constitution and Bylaws to terminate a member school’s status, and it schedules a Thursday vote on whether to do exactly that to LSU. Nowhere does the filing itself state the SEC won’t follow through. Thamel’s reporting, drawn from sourcing around the case, is what frames the filing as more of a legal formality than a real threat to LSU’s membership.
Removing LSU would still require a two-thirds vote of the conference’s presidents.
Why the SEC Says It’s Pressing Ahead Anyway
The conference’s public explanation centers on protecting precedent for future disputes. “The SEC and its member universities have the right to establish, through agreed-upon governance procedures, the rules under which they voluntarily compete and to expect those rules to be followed,” the league said in a statement, adding that Tuesday’s filing was necessary to protect its ability to govern competition among its own members.
The amended complaint leans on Kiffin’s own words to make that case. During the halftime of LSU’s 51-10 win over Clemson, the coach told a sideline reporter the score could have looked different, a reference to former NFL players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris. The SEC says those comments, paired with what it calls silence from LSU’s president and athletic director, point to a breakdown in the university’s control over its own athletics program.
Louisiana’s Governor and U.S. Senators Push Back
The filing has already drawn reaction from Louisiana’s top elected officials. Gov. Jeff Landry called the fight “ridiculous” and said he’d like to see the two sides move on, in a statement shared with reporters.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy raised a more detailed critique of the SEC’s consistency, arguing the conference allows athletes with years of professional experience overseas to compete immediately while treating Wright and Harris differently despite neither having played a snap as pros. Cassidy said in his statement that the league’s standard “has to be applied consistently.”
U.S. Senator John Kennedy also spoke out on social media, calling on Congress to work on fixing the issue.
What This Means for Thursday’s Vote
Nothing about the political pushback changes the calendar. SEC presidents and chancellors are still scheduled to meet Thursday to decide LSU’s membership status, and the conference is separately seeking a court order barring LSU from interfering with that meeting. Even with reporting suggesting expulsion is unlikely, the vote and the legal authority behind it remain on the table until presidents actually cast one.
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Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham
