The Southeastern Conference sued member school LSU in federal court on Thursday in an attempt to stop the Tigers from using former NFL players.
The LSU board of supervisors, university president Wade Rousse, athletic director Verge Ausberry and football coach Lane Kiffin are named as defendants in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Alabama.
The federal lawsuit was filed while SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and others were testifying in a separate hearing on the matter in a state court in Baton Rouge, La.
The SEC’s federal suit alleges that LSU is violating the conference’s First Amendment right of expressive association by ignoring longstanding rules against rostering professional athletes.
“The SEC has endured and thrived for nearly a century because its members have adhered to that common set of rules, which each member institution, and every coach at those institutions, has agreed to follow,” the SEC’s federal lawsuit said, per ESPN. “Among the most fundamental of those rules are the longstanding provisions that prohibit individuals who have entered a professional draft, signed professional contracts, or been rostered on a professional athletics team from returning to compete in college athletics (the ‘Professionalism Rules’).
“These rules are built upon an essential principle: college athletics is reserved for students who are actively pursuing an education while competing for their universities. The Professionalism Rules preserve competitive fairness, protect opportunities for high school students and current college athletes, and maintain the distinction between college and professional sports.”
The SEC is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction “prohibiting the defendants from violating the conference’s First Amendment rights by compelling the conference to associate with conduct that is contrary to the Conference’s purpose and mission.”
The suit claims LSU “waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season.”
Two of Kiffin’s former Ole Miss players — tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris — announced plans last month to join him at LSU despite having participated in NFL training camps this summer.
The SEC’s suit says all of its members, including LSU, have previously affirmed that “individuals who choose to leave college athletics, sign professional playing contracts, and compete professionally should not then be permitted to return to college competition.”
LSU, ranked No. 11 in the preseason Associated Press poll, kicks off its first season under Kiffin at home on Saturday night against Clemson.
